Tips/Tricks/Products Used In Restoration

[Scyzor]

Is there any way to restore red ATARI badge on XE version? I'm looking to get it from a faded out state to closes red color as possible.

[Zap!]

Although I've never restored an Atari 8-bit computer (at least until Friday, when the 800XL arrives in the mail), I have restored many other systems, such as an Atari Mega and hard drive, Genesis, Turbo Grafx, Atari 1050 DD, many, many controllers, etc.

 

What I would like to say first is that "Goo Gone" has never been necessary with me. 91% or above peroxide gets off anything sticky if used correctly. Here's what I do to clean THE OUTSIDE ONLY (the inside is a whole new ballgame that can be detailed in another post):

 

1) Disassemble everything first. Take pictures so that you know exactly what goes where. This will help you tremendously.

 

2) After it is apart, make sure there are no electrical components still connected. If there are stickers, remove them with 91% or above peroxide. Pour it on top of the sticker and on a towel. Wipe until it's all off (and it will come all off). Now, put the casing it in the sink with the drain plug in. Make sure you're wearing white, or at the very least old clothing, because you may splash. Pour two cups of bleach (yes, bleach, don't listen to the naysayers, it brings out the best in coloring, while killing any and all possible germs) all over it. Wait two minutes, and fill with warm water and detergent, making sure the system is fully submerged. Let it sit for 30 minutes.

 

3) Get one of those scrub brushes with a handle, and pour some detergent on it. Now scrub, scrub, scrub! Get all of the cracks and crevices. Repeat on both sides.

 

4) Drain and rinse. If there are still scuff-marks, use Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Rinse again.

 

5) Towel-dry as much as you can. Leave the system to dry in a dish rack until it is 100% dry.

 

6) Put back together and enjoy.

Edited November 1, 2017 by Zap!

[+DrVenkman]

What I would like to say first is that "Goo Gone" has never been necessary with me. 91% or above peroxide gets off anything sticky if used correctly.

I’ve seen you post this twice recently. Please tell me you mean 91% isopropyl alcohol, not peroxide! Those are two very different substances; in fact, I don’t think you can even buy peroxide of that purity without going straight to an industrial chemical supplier, and you’d probably need an environmental permit these days; that stuff is a hell of an oxidizer and can rust, corrode or outright burn almost anything it touches.

[Zap!]

I’ve seen you post this twice recently. Please tell me you mean 91% isopropyl alcohol, not peroxide! Those are two very different substances; in fact, I don’t think you can even buy peroxide of that purity without going straight to an industrial chemical supplier, and you’d probably need an environmental permit these days; that stuff is a hell of an oxidizer and can rust, corrode or outright burn almost anything it touches.

 

I totally meant 91% isopropyl alcohol! Damn, don't know what I was thinking, at the time of those posts it had been a while since I restored! I wish I could edit it, but AA has a unique time limit for editing. Admin or mods, please edit it to alcohol for me!

[Scooter83]

What is the best way to pop the keys off a xegs keyboard when retrobriting them. I heard of a key cap puller but is that the safest way ? Are the xegs keys harder to take off compared to the 800 and the xl line of computers?

[plazma]

What is the best way to pop the keys off a xegs keyboard when retrobriting them. I heard of a key cap puller but is that the safest way ? Are the xegs keys harder to take off compared to the 800 and the xl line of computers?

Buy a cheap keycap puller from eBay. The long wire model works great. It pulls up do there is minimal stress to the plungers.

[mechanerd]

Here's some tips right from the workbench where I used to repair electronics for Tandy Service back in 1992-1996.

Let the molecules do some of the work.

Plastic monitor case cleaner for smoker's stain.

 

1 part Windex, 1 part 409 cleaner.

The 409 is a surfactant(soap) like no other for getting rid of oils, foods, cheeto crumbs, and tends to remove the nitrosamines that leach out of the plastic. Especially those yellowed white plastic cases on Apple monitors and Goldstar VGA plastic cases. If you rub it in hard enough or let it soak a few minutes, it can whiten like retrobrite peroxide.

You can also add a part of 99% isopropyl alcohol.

You might need to rinse the resulting debris off with water or 70% alcohol after getting the q-tips out.

 

Use Rain-X instead of pledge, it now works as a great fan and grill cleaner where airflow accumulates dust.

 

 

Add a low flow fan where hot areas are. There are cheap 5V and 12V fans that can be operated on 5V for less noise.
Or, add a potentionmeter in the circuit to make the fan adjustable.

A lot of audiophiles at my electronics store would line a cabinet or rack of equipment with fans with grills or filters. provides extra cooling tripling the lifespan the chips and hot parts. I just retired and 8 year old PC motherboard that had plenty of airflow. Not because it electromechanically failed, but it was just plain to slow for today's software.

