Longhorn Engineer Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 So, has anyone tried this on a sacrificial SNES case yet? I know the mechanism of discoloration is different, but I'm just hoping. I think Longhorn Engineer mentioned that he was going to have a go with a SNES case. I don't think it will be a sacrifice, worse case is that you spend $5 trying and nothing happens. Let us know if you do one Going to try it this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Anyone care to guess which keys are restored? In all honesty this keyboard was not too bad to start with. Now I just need to get the motherboard working kart_fighter.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 (edited) @ Longhorn Engineer it will work and you will be amazed at the results. I promise you.... @ mimo You have a broken picture link mate... Edited February 4, 2009 by Merlin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tremoloman2006 Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 In fact... I love the yellow color :s ... I love it that my atari looks old, and used. Really? I call this color "Urine Soaked Yellow"... I despise it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Really? I call this color "Urine Soaked Yellow"... I despise it! Well, now you know how to fix it...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Really? I call this color "Urine Soaked Yellow"... I despise it! Well, now you know how to fix it...... Continuing in that vein, could we not simply use Domestos? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 (edited) NOOO!! DON'T DO IT!!!! Domestos uses Chlorine as the bleach; what happens is that although it appears to work, the Chlorine in the bleach displaces the Bromine in the flame retardant. Chlorine is about half as big as Bromine at the molecular level, so what you are actually doing is making loads of microscopic holes in the surface. This eventually makes the plastic brittle. Chlorine is also a halogen and will eventually oxidise, but the yellowing won't be quite as pronounced as with Bromine. The process we have developed doesn't degrade the plastic surface and the original strength should be retained. The mixture we have created only treats the Bromine and leaves it in place so the plastic is fine afterwards. /Merlin thinks flashjazzcat is winding him up..... Edited February 4, 2009 by Merlin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 @ mimo You have a broken picture link mate... cock up when typing, there should only be 3 pictures. Damn that disappearing edit button Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 (edited) Merlin thinks flashjazzcat is winding him up..... Merlin's right... Seriously I think this is a great technique and something I would consider doing to my 130XE if I hadn't already ordered a new keyboard for it. In a moment of madness I tried nail polish remover (not mine) the other week (before the real peroxide breakthrough), and while it brought the colour of the keys up, it also took off the top layer of plastic (as you might expect). This is all very well if you don't mind faded keys and losing the texture of the plastic... it's not the way to go. I still might have a go at dipping the old keyboard, though, once I get some more pressing projects out of the way. The case, meanwhile, really isn't too bad; the outside doesn't look too different from the inside, but I won't know how discoloured it is until there's a new set of console keys to compare it with. I have an XF-551, too, which always looked browner than the 130XE, even when new, and that was bought 20 years ago this year (and is still going strong). Has anyone done an XF, yet? Edited February 5, 2009 by flashjazzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookt Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 [Has anyone done an XF, yet? Nope, but since I got a 3.5 inch drive running in my "broken" XF551 last night I may well try it soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Ok one more stupid question. For the UV light, do I need a special lamp of some sort or can I get a special blub for a regular lamp? Do they sell UV blubs? I think someone mentioned a black light earlier. Being that it's winter time here in Michigan, sunlight really isn't an option. I think we last saw the sun a few weeks ago... Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 (edited) Ok one more stupid question. For the UV light, do I need a special lamp of some sort or can I get a special blub for a regular lamp? Do they sell UV blubs? I think someone mentioned a black light earlier. Being that it's winter time here in Michigan, sunlight really isn't an option. I think we last saw the sun a few weeks ago... Tempest Just a standard blacklight bulb(I got this one), fixes in a standard light bulb holder.The kind you would find in a 1970s disco I got mine from Maplins which is the UK equivalent of Radio Shaft I believe Edited February 5, 2009 by mimo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tezz Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I got mine from Maplins which is the UK equivalent of Radio Shaft I believeRadio Shaft Was that a pun on Radio Shack's prices! Actually joking aside Maplin would be better renamed Shafted, I know it's retail but what is it like 400% markup on their stuff Tandy was the UK cousin of Radio Shack which went under some time in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tezz Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I didn't realise regular chlorine based bleach weakened plastic. I've used it neat in the past (just for cleaning the plastics not for the