I'm currently in the middle of testing out Retr0brighting with an old Famicom that I don't use. Rather than mixing together the solution, I've gone with the 40 volume liquid developer and submerged it, and put it under a pair of UV lamps. I went with the liquid instead of the cream, because I've heard it's been much more successful in whitening consoles without blooming. Five hours later, I haven't seen any noticeable change however. Is this because I opted to use UV lamps instead of direct sunlight? Anyone else have any words of wisdom they can pass upon me? I'm considering leaving it under overnight. EDIT: I've taken the Famicom out at its sixth hour and dumped the liquid developer, as it was collecting dirt rather fast. Here's a kinda disappointing comparison. BEFORE: AFTER:
Did you mix oxiclean with it, I was retrobrighting the thumbstick from a lodgenet n64 controller that I have modded yesterday.; I first tried just hydrogen peroxide yesterday but nothing happened. I first thought oxi clean was only in the solution to make it a paste ,but after reading that you only put a few teaspoons in it I realized it there to keep the hydrodgen peroxide from turning to water. After I tried that, it worked perfectly. H2O2 In sun light breaks down into H20, I guess thats why it comes in a brown bottle.
I didn't mix any oxiclean into it. I'd read that people were getting success without it. It's been sitting out for five hours, should I still attempt to mix it in?
Couldn't hurt, it made it work for me. I was using direct sunlight in both instances and had them outside for more than 4 hours at a time.
You do not need oxy. That only speeds it up. The only thing you need is hydro peroxide. Depending on the % volume it takes longer. Depending on the UV light you can put on it, it takes longer/shorter In short, if you have 3% Hydroperoxide and put it in the bathtub in a dark room, expect it to take a week or more. You'll likely need to replace the Hydroperoxide once or twice as well as it loses its effect. I used 30% cream with a tiny bit of oxy mixed in. Heavy sunlight = 5-6 hours Cloudy day = 8-9 hours UV light in dark room = 8-9 hours No UV Light = 24 hours. Replaced cream after 12 hours. Those are my notes when I was testing it. In other words, you do not need oxy or UV light for it to work. It just takes longer. If you have a cream like I did, the oxy helps because the cream starts to bubble up and foam. This helps with the blooming as the stuff gets in everywhere. And yes, it speeds up the process. I also wrapped it in kitchen plastic to prevent it from drying out. Everything I've ever retrobrighted 2-3 years ago is back to its original yellow, or close to it, with or without UV protective on it. I've now come to accept that old things should be yellow. Your mileage may vary =) Whatever method, use gloves and protective eye gear. Get that thing in your eye and bye bye vision. Not that pleasant getting it on your hands either. They dry out real bad =)
I'm starting to think that you're onto something there. Is using a sealant a definite solution to preventing the yellow from returning? I also feel the need to ask, did you see a noticeable amount of blooming when you used the cream?
If you have access to germicide type bulb, that puts out full amount of pure UV light. IOt's extremely hazardous to look at it so either build a box around the light and the console or use extension cord to unplug it to check the whitening process and plug it in when you're out of the room.
I can not remember what I used lastly. It was some for of UV protective sealant. It did not help. Yes, if I do not add or add too little oxy (or do not mix it into the cream enough), it would not foam up inside the kitchen plastic wrap and I got some blooming. I just did it again when it happened.
Did you use "grow lamps"? They produce long-wavelength UV (UV-A) and they don't work in this application. You need short wavelength UV (UV-C) - try using a tube out of a sterilizer - but make sure you shield the lamp because looking directly at it for any significant period of time is best avoided.
Makes sense. I think I'm just going to commission someone to paint my really yellow consoles rather than rely on retr0bright after all. Knowing that it'll come back in a couple years on the more severely yellowed items just doesn't sit well with me in the end. Oh well. Thanks for the informative replies.
Well if you clear coat the console it would not yellow but you could still tell it was clear coated. I have a pal snes that was very yellowed and I submerged the console in just 3% hydrogen peroxide,left it in the sun for a good 8 hours and it worked awesome but the yellowing is slowly coming back,hell I might just do it again and give it a clear coat.
