Tips/Tricks/Products Used In Restoration

[KubaCZ]

So that's how 1084 is supposed to look Mine is yellowed alot, but it's near old VIC 20 which is yellowed too, so it doesn't look that ugly - I should restore both of them some time

[flashjazzcat]

I don't think that porcelain colour is grey enough, but what the Hell - it's done now and at least I learned to spray-paint large items. I've got three of those monitors now and they are all very different colours.

[+Stephen]

I don't think that porcelain colour is grey enough, but what the Hell - it's done now and at least I learned to spray-paint large items. I've got three of those monitors now and they are all very different colours.

Just pretend they're NTSC (Never The Same Colour) monitors

[flashjazzcat]

Just pretend they're NTSC (Never The Same Colour) monitors

 

Good idea!

 

Fitted the guts and it still works:

 

 

 

That's another 1084S saved from the trash...

[unholy]

I don't think that porcelain colour is grey enough

 

It sure seems closer than anything else out there. I keep seeing people on various forums claiming that River Rock is a "dead ringer" for the C64C/C128/A500 case color, but seriously... If you're legally blind, maybe.

 

In any case, nice job. You gotta let us know how the paint stands up to normal wear and tear.

[flashjazzcat]

I don't think that porcelain colour is grey enough

 

It sure seems closer than anything else out there. I keep seeing people on various forums claiming that River Rock is a "dead ringer" for the C64C/C128/A500 case color, but seriously... If you're legally blind, maybe.

 

Yep - my tin of "River Rock" turned out to be gloss, and thus useless for this job, but having tested it I see no similarity between that colour and a C64C or A500.

 

That said - it's pretty hard to establish the precise colour of the original untarnished hardware (photos being deceptive) let alone the exact shade of tins of spray paint, so if you get something that looks right, it's a success.

 

In any case, nice job. You gotta let us know how the paint stands up to normal wear and tear.

 

Plastkote is pretty tough stuff, so I expect it to be durable. It's a little more matte than I would have liked, but that's probably down to my super-thin coats.

[flashjazzcat]

No peroxide involved here - just a toothbrush, nail brush, soapy water and a touch of CIF cleaner:

 

[andym00]

Surprisingly nice results.. I might have to give this a go on the next victim, although the keys still look fairly hazardous to human health

 

Actually, is it just the pictures being in different lighting, that makes the keys in the post-scrub picture seem to have lost some of their shine ? They look much more matte than the original picture..

[flashjazzcat]

Actually, is it just the pictures being in different lighting, that makes the keys in the post-scrub picture seem to have lost some of their shine ? They look much more matte than the original picture..

 

It's just the lighting. I didn't wash the keyboard - I just removed the dust with a soft-brush and it was good to go.

[ClausB]

Just finished restoring another 800. Like the last one I did, its keyboard had many broken solder joints, visible with a magnifier as dark circles around the pins. Resoldering fixed that. It also had a bad SYSTEM RESET switch. After desoldering the switch and cutting along the seam around its base, I found that the spring inside had shifted and was not making contact at one end. The switch is unusual as it has a coil spring mounted sideways with two straight ends that touch the contacts when pressed down. Normally hooks on the plunger hold the ends in place but one end had come out and got bent. It took some fiddling but I fixed it and glued it back together. Job done.

[w1k]

3d printing.. maybe new way to make new cases

[jacobus]

Is there a safe (easy would be good too!) way to remove stickers from software boxes? With the aim to discard the sticker and save the box. I've heard of using a hair dryer but I don't know how long to apply or what side effects might be.

 

thanks!

[slx]

I got a 400 with a top case broken in several places. I'd like to try to glue it back together. Would superglue (cyan acrylate) be the best choice? Thanks for your help!

Didn't find any source for top cases, neither Best nor B&C list them. Did I overlook something?

Edited January 28, 2014 by slx

[+Stephen]

I got a 400 with a top case broken in several places. I'd like to try to glue it back together. Would superglue (cyan acrylate) be the best choice? Thanks for your help!

Didn't find any source for top cases, neither Best nor B&C list them. Did I overlook something?

I would imagine that would be your best bet. When beetle made his Atari "laptop", that is what he used to glue the various case pieces together. I have noticed that it "bleaches" certain plastics though, the repair will almost certainly not be invisible.

[Tezz]

I got a 400 with a top case broken in several places. I'd like to try to glue it back together. Would superglue (cyan acrylate) be the best choice? Thanks for your help!

Didn't find any source for top cases, neither Best nor B&C list them. Did I overlook something?

I would suggest going for a two part epoxy.

[flashjazzcat]

I just fixed the missing lug on the drop-down flap on the aforementioned spray-painted 1084S thus:

 

 

Drilled a 2mm dia hole about 1.5-2mm into the back of the cover (so it didn't go right through to the front), and then drove in a screw with a slightly wider thread (not self-tapping: the thread has to cut in immediately). It's surprisingly sturdy.