yellowing). I won't do that again now I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 (edited) They sell pure UV bulbs. Usually marketed as "germicidal lamps"... These things are used in everything from toothbrush sterilizers to EPROM erasers, to air-disinfectors, to cabinets used to sterilize safety goggles... These are NOT the same thing as black-lights... Black-lights are just normal flourescent or incandescent bulbs with a filter (made of some kind of phospohorous based compound, I beleive) that blocks out 90% of the light wavelengths BELOW the UV spectrum... This is fine because flourescent/incandescent lamps do not produce harmful levels of UV to begin with.. Don't waste your money on a BLACK LIGHT.. They dont produce any more UV than a normal lightbulb or flourescent tube. They just produce LESS visible light. However.. Germicidal (Actual UV lamps) produce MUCH HIGHER levels of UV that destroy living organisms (or tissue).. You dont want to expose your eyes to these bulbs (or even your skin for any length of time)... But if what you want is maximum UV, these are the way to go.. The best approach is to build a cabinet and put the bulb inside it.. Put a switch on the outside of the cabinet that controls the bulb... This way, you can put your items (to be UV-radiated) in the cabinet, close the cabinet, and turn on the bulb.. Then when you're ready to check (or remove) the items, you turn off the bulb before you open the cabinet... Oh.. And as a BONUS, you'll be able to use the cabinet to sterilize things, and erase EPROMS! You can buy germicidal bulbs from scientific suppliers, medical suppliers, etc.. They are NOT cheap, so be prepared to spend some cash on a decent sized one.. On another note.. If what you want is a safe florescent tube that produces A LITTLE BIT more UV than a normal flourescent tube, buy the "wide spectrum" tubes (sometimes called "plant & aquarium" tubes).. These are a little more expensive, but due to the mixture of gasses used in the tube, they produce a little bit more UV (than normal tubes like the ones you'd use in houshold or office flourescent lighting).. Halogen, Sodium, and Mercury Vapor are three more types of lamps that produce varying "spectrums" of light. Im not sure how they stack-up "UV-WISE" to incandescent or flourescent, I guess someone could research this.. Blacklights, however, are a waste of money if what you are trying to do is GET MORE UV... Edited February 5, 2009 by MEtalGuy66 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Blacklights, however, are a waste of money if what you are trying to do is GET MORE UV... Yeah I looked at the package for a black bulb today and I couldn't see anything on there about it producing more UV than a regular bulb so I passed. Still, assuming I can't get my hands on a germicidal bulb, am I just better off using sunlight or do these wide spectrum bulbs work better? Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 (edited) Yeah I looked at the package for a black bulb today and I couldn't see anything on there about it producing more UV than a regular bulb so I passed. Still, assuming I can't get my hands on a germicidal bulb, am I just better off using sunlight or do these wide spectrum bulbs work better? Tempest Assuming you can get "direct sun," the sun will alwayse produce a ton more UV than any artificial lighting.. This is because artificial lighting is designed with the purpose of providing the best range of visible light, for obvious reasons.. UV bulbs are not designed for producing visible light.. They are designed for producing UV.. Which is why they are MORE HARMFUL to living tissue than the sun.. Sun-burn is largely the result of UV radiation attacking various cellular structures and inducing cell-death.. Sunlight definitely produces high levels of UV.. Also, do you remember the small "sun lamps" they used to sell? These things got hot as hell and were ussually surrounded by a shiny metal reflector.. They have warnings on them not to over-expose yourself.. I don't know for sure, but I'd guess that those put out quite a bit of UV... I still see them in thrift stores from time to time.. My only concern with them would be that if you left them on for an extended period of time, you might cause a fire.. They get HOT.. I dont think they are designed to stay on for hours. Edited February 5, 2009 by MEtalGuy66 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 @ MG66 Thanks for chipping in on this, every bit of help is appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Assuming you can get "direct sun," the sun will alwayse produce a ton more UV than any artificial lighting.. Considering it's cloudy here in winter about 85% of the time, I think the best I'm going to get is diffused sunlight. Still, it's probably better than a regular bulb. I'll check for those wide spectrum bulbs though. How long do you leave it in the light anyway? Hours or days? Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 As I live in the UK, i'm unlikely to see any sunshine for the next couple of months. I use the blacklight in a closed cupboard, so there is only the light from the bulb. Results speak for themselves I think, so maybe the amount of UV light is not greatly important, as long as there is some? