Amazing New Retrobrighting Technique

Hewitson · 06 June 2019, 09:24

Check this out. Retrobrighting using only sunlight. This is a total game changer.

[ Show youtube player ]

Predseda · 06 June 2019, 09:45

Makes sense. My greatgrandmother and generations before her used to put their laundry to a meadow to let it be whitened. But I though yellowing itself is caused by the sun, this is strange. Basically this means if my Amiga was outside her whole life, she would remain white?

Hewitson · 06 June 2019, 09:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Predseda

Basically this means if my Amiga was outside her whole life, she would remain white?

I have no idea... I, along with the rest of the world, always believed the sun was the problem rather than the solution.

I don't actually have any equipment which needs retrobrighting at the moment. Can someone with a yellowed piece of hardware please put it in the sun for a day and post the results?

Predseda · 06 June 2019, 09:57

Imagine yourself on the beach for three days, with you Amiga. You will become more and more brown, while your compi becomes more and more bright

Hewitson · 06 June 2019, 09:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Predseda

Imagine yourself on the beach for three days, with you Amiga. You will become more and more brown, while your compi becomes more and more bright

Obviously plastic is different to skin, but yeah, quite strange how one brightens and another darkens. I'm genuinely shocked that this works. Maybe it's actually darkness that yellows our cases!

UberFreak · 06 June 2019, 10:41

Its not a new method, been reported in other places some years back.
Some people who tried it back then also reported that the items yellowed again quite quickly and became very brittle.

Seems like there's no magic solution to yellowing

Tigerskunk · 06 June 2019, 10:50

It kind of works.
But depending on the machine needs some time.

My A600 was super white after like a few hours in the sun.

But my A1200 has accumulated like 20 hours of bright sunlight, and still isn't completely white again.

alpine9000 · 06 June 2019, 11:09

Living in Australia under extreme sunlight, we know all too well about the bleaching effect of sunlight on plastic. We also know how destructive this process is. First bleached, then gets brittle, eventually disintegrates.

Use this with extreme caution.

Retro-Nerd · 06 June 2019, 16:39

It's the heat, not the UV from the sun, that yellows the cases due to a chemical process that happens. Most people stock their old computer stuff in tight and very warm places like the garage or attic. And if they dig it out a few years later it's yellowed. Put the cases in the sun and it gets brighter. Until it breaks some day when all plasticiser are gone, as alpine mentioned. You can't sun bleach/retroright the cases endlessly.

Actually well known since a few years. Read that in Forum 64 ages ago.

Foebane · 11 June 2019, 01:39

No wonder PC manufacturers did away with beige cases and used more metal in the chassis, and only black plastic for the front plate - harder for it to go yellow, then. Imagine an all-metal Amiga case shaped like an A500!

gimbal · 11 June 2019, 11:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foebane

No wonder PC manufacturers did away with beige cases and used more metal in the chassis, and only black plastic for the front plate - harder for it to go yellow, then. Imagine an all-metal Amiga case shaped like an A500!

I really can't, Miggy = white/broken white/beige. Anything else is not an Amiga. I remember seeing advertisements for a black A600 and it just didn't look right.

Foebane · 11 June 2019, 17:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by gimbal

I really can't, Miggy = white/broken white/beige. Anything else is not an Amiga. I remember seeing advertisements for a black A600 and it just didn't look right.

The CDTV is black by design - do you accept that?

gimbal · 12 June 2019, 09:27

No, I never saw the CDTV or the CD32 as part of the Amiga lineup, they were other Commodore products. And quite frankly, closer to being actual toys.

06 June 2019, 09:24	#1
Hewitson Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 41 Posts: 3,773	Amazing New Retrobrighting Technique Check this out. Retrobrighting using only sunlight. This is a total game changer. [ Show youtube player ]

06 June 2019, 09:45	#2
Predseda Puttymoon inhabitant Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Tromaville Age: 46 Posts: 7,544	Makes sense. My greatgrandmother and generations before her used to put their laundry to a meadow to let it be whitened. But I though yellowing itself is caused by the sun, this is strange. Basically this means if my Amiga was outside her whole life, she would remain white? Last edited by Predseda; 06 June 2019 at 09:51.

06 June 2019, 11:09	#8
alpine9000 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Australia Posts: 881	Living in Australia under extreme sunlight, we know all too well about the bleaching effect of sunlight on plastic. We also know how destructive this process is. First bleached, then gets brittle, eventually disintegrates. Use this with extreme caution. Last edited by alpine9000; 06 June 2019 at 11:23.

06 June 2019, 16:39	#9
Retro-Nerd Missile Command Champion Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Germany Age: 52 Posts: 12,442	It's the heat, not the UV from the sun, that yellows the cases due to a chemical process that happens. Most people stock their old computer stuff in tight and very warm places like the garage or attic. And if they dig it out a few years later it's yellowed. Put the cases in the sun and it gets brighter. Until it breaks some day when all plasticiser are gone, as alpine mentioned. You can't sun bleach/retroright the cases endlessly. Actually well known since a few years. Read that in Forum 64 ages ago. Last edited by Retro-Nerd; 06 June 2019 at 17:01.

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06 June 2019, 09:57	#4
Predseda Puttymoon inhabitant Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Tromaville Age: 46 Posts: 7,544	Imagine yourself on the beach for three days, with you Amiga. You will become more and more brown, while your compi becomes more and more bright

06 June 2019, 10:41	#6
UberFreak Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: the world Posts: 439	Its not a new method, been reported in other places some years back. Some people who tried it back then also reported that the items yellowed again quite quickly and became very brittle. Seems like there's no magic solution to yellowing

06 June 2019, 10:50	#7
Tigerskunk Inviyya Dude! Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: Amiga Island Posts: 2,773	It kind of works. But depending on the machine needs some time. My A600 was super white after like a few hours in the sun. But my A1200 has accumulated like 20 hours of bright sunlight, and still isn't completely white again.

11 June 2019, 01:39	#10
Foebane Banned Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Cardiff, UK Age: 51 Posts: 2,871	No wonder PC manufacturers did away with beige cases and used more metal in the chassis, and only black plastic for the front plate - harder for it to go yellow, then. Imagine an all-metal Amiga case shaped like an A500!

12 June 2019, 09:27	#13
gimbal cheeky scoundrel Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Spijkenisse/Netherlands Age: 42 Posts: 6,917	No, I never saw the CDTV or the CD32 as part of the Amiga lineup, they were other Commodore products. And quite frankly, closer to being actual toys.

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