Retrobrite Failure

[Unknown_K]

I think those swirl marks are from the plastic when it was injection molded and they show up when you over do it with oxidizers.

 

[SE30_Neal]

I think there is a level of that in the plastics to start with, i would re-do it with a light application and keep checking it every 12-20 minutes and also do on a not so sunny day or on your kitchen table by a window

 

[AlpineRaven]

I've been retrobrightening - same thing happened to me as above, lesson learnt - ever since Ive refused to do it in the sunlight, I'll do it under UV lamp and it doesnt not cause streaking.

I did do submerge retorbrightening under the sun and had good results.

At the end of the day - I'd rather do it under UV.
Cheers

AP

 

[SE30_Neal]

Not had a problem under uv either but in the uk the weather is rubbish so had to do it inside anyway and that worked i think the uv light was £10 so wasn’t expensive 

 

[Bolle]

I did some experiments with brighting up some plastics as well. I started with two M0118 keyboards to get a feeling for the whole process.

Was just using 12% hydrogen peroxide cream and did spread a very thin layer of the cream using a fine paintbrush. I was using a bigger brush at first but this resulted in fine streaking that is only visible if you look carefully.

After switching to the fine brush there was no streaking at all.

I kept checking back every 5-10 Minutes and reapplied some tiny amount of cream. Doing this for 20 to 40 minutes was already enough. You could see it turning brighter while sitting right next to it.

Top half already brightened and bottom half still how it started:



After the second keyboard turned out well I tried the bucket of one of my SE/30s.

I did each side on its own until they all matched in tone. The back started out more yellow than all the other sides:



I did add a tiny little drop of water to the cream to get an even thinner and more evenly spread layer on there. The key seems to be to get the amount of cream right to prevent streaking.

 

[SE30_Neal]

I didn’t put on a lot either and kept checking every 30 minutes and that worked great

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Does anyone know what I can do to fix this issue? Was the second treatment not strong enough? Pictures of the disaster below:

View attachment 14081

View attachment 14080

It might not be for you, but in this situation I'd go Watchmen all over that Piebald SE/30 case.



Watchmen: http s://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409459/trivia?item=tr0797700

Tombstone mouse is an easy paint job and I'd match your case/rodent to a black KBD in the VT-100 form factor like the ADB MAC-101 or go witha more modern version like the one in the pic. The NumPad deleted PageNav Key column enabled KBD in that pic hooked up over USB/Wombat would be killer.

Custom white decal lettering and you're in the SuperHeroCoolZone/30. []

edit: 3d printed Super RFI level shielding front panel w/o FDD slot optional. What did they call those NSA mods?

 

[SE30_Neal]

I would do it again but under uv, it cant make it any worse 

 

[TjLaZer]

I did some experiments with brighting up some plastics as well. I started with two M0118 keyboards to get a feeling for the whole process.

Was just using 12% hydrogen peroxide cream and did spread a very thin layer of the cream using a fine paintbrush. I was using a bigger brush at first but this resulted in fine streaking that is only visible if you look carefully.

After switching to the fine brush there was no streaking at all.

I kept checking back every 5-10 Minutes and reapplied some tiny amount of cream. Doing this for 20 to 40 minutes was already enough. You could see it turning brighter while sitting right next to it.

I did each side on its own until they all matched in tone. The back started out more yellow than all the other sides:

View attachment 22822

I did add a tiny little drop of water to the cream to get an even thinner and more evenly spread layer on there. The key seems to be to get the amount of cream right to prevent streaking.

This is the way I do it!  But I don't even bother dismantling the units!  I have even done keyboards this way.  Be careful not to have too much on the brush so it doesn't leak inside the case or keys.  Just a light think film is sufficient.  Works great!  Make sure to wipe it down after with some clean soapy water and a lint free cloth.

 

[SE30_Neal]

Yes agree, that works well with small brush and thin layer