Everything Else

Restore your yellowed plastics? - Page 1

This is interesting...

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:O3000: :O2000: <> :O2000: :Tezro: :Fuel: x2+ :Octane2: :Octane: x3 :1600SW: x2 :O2: x2+ :Indigo2IMP: :Indigo2: x2 :Indigo: x3 :Indy: x2+

Once you step up to the big iron, you learn all about physics, electrical standards, and first aid - usually all in the same day
Nice find! There's another thread here with a link to similar/same material, I think it went into more detail of the process (or maybe one of links off of that page has it.) I think pentium may have posted it...
Perfect solution!

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Octane / Dual Head
LOL, after I read the subject line of this thread, I was jokingly expecting to see a Billy Mays commercial.

Funny how that's basically what they used to clean up the computers...

Chris

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:O2000R: (<-EMXI/IO6G) :O200: :O200: :O200: (<- quad R12k O200 w/GIGAchannel and ESI+Tex) plus a bunch of assorted standalone workstations...
Nice find Dr Dave!

Recipe here http://www.classic-computers.org.nz/blog/2008-12-30-de-yellowing-old-cases.htm

So who will be the first to take a greening Indy case and see if it turns Blue ?

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deBug wrote:
So who will be the first to take a greening Indy case and see if turns Blue ?

I was thinking of trying this on an Indigo external CDROM first. But I wonder what happens in the next 5 or 10 years with plastic that has been treated like this -- will it turn brittle? get yellow all over again?

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It turns out that when reset, the WD33C93 defaults to a SCSI ID of 0, and it was simpler to leave it that way... -- Dave Olson, in comp.sys.sgi

Currently in commercial service: Image :Octane2: :Onyx2: (2x) :0300:
In the museum: almost every MIPS/IRIX system.
If I take the plunge, the first attempt would likely be discoloured keys on old granite Alps SGI keyboards, so the spacebar isn't two shades yellower than the rest of the keys...

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Once you step up to the big iron, you learn all about physics, electrical standards, and first aid - usually all in the same day
jan-jaap wrote:
deBug wrote:
So who will be the first to take a greening Indy case and see if turns Blue ?

I was thinking of trying this on an Indigo external CDROM first. But I wonder what happens in the next 5 or 10 years with plastic that has been treated like this -- will it turn brittle? get yellow all over again?


It sounds like part of the problem is the UV stabilizer in the plastic. Assuming that the plastic isn't exposed to the sun, it should be OK - since the implication is that the additives in the plastic cause the colour change regardless of UV exposure. But having said that, I'm sure I have an Indy cover somewhere that's not too important, with green on the lid except where the monitor sat - which would be a perfect test.

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:O3000: :O2000: <> :O2000: :Tezro: :Fuel: x2+ :Octane2: :Octane: x3 :1600SW: x2 :O2: x2+ :Indigo2IMP: :Indigo2: x2 :Indigo: x3 :Indy: x2+

Once you step up to the big iron, you learn all about physics, electrical standards, and first aid - usually all in the same day
dc_v01 wrote:
Nice find! There's another thread here with a link to similar/same material, I think it went into more detail of the process (or maybe one of links off of that page has it.) I think pentium may have posted it...


I did a quick look and didn't see that, so I defer to the original thread. That's what happens when you go offline for a few months, busy with work and such. :(

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:O3000: :O2000: <> :O2000: :Tezro: :Fuel: x2+ :Octane2: :Octane: x3 :1600SW: x2 :O2: x2+ :Indigo2IMP: :Indigo2: x2 :Indigo: x3 :Indy: x2+

Once you step up to the big iron, you learn all about physics, electrical standards, and first aid - usually all in the same day
More recipes http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/showpost.php?p=90439&postcount=5
http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/Retr0Bright+Gel

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I'd like to try this on a few items, but will it harm silkscreened logos or text? I'd hate to successfully whiten a component only to discover that the manufacturer's logo dissolved!
It might even brighten up old green or the later blue Octane skins.

The discoloration is not as noticeable as on white or beige box, but probably still occurs to the blue plastic.


sgiSteve

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Did someone mention that bunch of threads on the VCForums?
Well, if I ever had the time to actually give this a try I might see what it does for a few of my systems like a Quadra 660AV which was out in the summer sunlight for three months. Man did it get yellow.