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+poobah Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 They sell pure UV bulbs. Usually marketed as "germicidal lamps"... These things are used in everything from toothbrush sterilizers to EPROM erasers, to air-disinfectors, to cabinets used to sterilize safety goggles... These are NOT the same thing as black-lights... Black-lights are just normal flourescent or incandescent bulbs with a filter (made of some kind of phospohorous based compound, I beleive) that blocks out 90% of the light wavelengths BELOW the UV spectrum... This is fine because flourescent/incandescent lamps do not produce harmful levels of UV to begin with.. Don't waste your money on a BLACK LIGHT.. They dont produce any more UV than a normal lightbulb or flourescent tube. They just produce LESS visible light. Blacklights, however, are a waste of money if what you are trying to do is GET MORE UV... Actually just to clarify.... Most fluorescent lamps work by exciting mercury atoms with produce ultra-violet light when the excited electrons decay back to their normal state, so essentially, all fluorescent bulbs are in fact UV lights. A normal bulb has a phosphor that absorbs the UV light and produces visible light. A black light just has less phosphor, or a different coating composition that allows more of the UV light to reach the environment. A germicidal lamp will have little or no coating blocking the UV light, so it will produce considerably more UV than a black light. A black light should produce sufficient UV for this reaction (we are talking hours here!) and be considerably safer than a germicidal lamp. Note that this all applies to fluorescent tubes only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 (edited) @ all The tubes that MG66 and others refer to that are used in aquaria are called Gro-Lux tubes (sometimes spelt GrowLux). These do put out more UV than a standard fluorescent tube. I've used a normal filament blacklight bulb and the energy saving version and to be honest I've seen no difference in the results. There are specialist UV tubes for the UV sterilisers used in water treatment but they are expensive compared to a cheap bulb. Remember, for most cases of plastic restoring you will only need it for a day or two, so why spends loads on it? @ MG66 I work for a company that makes fluorescent pigments, our sister company is DayGlo Color Corporation in Cleveland. Let me tell you, for making these types of pigments, you definitely need a good UV light!! @ mimo Is there any chance you could post the missing picture from your earlier post? Thanks Edited February 6, 2009 by Merlin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 High-end blacklights used in scientific and commercial equipment (for detection of synthetic fibers, etc.) are based on the difference in gas type/content in the flourescent tube, as well as the phosphor composition/filtering properties of the glass.. I'm here to tell ya.. Consumer grade blacklights (The GE tubes and screw-in incandescent blacklights) are just normal lights with a purple filter-coating.. They dont produce significantly more UV than a normal lamp of the same type.. They are perfectly safe, don't come with any UV warnings, etc.. Germicidal lamps work like flourescents but with yet another type/combination of gas, no phosphor, and quartz crystal instead of glass. These emit an enormous amount of UV radiation (by comparisson to any black-light) at levels that are dangerous to living tissue. If you want MAX UV, this is the way to get it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+selgus Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 As I live in the UK, i'm unlikely to see any sunshine for the next couple of months. I use the blacklight in a closed cupboard, so there is only the light from the bulb. Results speak for themselves I think, so maybe the amount of UV light is not greatly important, as long as there is some? Can you comment on what kind of black-light you have used, as there seems to be people strongly stating it shouldn't work. In this case, I'd rather settle for empirical data showing a type of black-lighting that has worked (though being in Florida, we do tend to get some sunshine. ) Thanks. --Selgus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 As I live in the UK, i'm unlikely to see any sunshine for the next couple of months. I use the blacklight in a closed cupboard, so there is only the light from the bulb. Results speak for themselves I think, so maybe the amount of UV light is not greatly important, as long as there is some? Can you comment on what kind of black-light you have used, as there seems to be people strongly stating it shouldn't work. In this case, I'd rather settle for empirical data showing a type of black-lighting that has worked (though being in Florida, we do tend to get some sunshine. ) Thanks. --Selgus Noone has said it wont work with a black light.. In fact many have PROVEN that it does work.. What Poobah and I have been talking about is various types of lighting and how much UV they produce. You dont need MASSIVE UV.. But, certainly, since the process is activated by UV, it stands to reason that the stronger the UV, the less time required for exposure to produce a given effect. Noone has tried any of these high-UV-output "germicidal" lamps yet.. However, excellent results have been obtained with blacklights, normal flourescent lighting, direct sunlight, etc.. And the exposure times necessary to obtain a given result have varied. What I said was that your not going to get a significant increase in UV from a consumer grade blacklight, versus a normal (cheaper) flourescent light. So if your wanting to try the process, you can either use sunlight, normal flourescent light, a blacklight, a "wide spectrum/Plant&Aquarium/GroLUX" light, or if you really want to shell out some money, a special High-UV "germicidal" lamp (inside an enclosure for safety reasons).. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.