How Retr0brite was developed
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(New page: ==The “Retr0brite” Project== '''How to deal with the “not-so-mellow yellow” of old computers and consoles''' Anyone who has dug their old computer or console out of the cupboard o...)
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Revision as of 22:31, 9 February 2009
The “Retr0brite” Project
How to deal with the “not-so-mellow yellow” of old computers and consoles Anyone who has dug their old computer or console out of the cupboard or loft for some retro gaming will probably have noticed that it maybe hasn’t worn to well with the test of time. The plastics these machines were made of is called ABS and to make it flame retardant (just in case it catches fire after a marathon session) the plastics manufacturers added chemicals which made the plastic turn yellow or, even worse, brown. It was originally thought that the yellowing was permanent and that only solution to this was to paint the plastic in its original colour and cover the problem up. However, a chance discovery was made in March 2008, by the CBM Museum at Wuppertal in Germany, that immersing parts in a solution of hydrogen peroxide could partially reverse the process. This was initially taken up by the Amiga community in Germany ([1]) and the idea eventually found its way to the English Amiga Board ([2]), where a madcap collection of chemists, plastics engineers and retro hackers managed to perfect this concept with help from other forums and put it on steroids.
Dave, aka Merlin, the chemist behind the project, explains. “I came across the use of peroxide in July 2008 when Kristian95 told us about what they were doing with it over at a1k.org. I was intrigued by this, as I am a former industrial chemist. I am also a plant safety manager by trade and, purely by coincidence, around that time I read about a dust explosion that had occurred with a chemical called TAED, which is the booster in the ‘active oxygen’ laundry products.”
“This got me thinking, and after some really full-on serious chemistry discussions with other EAB members, like rkauer in Brazil, who is a plastics Engineer and my good friend Zetr0, who endured endless phone calls from me and some epic threads on EAB about the possible causes of the yellowing, we had arrived at the theory that it was the bromine in the flame retardant that was the cause. We also knew that Ultra Violet light was another factor. Having identified the culprit, the next stage was to try to develop and perfect a means of treating the plastic and reversing the yellowing without damaging the plastic. Being a former industrial chemist helped me tremendously, in understanding what was going on at molecular level and develop a treatment process to reverse the effect.”
“The problem was finally cracked in late July 2008 with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, a small amount of an “Oxy” laundry booster as a catalyst and a UV lamp. Proof of this concept was demonstrated on EAB by Tonyyeb, Chiark and myself.
