Author Topic: Retr0 Bright - Restore yellow faded surfaces to like new (Read 7241 times)

srarcade · « **on:** March 10, 2009, 09:45:35 am »

This guy at work showed me this site that has directions to create a chemical they are calling "retr0 bright" that takes out the ugly yellow tint that plastics fade into over the years. Its a free recipe, and its pretty safe to make. Check out these before and after pics, pretty impressive!

http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/The+Gallery

shardian · « **Reply #1 on:** March 10, 2009, 09:49:40 am »

Yep, it is pretty cool. I'm still on the hunt for Xanthan Gum to make up a small batch. I went to drug emporium and asked the health foods girl where it was. She said "Oh, I just saw that a few days ago"...then proceeded to take me to the section where energy bars were.

ChadTower · « **Reply #2 on:** March 10, 2009, 10:17:37 am »

I have a couple nasty SNES I might try this out on.

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #3 on:** March 10, 2009, 10:41:51 am »

oooh I have an SNES and a C64 to try this on... very cool

SavannahLion · « **Reply #4 on:** March 10, 2009, 01:23:29 pm »

Holy crap. They finally figured it out?

I remember a rather detailed article about why the SNES stuff yellowed so badly complete with interviews with plastic specialists (including one from Nintendo from those days).

I don't really like how portions of the site seem like a crap sales pitch on a late night infomercial.

Still.... very promising.

SirPeale · « **Reply #5 on:** March 10, 2009, 01:26:13 pm »

Quote from: shardian on March 10, 2009, 09:49:40 am

Yep, it is pretty cool. I'm still on the hunt for Xanthan Gum to make up a small batch. I went to drug emporium and asked the health foods girl where it was. She said "Oh, I just saw that a few days ago"...then proceeded to take me to the section where energy bars were.

If you have a co-op around, check their bulk food section. I have a container of it here that I bought from my local co-op.

Level42 · « **Reply #6 on:** March 10, 2009, 01:32:13 pm »

Wow, great !

Why does this make me remind of making nitro-glycerine ?

shardian · « **Reply #7 on:** March 10, 2009, 01:39:44 pm »

Maybe it's a New England thing, but I have no clue what a co-op is.

Level42 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 10, 2009, 01:42:09 pm »

Short for CO-OPeration.

Usually farmers got together to form them to buy stuff in big quantities for less money....at least that's what is about the idea overhere.

The real question is: wgat on earth is Xanthar gum ?

ChadTower · « **Reply #9 on:** March 10, 2009, 01:42:44 pm »

Sort of like a huge pot luck... a group that shares work and all contribute items or cash, then it gets split up amongst the group so everyone gets a little of each item on a regular basis.

shardian · « **Reply #10 on:** March 10, 2009, 01:48:50 pm »

so... you mean like a farmer's market?

ChadTower · « **Reply #11 on:** March 10, 2009, 01:52:30 pm »

It's all by arrangement. It's not a market in that you show up and buy what you want... you would know what you're getting ahead of time and you would be contributing your part all along. So say you're a carrot farmer. You're bringing in carrots once a month that get distributed to the group. Then you get your stuff which is a little of everything else that was brought. That's how a lot of them work. They vary, of course, quite heavily but it's not a weekly market or something like that.

shardian · « **Reply #12 on:** March 10, 2009, 01:54:25 pm »

Yeah, I've never seen or heard of anything like that. I also don't see how I would get Xanthan gum out of something like that.

ChadTower · « **Reply #13 on:** March 10, 2009, 02:01:12 pm »

It's a food additive, a thickening agent like flour. Stuff like that is much cheaper bought in bulk. A lot of co-ops are set up to buy things in bulk and split them up among the members. If a person wanted a small amount they'd probably be able to split out a couple pounds for you.

SirPeale · « **Reply #14 on:** March 10, 2009, 02:05:46 pm »

The co-ops around here are nothing like what you're describing, Chad.

The one here in Brattleboro is a retail storefront with aisles and registers.

It's not owned by any one person or company, it's owned by the members.

Xantham gum is an extract of the xantham tree. It's a thickener.

ChadTower · « **Reply #15 on:** March 10, 2009, 02:27:35 pm »

The ones back home had nothing even close to a retail storefront, they were usually run out of some person's barn. People would deliver their contracted stuff during the week and everyone would come get their packages on the weekend. Some people only contributed money so they'd pay a weekly or monthly fee which would go towards covering costs and buying some stuff that everyone wanted but wasn't available from the membership. It's a good way for a farmer of one or two products to get a household supply of lots of other things without having to lay out for a grocery bill.