[cimerians]

A Hair Product this guy uses seems to do the trick VERY well on extreme yellowing consoles etc:

 

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=899984

 

Hairdresser hydrogen peroxide developer creme

[flashjazzcat]

I've been using that stuff for years with good results.

[Atari-Collector]

Just reading though this posting and didn't see anybody mention what I have used.. So here it goes.

 

I have had good luck with using antibacterial "Wet Ones" wipes (the on with the pink top). They are sold in a plastic bottle that you put a wipe out the top. (Sold in Walmart near the pharmacy)

They do not attack the plastic or paint and do a good job cleaning off dirt and grunge. I started using these on ham radios I bought used (because a lot of those old hams have a way of just making radios gross...maybe why lost interest in radios..) So they take care of the dirt and germs.

 

I've used the wipes on my 2600, 600xl, all my cartridges and so on. A cotton swaps wetted from the extra liquid in the container is good for cleaning out the grills and corners a wipe won't go in. A popsicle stick or coffee stir dtick can also be used to push the wipes in between keys and in slots. When I clean contacts, I tend to use rubbing alcohol and dry it off fast.

 

So I hope this is useful to somebody.

[Level42]

Just went through this thread to see if there were some tips I could use.

 

What I noted is that there were a lot of tips using dishwashers and sometimes also pretty aggresive stuff to clean cases but no-one mentioned using these:

 

Now these are the "orignals" but there are plenty of other brands (and non brands) available from about anywhere.

 

What they really are is simply chunks of melamine foam. They work as "microscopic sandpaper": http://home.howstuffworks.com/magic-eraser.htm

 

I discovered these through my hobby of restoring arcade machines. I have cleaned up f.i. the side of my Centipede and Gravitar machines and they really are "magic"....the sides didn't only get really clean but brought a whole "freshness" to the colors ! Of course this is because you "sand" off a tiny bit of the top layer so yes you have to be a bit careful with painted stuff, but on Atari 8 bit cases there is no need to worry at all.

In fact I've done it with all my machines with great outcome. The worst that can happen is that you reduce the yellowing a bit (if it's very much on the surface only).

 

The best thing is that you really only need a bit of water. I've also experimented with alcohol but it's just not better than with simple water.

 

They wear out rather quickly but they are also very cheap.

 

I've bought a big box from Korea (Ebay) about 3 years ago but recently my wife picked up a set at the local Action store for just 1 euro, 5 pieces, they are thicker and sturdier than the one's I've had from Korea and seem to last longer.

 

They are often called "power sponge" or something like that here. Note that they are NOT the SotchBrite like sponges you often see, those scratch like crazy !

 

http://www.dragonslairfans.com/smfor/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4483.0;attach=8541;image

Edited November 13, 2014 by Level42

[plazma]

I also use them. Cheap and works great.

[flashjazzcat]

Of course this is because you "sand" off a tiny bit of the top layer so yes you have to be a bit careful with painted stuff, but on Atari 8 bit cases there is no need to worry at all.

Um... these take the top layer of plastic off and therefore completely alter the texture and finish of the case if not used extremely judiciously. They can be handy for cleaning up "blooming" after a botched Retr0Brite job, but I wouldn't recommend Magic Erasers as your first port of call when de-yellowing an Atari.

[kogden]

Yeah, definitely be careful with the magic erasers. They can screw up just as much as they fix and no amount of further magic erasing will fix the damage.

 

Definitely DO NOT use them on glossy plastic.

 

Has anyone figured out how to make a retr0brite job permanent? With most of mine, the yellowing is back a few months later.

[Omega-TI]

Nice thread! Good information NEVER goes out of date.

I like this thread so much I linked to it from one of my blog entries so some of my fellow TI'ers can benefit from the good stuff posted here.

[flashjazzcat]

Here's another top tip, newly discovered. I've been working on a 600XL whose case someone had tried to clean with acetone before presumably giving up when he realised the textured finish had dissolved off the top of the case leaving two ugly, smooth patches. I treated discolouration with peroxide first and once the plastic was thoroughly cleaned I decided to risk stippling the plastic with more acetone using a 1" wide flat ended household paint brush. It was pretty alarming to see the plastic crazing on the surface, but I held my nerve until the stippling started to work. I then dabbed everything down with a piece of kitchen towel damp with acetone, then matted the rather shiny finish by scrubbing it with abrasive cleaner. One further peroxide treatment to even out the colour, and this is the result:

 

 

 

 

Of course it would be more meaningful with "before" photos, and perhaps the owner has some he can send in. But the area between the badge and the cart doors on the left and a large patch to the right of the cart doors was rubbed completely smooth. Whilst a factory finish would be very hard to achieve, this result is more than passable at normal viewing distance, such that I almost mixed up this one with the case from another machine.