How white is the Apple IIc?

[twconstantine]

I am retrobrighting for the first time on my Apple IIc. I am very new to this computer and don’t know how white it’s supposed to be. The photo makes it look whiter than it is in real life, which makes me wonder if all the photos I’m seeing are the same way. It’s currently about the same color as my SE/30. It’s better than it was for sure, but do I keep going?

 

[bibilit]

Looks perfect to me, i used to try to find a spot as original as possible to have a reference for the process.

 

[Snial]

Good question. I have an Apple //c (5.25" disk) and I think it's lighter than an original Mac, but darker than a Mac Plus Platinum. But looking at your image just set me wondering about the design language for the case. It's got to be pre-Snow White, but seems to have elements that are reminiscent of it. Does anyone know?

 

[3lectr1cPPC]

I THINK the IIc is supposed to be whiter than Platinum. It's definitely snow white design language.

 

[Arbee]

The original IIc is a fairly bright white. It's definitely an outlier in terms of Apple case colors. I think early ImageWriter IIs were a matching white, but not much else was. I believe later IIcs were Platinum (the IIc Plus definitely was).

For the OP: I think that's a good result, I wouldn't mess with it further.

 

[Snial]

I THINK the IIc is supposed to be whiter than Platinum. It's definitely snow white design language.

In that case, it's quite a puzzle, because I didn't think "Snow White" appeared until about 1987 (SE / Mac II).

 

[3lectr1cPPC]

The 8-Bit Guy's restoration video from several years ago shows a good reference of the proper color at the end.

 

[twconstantine]

Thank you all! I found a way to add heat to my retrobright setup, so I might add it back in for a couple hours and see. Mine is still a bit too yellow. It doesn’t show up on the camera as beige as it is.

 

[Arbee]

In that case, it's quite a puzzle, because I didn't think "Snow White" appeared until about 1987 (SE / Mac II).

The IIc was the first machine with Snow White design cues. The IIgs and SE had more Snow White elements but were blended with other designs, and the Mac II was the first "pure" Snow White machine.

Snow White design language - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Thank you all! I found a way to add heat to my retrobright setup, so I might add it back in for a couple hours and see. Mine is still a bit too yellow. It doesn’t show up on the camera as beige as it is.

Be careful - retrobright makes the plastic more brittle and also more prone to yellowing in the future. Some people have permanently ruined their cases leaving it go too long or too hot.

 

[twconstantine]

Thank you for the details. I have a later model IIc. It has the memory expansion slot. I have a color composite monitor that came with it. The monitor is currently being treated since it was very yellow. The inside of the monitor is pretty gray, I assume that’s Platinum? So should the IIc match the monitor?

 

[3lectr1cPPC]

Be careful - retrobright makes the plastic more brittle and also more prone to yellowing in the future.

I feel like statements like this are far too general. Different plastics react differently to the treatment, and I feel like it's very rare to see catastrophic issues if you store the plastics properly afterwards.
We luckily have a direct long-term example for the IIc with The 8-Bit Guy's unit. It's had slight re-yellowing since he did the treatment in 2016, but nothing catastrophic.

 

[bigmessowires]

Yeah, I'd be very interested to know the chemistry behind "retrobright will ruin your plastics". I'm not saying it's wrong, but I've never heard an explanation why this should be true. As I vaguely recall, retrobright helps remove some boron that was originally added to the plastic as a fire retardant, but which yellows under exposure to UV light?

 

[twconstantine]

The 8-Bit Guy's restoration video from several years ago shows a good reference of the proper color at the end.

I watched this video and noticed the reset button and the two white buttons next to it are the same color as the case. Mine didn’t get that white. Time for more UV for sure.

 

[twconstantine]

Retrobright is done. Turned out nice!

 

[CC_333]

boron

Bromine, not boron.

I did some retrobrighting back in 2012-2015, and it went OK mostly, although I got splotched Plus and marbled SE/30 bezels for my efforts.

I stopped doing it primarily because it was too much of a chore. Everything I treated is still sound as far as I know.

c

 

[ObeyDaleks]

Retrobright is done. Turned out nice!

Looks really nice!

It’s so hard to appreciate pictures of nice restorations because of the white balance shenanigans. I’m sure yours looks close to original, but then someone takes a picture of a completely yellow/brown one and the picture looks just as good. It’s a shocking difference sometimes between the pic and the actual machine. This issue is weirdly ubiquitous.