Tips/Tricks/Products Used In Restoration

[+Stephen]

Here's one thing i've been trying and so far, it has worked great. Vaseline!

 

Grab a rag, lint free, wipe vaseline over the plastics , rubbers etc. Only a small amount and keep lightly rubbing it in. You don't want an oily surface.

 

I've cleaned an Atari 400 and did this and it came up beautifully. I've also looked into Vaseline and it is a chemicaly neutral product, so, it shoudn't do any damage to the plastics and it leaves a thin protective film over the computer.

 

So far, it's worked great and I have the computer stored in plastic and in a box. It's been like this for about 6 months now, no sweating or any change in appearance from what I can see.

 

I've even had words to my father inlaw who's an industrial chemist and he seems to think it's be a good protectant, not against UV though. So, it's a cheap way to protect your gear.

Wonder if it's good for protecting skin?

[Spurge]

Here's one thing i've been trying and so far, it has worked great. Vaseline!

 

Grab a rag, lint free, wipe vaseline over the plastics , rubbers etc. Only a small amount and keep lightly rubbing it in. You don't want an oily surface.

 

I've cleaned an Atari 400 and did this and it came up beautifully. I've also looked into Vaseline and it is a chemicaly neutral product, so, it shoudn't do any damage to the plastics and it leaves a thin protective film over the computer.

 

So far, it's worked great and I have the computer stored in plastic and in a box. It's been like this for about 6 months now, no sweating or any change in appearance from what I can see.

 

I've even had words to my father inlaw who's an industrial chemist and he seems to think it's be a good protectant, not against UV though. So, it's a cheap way to protect your gear.

Wonder if it's good for protecting skin?

Don't know about Burt, but my Atari looks as good as new lol

[MEtalGuy66]

Heh. wait till dust starts sticking to it.. especially in the "cracks"..

 

Thats an excellent idea to use right before you sell a machine. That way it gives it that "new plastic" look.

Alot of "new in box" ataris Ive seen almost look like theres a light coat of oil on the plastic from the factory.

Edited December 21, 2010 by MEtalGuy66

[Spurge]

Heh. wait till dust starts sticking to it.. especially in the "cracks"..

 

Thats an excellent idea to use right before you sell a machine. That way it gives it that "new plastic" look.

Alot of "new in box" ataris Ive seen almost look like theres a light coat of oil on the plastic from the factory.

 

I thought that might start to happen also, but it hasn't. The coat of vaseline is only very thin, then you wipe off with another dry cloth. You end up only with a very thin film of it on the plastics. Enough to give it some protection but not feel oily.

[flashjazzcat]

I'm currently testing some anti-UV photo fixing spray which should give a better (certainly less greasy) finish to Armourall. I'll post a pic of the 600XL case when done, then see what it looks like in six months' time...

[fibrewire]

I'd definitely be interested to see the results. I have a few A8s yet to restore. A spray on stabilizer (other than polyurethane) would be great!

[flashjazzcat]

So far, I only sprayed a small test area on the underside of the 600XL - just to judge the finish. It's exactly the same as the rest of the case (a nice muted satin), so I'll go ahead and do the whole thing at the weekend.

[svenski]

Let us know from where and how much that spray is

[nonner242]

Let us know from where and how much that spray is

 

 

Id like to know too.

[jaybird3rd]

Here's one that I've used successfully on classic computers:

 

Sureguard Archival UV Protective, Semi-Matte Print Spray (from Amazon)

 

I used this on an Apple ][ after giving it a successful Retr0Brite treatment about a year and a half ago. I recently pulled that Apple ][ out of storage again, and it still looks exactly the same. The surface looks and feels just like ordinary plastic; it isn't greasy or slippery at all.

[svenski]

Thanks Jaybird!

[flashjazzcat]

This is the one I bought (from an eBay dealer):

 

 

The finish is satin - not matte or gloss! I was careful about this when selecting the prodcuct. The Atari cases do not have a matte finish. This spray is a perfect match.

[stevem00]

What about cracked cases or ones where a piece has been broken off (and gone)? Do you folks just chuck them in the recycling bin and part out the computer? At the moment I have an A800 with a piece missing from the RESET button guard and a chunk missing from a corner.

 

stevem

[flashjazzcat]

I cannibalize them for use in XM301/1064 case conversions for SIO2SDs...

