doug
Full Member
Posts: 136
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Post by doug on Mar 31, 2006 22:38:51 GMT -5
I'm looking for peoples opinions/advice on how to best restore white plastic computer cases (i.e. apples, cocos, etc) to their original colour. First, can yellowed plastic be brought back to its original white? Second, regardless of the first question, what is a good but safe cleaner to use on plastic computer cases?
Regards, Doug
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Post by Jeff Ledger on Mar 31, 2006 23:13:46 GMT -5
I will be watching this thread with interest! I've been using a mild-bleach solution and some of the better dish detergents on the plastic parts that can be seperated from other bits of the computers with success. I get a kick out of passing the plastic casings from grubby 64's and apples to my wife to wash, as she hates to wash dishes, and always gives me a dirty look when I do it. As for the discoloring of plastics due to UV or just old age, The best answer I've found is to add a layer of Krylon fusion to a clean prepared system. This spray is designed for application to plastics and I've used with with varying success on machines. Plastics which have a rough surface seem to be best for this paint. For instance my apple II, and my Epson printer came out looking brand new in Riverrock white and held up well, while the smoother surfaces of C64/C128 casings seem to flake away with use. -- I'm thinking that perhaps a topcoat of something clear may help, but I've more experimenting to do.. and alas, I see I've left topic.. Sorry.. Anyone else using some interesting to clean with success? Jeff
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Post by Golan Klinger on Apr 1, 2006 0:31:48 GMT -5
I'm with Jeff on this one. I always start with a good cleaning and my preferred method is to dissolve Borax (an all natural bleach-like cleaner) in warm water and use the solution to thoroughly wash the case (of course I remove all the electronics first). I prefer not to use bleach as it can damage some plastics and, in some cases, cause toxic fumes. I then give it a second washing with whatever dish washing liquid I find in the kitchen. That takes care of any build-up of dirt or smoke particles and it also gets rid of the smoke smell (why people smoke around their computers is beyond me). If that doesn't work because you're dealing with yellowing due to age or UV exposure, painting is the only way to go. If you want to see an example of how cool a computer can look after being painted, check out Leif Bloomquist's "Blue Commodore 64C" page at home.ica.net/~leifb/commodore/blue64/index.htm. Kind of makes you want to paint all your computers, doesn't it?
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telengard
Junior Member
Stuck in the 80s
Posts: 51
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Post by telengard on Apr 1, 2006 22:30:08 GMT -5
I'm looking for peoples opinions/advice on how to best restore white plastic computer cases (i.e. apples, cocos, etc) to their original colour. First, can yellowed plastic be brought back to its original white? Second, regardless of the first question, what is a good but safe cleaner to use on plastic computer cases? Regards, Doug I've asked this question in the past (either on usenet or somewhere else I forget). The only answer I got about removing the yellow was giving it an acid bath of sorts, yikes! For the *first* time I bought something off eBay that wasn't yellowed at all. I got a IIGS system (the whole shooting match, printer, extras, etc) and the thing was like brand new except for some black marker writing on the bottom of stuff. Seems it came from a school or something. ~telengard
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Post by kaos116 on Apr 7, 2006 21:15:26 GMT -5
I can say that all computers do not respond to the same treatments. I have had very good luck on my classic macs (SE/30, Color Classic etc.) by using 'Softscrub' and a green 3M scrub pad. A little elbow grease and they clean up good as new. Quick note, rub in swirls or you will end up with stratches. This does not work on Tandy COCO's. That yellowing seems to be alot deeper. I did try a few methods with a parts COCO case and short of sand blasting I could never get it to an even color. Bleach did nothing to speak of. Steelwool/400 grit sandpaper did clean it up a bit, but it also changed the texturing. Not a big deal if you are 'refinishing' and not 'restoring'. Stangely the Tandy MC-10 cleaned up with just '409'. My VIC-20 did well with '409' but this came from a smoker, so the layer of smoke protected it from the UV. The Apple II+/E's did well with nail polish remover for the school markings written in magic marker. I have 2 Apple IIc's, one is a IIc+ and it is VERY yellow compared to the other and nothing seems to be cleaning that up. Never tried cleaning the C64. It looks brand new. I did try cleaning the slim C64 and it did well with the SoftScrub/3m method.
Anyone ever finds a simple method for cleaning COCO's let me know. I have a port expander that is so yellowed it's bordering brown.
Todd
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doug
Full Member
Posts: 136
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Post by doug on Apr 8, 2006 20:33:38 GMT -5
Currently, it's a CoCo 3 I'm working on. I have two (one works) so I'm thinking of trying the spray paint method on one. The working one is mostly clean, just a couple of scuffs, but the colour is a little off. I used laundry detergent (Ivory Snow to be exact) and a dish rag (avoided using bleach, not quite brave enough).
Doug
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Post by thurstan on Apr 13, 2006 14:25:23 GMT -5
Well today I got an old Acorn Electron computer from ebay (circa 1982) and am in the process of cleaning it up. Having mixed results with monitor screen cleaner.
good for most of the grime, but coloured marks are not budging.
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detnyre
Junior Member
detnyre
Posts: 99
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Post by detnyre on May 10, 2006 20:59:10 GMT -5
I like to use cleaning wipes made to clean car interiors to clean the exterior of grubby computer cases. Once the case is clean I use Armour All wipes to give it some shine and to protect it....
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Post by retrobits on May 13, 2006 0:53:58 GMT -5
I may give kaos116's trick with the SoftScrub and the 3M pads a try on my SE/30. The case on the computer is quite yellowed, and there are spots that are white/brighter because there used to be a sticker there. If I could somehow reverse the yellowing, it would be great, as otherwise, the system is like new. Now, if I can just find a less noisy internal SCSI drive - Earl
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detnyre
Junior Member
detnyre
Posts: 99
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Post by detnyre on May 14, 2006 20:53:04 GMT -5
I wonder how well the spray paint that is advertised to molecularly bond to plastic would work on a computer case. My guess is that the sheen/gloss of the case after it is painted would not be the same as the original.
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Post by Golan Klinger on May 14, 2006 22:06:06 GMT -5
I wonder how well the spray paint that is advertised to molecularly bond to plastic would work on a computer case. Leif Bloomquist/Schema painted a computer and it turned out really well. Take a look at home.ica.net/~leifb/commodore/blue64/index.htm. It shows the process and has some great pictures. Having seen the finished product in person I can say that it looks really good.
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Post by syntaxerror64 on May 29, 2006 0:40:16 GMT -5
I have found that the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Pads work extremely well taking off very stubborn old dirt and other stains. I received a 64C from someone and it was just filthy, and that eraser pad restored it to like new condition.
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