68kMLA Classic Interface

This is a version of the 68kMLA forums for viewing on your favorite old mac. Visitors on modern platforms may prefer the main site.

Click here to select a new forum.
Aiii. Ugly paint!
Posted by: mactjaap on 2020-04-18 04:34:47
Yes, sorry, I wandered off on a side-track.  My bad 
No problem! Retro  philosophy is also interesting! What to do and what not to do!

Posted by: LaPorta on 2020-04-18 04:34:50
Got it, sorry. I indeed thought the paint was gone and you wanted to know what to do about the remaining case yellowing.

Posted by: joshc on 2020-04-18 05:04:47
Sorry, this is probably my bad, as I was the one who brought up retrobrighting to start with. I merely suggested it as I have an inkling that the bleaching could somehow help with the remaining faint paint that's left?

Posted by: mactjaap on 2020-04-18 05:14:28
Ahhh. Thanks. Could work.... but I’m a little afraid of retrobright.... so I leave it like this or I will try another way of cleaning this last residu. 

Posted by: OleLila on 2020-04-18 06:07:17
Mixed results with retro bright.....Apple Iic looked fantastic about 18 months ago after retrobright.....now its clearly yellowed again in an office environment , maybe not quite as bad as before retrobright....but  a Powermac 7500 done at about the same time on the same table holding up well (color under sticker still matches the rest of case)

Posted by: joshc on 2020-04-18 07:01:43
Mixed results with retro bright.....Apple Iic looked fantastic about 18 months ago after retrobright.....now its clearly yellowed again in an office environment , maybe not quite as bad as before retrobright....but  a Powermac 7500 done at about the same time on the same table holding up well (color under sticker still matches the rest of case)
Did you apply UV protectant spray to the Apple IIc after retrobrighting it?

Posted by: OleLila on 2020-04-18 07:32:33
have done several macs in the last couple of years....can't remember

Posted by: SE30_Neal on 2020-04-20 13:32:31
Just be careful with it if you do go that route. I did the Salon peroxide + water and heat method and my mouse ended up like Casper :/  


But I've seen good results from others who've done it. I did the fascia of my 4400 under a blacklight, and that was okay, if a bit time-consuming (painting on more paste every so often). Most people have luck with the plastic wrap or plastic bag, but that seemed just as labor intensive. What I liked about the blacklight method was that it was SLOW and I could control by the hour what level of "bleaching" level I could achieve.

A well-documented series of tests performed by a university(?) in Denmark seem to suggest that in the long-term it might to more harm than good for the integrity of the plastic itself, but for the short term, aesthetic desires, it's probably the only option to get the original coloration back. I can't find that study at the moment, but it's out there...
Yes i plastic wrapped all mine, just painted the hair bleach 40% On, wrapped it and turned it every 30 minutes in the garden. Re applied if it had dried out and left outside between 3-6 hours depending on the sun (I'm in the uk so not much of that lol) looks great still after a few years.

Posted by: jessenator on 2020-04-20 13:49:44
That was the water-dilution heat method (used a small container with a heated blanket) and as you can also see, some of it wasn't fully submerged... :/  the other downside, not visible, is that the plastic on the button will deform if you're not careful. Mine was warped to the point of it always hitting the mouse button switch. Needed to use a heat gun, and even then, it's kind of terrible to use.

I'm actually plastic-wrap-coating mine as we speak. Already making a marked difference at 40 minutes, but then again I'm *almost* in the Southwest of the States, so even now we have plenty of of sun.

< 2