[stevem00]

Didn't find any refs to this product here, so this might be useful to some of you restorers.

 

Now that the supplies of NOS plastic case parts are drying up, we have to fix the busted ones. In this case, I had a cartridge door for an A400 with one of the hinge pins broken off (and gone). Using a product called Plastex, I was able to take an impression of the same pin from another door and create a new one. It worked surprisingly well (even though I was a bit clumsy in the application).

 

The kit comes with a powder/liquid mixture and a kind of tough silly putty that you heat and shape around the missing part, then you transfer the impression to the broken area and fill in the lost part. If you want to try this stuff, look up Plastex. Works with a lot of other types of repairs and they even include a mini-CD with videos...

[+wood_jl]

I just wanted to get this U.S. paint into the thread. I had mentioned it in one of the ST threads, I think it was, but it belongs in this thread.

 

Somewhere on this forum, someone recommended "Testors Light Sea Gray" for a close approximation to the XE/ST gray. However, I could not find that ANYWHERE. Must just be my region, because the selection of Testors brand model paint was only a couple of cans, like black and white.

 

However, this brand.....

 

 

 

 

....is also called "Light Sea Gray," so I am wondering if it's just Testors, rebranded? Who knows. I painted an ST disk drive, and it looked fantastic.

 

I can't be sure if it's exactly the right color - and by that, I mean that if you painted a 130XE (or ST, for that matter) with it, would the function keys match the body? But for an external peripheral (all of which is being painted) it is quite a pleasing result.

 

On the other hand, before I paint something (as was the case with the disk drive) it was so bad (beyond restoration) that it looks so good afterwards, it would be worth doing, even if the function keys were a little off. But it IS very close.

 

 

edit: It is by Testors, as this shows.... (and this color is on the bottom row)

 

http://www.testors.com/category/135243/American_FS_Enamel_Paint

Edited September 20, 2011 by wood_jl

[Welsh Wizard]

 

Alot of "new in box" ataris Ive seen almost look like theres a light coat of oil on the plastic from the factory.

That will be from the silicon spray used on the molds to help the case molding come free from the mold itself, Plastic machine operators get liberal with it when the molding starts to stick, instead of a good clean and polish of the mold

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Injection_molding#Lubrication_and_cooling

[+Stephen]

Alot of "new in box" ataris Ive seen almost look like theres a light coat of oil on the plastic from the factory.

That's Armor All - great protectant and "shiner" I use on all my Atari gear

[flashjazzcat]

Here's progress on the 1084S-D1 monitor I received (damaged) through the post a few months back and then further ruined by over-zealous (and futile) peroxide treatment.

 

The bezel had a nasty crack in the corner where the courier had dropped it, so that was heaved shut, glued and filled:

 

 

The drop-down flap also had the corner knocked off, so that was reattached and filled:

 

 

Both areas sanded:

 

 

 

And after the first coat of satin porcelain paint:

 

 

 

 

Masking that bezel (Krylon Fusion "River Rock" to be applied there) is gonna be fun.

[+Stephen]

Very nice. What did you use as filler?

[flashjazzcat]

Rapide Epoxy Putty. It's one of these sausage-shaped things from which you cut a slice and mix it up. The hardening agent is the sausage in the roll. It's not easy to handle, but it seems to do the job. The biggest concern with this monitor is that the crack might open up again when the tube is put back in. I should have done the filling with the tube in place, but we'll see... I reinforced the bezel at the back with lumps of epoxy.

[unholy]

That looks like a very good match to the original color. What brand/type of paint is it?

[flashjazzcat]

That looks like a very good match to the original color. What brand/type of paint is it?

 

It's PlastiKote Porcelain Super Satin. I wanted Grey Beige but couldn't get hold of it in the high street, and I think it would have been too dark anyway. The Krylon River Rock is for the bezel, as I mentioned. Just got a lovely bit of "crackle glaze" on the back of the case during the third coat, so that bit'll have to be rubbed down...

 

Here's the best picture I could find of a "new" 1084S-D1:

 

 

Colour matching is a notoriously tricky business, though.

[flashjazzcat]

Back done, masking removed:

 

 

 

Gotta wait a day or two now for the paint to harden so I can mask off the bezel.

[flashjazzcat]

Trim done, badge on - just gotta put the guts back in now:

 

 

Nearest I have to "before" pics:

 

 

 

Edited April 6, 2012 by flashjazzcat