Level42 · « **Reply #16 on:** March 10, 2009, 02:37:34 pm »

I think they started off like Chad explains and now are what Peale explains.

In Europe there even is a super-market chain called Coop. (they removed the - as well as the whole idea behind it I guess....).

I saw a US co-op on TV. There were two arrogant, over the hills girls who are famous and rich (Paris Hilton is one of the two) who are trying to do some work for a change. Well of course they don't really. It's more a show where they advertise their thoughts and feelings about normal people who need to work for a living.

Anyway, I don't know the name of the show, it passed along when channel-surfing and the girls would "work" at some ranch and the owner told them they had to buy some food for the animals at the co-op.

Of course they also came home with totally useless things (like a mega-big bird-house) like women tend to do....

I was actually pretty surprised something like co-ops still existed.

I also find it a very communistic idea for the US

ChadTower · « **Reply #17 on:** March 10, 2009, 02:48:35 pm »

Quote from: Level42 on March 10, 2009, 02:37:34 pm

I think they started off like Chad explains and now are what Peale explains.

I also find it a very communistic idea for the US

I think it evolved into what Peale describes mostly because people don't produce anything themselves anymore. The farther rural you go the closer it probably gets to what I described. We were really rural.

Level42 · « **Reply #18 on:** March 10, 2009, 02:48:56 pm »

But uhm, about that gum stuff, wouldn't maizena work ?

Level42 · « **Reply #19 on:** March 10, 2009, 04:17:39 pm »

I was thinking about what arcade machines could be treated this way and the one's I can come up with are:

-Star Trek (sit down)

-Snake Pit

I've seen a Snape Pit in real life and it sure would be an improvement to do it on that machine !

Most Star Treks sit-downs could look much better after a "bath" like that too....

Any others ?

ChadTower · « **Reply #20 on:** March 10, 2009, 04:30:56 pm »

Can't think of a whole machine but I have a huge box full of white buttons it might help.

Level42 · « **Reply #21 on:** March 10, 2009, 04:42:02 pm »

Yeah, I was wondering about the joystick ball on my Galaxian...not sure what plastic that is though.

Also got an Atari 800 that would really improve from this...

Xiaou2 · « **Reply #22 on:** March 10, 2009, 06:16:33 pm »

I find it interesting that many of the Before pictures are dark in the background,
and then in the After pics... the background is bright. Looks like a poor photoshop
trick to me.

Level42 · « **Reply #23 on:** March 10, 2009, 06:24:14 pm »

Not on the 130XE and VIC 20 pics. And how about the C64 that was half-treated ?

SavannahLion · « **Reply #24 on:** March 11, 2009, 06:22:07 pm »

Level42, that's just the conspiricist in him talking. Just better to ignore it.

The Co-Ops in and around the city are more like what Peale describes. Someone at my work is a member of one. Not really my bag of chips since the Co-Ops I know of you have to pay membership fees or, in lieu of fees, work X hours a month there.

Has anyone checked at some place like WinCo? They have a pretty impressive bulk foods section.

BobA · « **Reply #25 on:** March 12, 2009, 08:56:59 pm »

If you have a health food or specialty store that specializes in Gluten Free items for celiacs you will find that they carry Xanthan gum as it is very common in imitation (gluten free) flour recipes.

ChadTower · « **Reply #26 on:** March 13, 2009, 10:40:25 am »

Mythbusters did a show on that... it's not the xantham gum, it's a couple other substances combined with the pitted surface of the Mentos. Mononucleation and carbonated water along with a little chemical help but the filler didn't do anything.

Ryglore · « **Reply #27 on:** June 14, 2010, 02:58:55 pm »

Hey all, I've been doing some research into retr0bright and I found a link to another forum by a guy that used the general idea, only rather than 12% Hydrogen Peroxide, Xanthan Gum, Glycerin and Oxy. He used standard pharmaceutical 3% Hydrogen Peroxide, Corn Starch and Oxy, he got some impressive results as well.

http://68kmla.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=10982

Here is a link to his flickr account showing the results he got on an old Apple SE/30: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=RetroBright&w=66071596%40N00

Seeing this stuff in action, I'll be using it on my next project for sure.


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