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ajerimez wrote:
I'd like to try this on a few items, but will it harm silkscreened logos or text? I'd hate to successfully whiten a component only to discover that the manufacturer's logo dissolved!


I would doubt it. The letters on the keys are silkscreen too and they seem fine. Just my guess though.

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Octane2 2x600 V12 8GB
- Octane2 600 V12 2GB - Octane 2x400 V10 2GB
O2 350 CRM 256MB - Indigo² 195 Max Impact 386MB - Indigo² 250 Extreme 386MB

"I'm totally unappreciated in my time. You can run this whole park from this room, with minimal staff, for up to three days. You think that kind of automation is easy? Or cheap? You know anybody who can network eight Connection Machines and de-bug two million lines of code for what I bid this job? Because if you can, I'd love to see him try."
With regards to silkscreen: it doesn't seem to be a problem but as there is such a variance between different plastics and inks as well as retrobright formulas, I would recommend trying an inconspicuous area or throwaway piece first. I'm not sure if you would find much printing on (for example) the interior side of a piece of plastic, but if you do that would probably be an ideal place to try.

If it was a big deal I'm sure previous users of the formula would have noticed. It seems to be a non-issue.

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sybrfreq wrote:

If it was a big deal I'm sure previous users of the formula would have noticed. It seems to be a non-issue.


One of the users noticed a fading of the silkscreen text labels on one of the Amiga cases.
another users got his Apple logo destroyed.
So it seems it can happen but it also seems they both used an early formula of 20% hydrogen peroxide but later experiments with 6% solutions showed equally good results.
So it might be that the fading of the print and logos was due to bleaching.

Anyway, testing first seems appropriate.

//Harry

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Indeed, I should have added I haven't looked much past the linked wiki page. Didn't see any disclaimer regarding screenprinting though, that is definitely something to keep in mind.

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:hp xw9300: (Aggrocrag) :hp dv8000: (Attack)
Impressive stuff! I've read through a lot of pages yesterday evening, and man, this is the greatest discovery....well....almost EVER! :)
I was almost ready to dump my somewhat-yellowed IBM 43P-140, but hell, i guess i'll give it a shot. Or clean up my original Indigo CDROM drive...or my brothers C64...or.... :)
Seems that 'easy does it' works best, apparently this way the plastic won't suffer...but indeed, be very careful with the logo's etc.

They tried blue plastic...this got marked, but in that experiment they used bleach, so maybe it'll work with peroxide. Hmmm, got a green-blue cover laying around somewhere...
Guess it won't hurt to check for ingredient availability over here :P

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1 Indigo R3k-33 32MB XS24-Z;
1 Indy R5k-180 256MB XZ;
1 Indy R4k-175 64MB XL;
2 Indigo2 R10k-195 512MB MaxImpact;
2 Indigo2 R4k-200 256MB (XL+Extreme);
2 Octane Dual R12K-300 1024MB (MXI+V6).
This is somewhat off-topic, but the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers, while they work unbelievably well for removing gunk and scuffs, will take your model and serial numbers off with just a single careless swipe. :cry:

So while my onyx now looks like it just rolled off the assembly line, it also has hand-written model and serial numbers (just in case I ever need them for an odd reason they will still be there) :?

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:Onyx: (Aldebaran) :Octane: (Chaos) :O2: (Machop)
:hp xw9300: (Aggrocrag) :hp dv8000: (Attack)
Bump up an old thread...

Has anyone tried this on your colored SGI equipment yet?

I have some noticeable yellowing on my Indigo2's and would love to put them back to normal.

I am wondering if this would destroy the color or not...

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Octane2 2x600 V12 8GB
- Octane2 600 V12 2GB - Octane 2x400 V10 2GB
O2 350 CRM 256MB - Indigo² 195 Max Impact 386MB - Indigo² 250 Extreme 386MB

"I'm totally unappreciated in my time. You can run this whole park from this room, with minimal staff, for up to three days. You think that kind of automation is easy? Or cheap? You know anybody who can network eight Connection Machines and de-bug two million lines of code for what I bid this job? Because if you can, I'd love to see him try."