 

Put heat sinks on the ram and ICs. just in case and save the gold bonding wires from flexing to death from hot to cold cycling. Even the 1970s ICs suffer from this. Use aluminium or copper sheet to aluminium heat sinks. The chipsset IC heatsinks from dead IBM PC motherboards work great.

You can permanently glue heat sinks on instead of using clips with JBweld on the edges of the top of the chip and your favorite thermal transfer compound in the middle. Got a hot, funny shaped transistor that doesn't have a heatsink made for it? Now you do.

 

Hot glue in a stick from gun is available at any hardware store. It will adhere lose wires, and wire wrap mods, and is recommended for stabilizing those mods from breaking off at the solder joint. The older PC motherboards had them and it worked. Its low density polyurethane, LDPE, and will adhere aluminium shielding to plastic with it being removable. Heck the stuff comes in colors and does make a nice purple glow under UV leds. :}

Edited December 4, 2017 by mechanerd

[_The Doctor__]

[+Stephen]

Thanks for that - I've been laughing for the past minute and it's been a terrible day.

[atariry]

Does anyone know where to buy the screws used in the bottom of an Atari 800 case (service manual says "Remove the five screws (no. 6 32x3/8) from Bottom Cover")? Ideally UK, possibly EU.

I tried Ebay UK and Google, but only found Ebay US or Hong Kong suppliers.

A recent purchase had only one genuine black screw, 2 missing, and 2 wood screws!

[fujidude]

Does anyone know where to buy the screws used in the bottom of an Atari 800 case (service manual says "Remove the five screws (no. 6 32x3/8) from Bottom Cover")? Ideally UK, possibly EU.

I tried Ebay UK and Google, but only found Ebay US or Hong Kong suppliers.

A recent purchase had only one genuine black screw, 2 missing, and 2 wood screws!

 

Right, looks like they stuck with the inch standard for the screws even for units destined for countries which only use metric based sizes. Here in the U.S. we use some of each depending on what you're dealing with. I wish it was just one standard (preferably metric). That being said, both inch based and metric based hardware is readily available here in the States. I wonder how much it would cost for a private individual to mail some to wherever it is that you are.

 

Interestingly with our inch system, there actually numbers assigned to the sizes, up to size 10, then it goes to 0.25" or 1/4" size. So the size is number 6, with 32 threads per inch pitch, and 3/8" long. What kind of head would it need?

 

EDIT: OMG, wood screws used!?!? That probably mucked things up for the holes they were used in.

Edited October 31, 2018 by fujidude

[jowi]

Got a 2nd 600XL, just in case i needed parts. Bought it unseen... not my best decision as you can see... one of the shield's bolt is rusted stuck, so i can't see how bad the board is. Might not be bad but you never know... i think this thing has been in a moist addict or something for years. Luckily i didn't pay much for it... time to get the WD40, baking soda, and some vinagre

[+Stephen]

Got a 2nd 600XL, just in case i needed parts. Bought it unseen... not my best decision as you can see... one of the shield's bolt is rusted stuck, so i can't see how bad the board is. Might not be bad but you never know... i think this thing has been in a moist addict or something for years. Luckily i didn't pay much for it... time to get the WD40, baking soda, and some vinagre

This my friends, is why we should ALWAYS AND FOREVER, avoid moist addicts. You never know what you'll catch.

 

Sorry - couldn't resist.

[jowi]

Ok, i see it now. Attic... damn

[_The Doctor__]

basement and shed too can be quite moist too! now a nice deep dark closet is almost always a safe bet

Edited November 4, 2018 by _The Doctor__

[jowi]

Removed most of the rust of the shield with some soaking in vinagre overnight and brushing it with a steel brush, but the shield needs some more tlc. It's now baremetal so it will rust again soon. I'm thinking of just spray painting it silver or gunmetal. The rust on the plastic casing was removed with some baking soda and a toothbrush. The mobo was only slightly corroded on the outer sides where the shield was attached, cleaned it, powered it up (without a monitor/tv, i'm waiting for an extra DVI board, and a cheap RF-to-HDMI converter in case the DVI board doesn't work properly with my tv/monitors) the red light came on, so it does something, that's a good sign

 

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/RF-to-HDMI-All-standard-Converter-Analog-TV-Receiver-Adapter-Remote-Control-100-240V-Converters-2018/32903847413.html

Edited November 6, 2018 by jowi

[_The Doctor__]

these either get chrome or zinc electroplating, you can do at home easy, I've posted links about it on AA...

The zinc paint method is quick and easy but can flake and short stuff out over time...

[jowi]

I've ordered this replacement logo/badge from ebay: https://www.ebay.de/itm/Atari-600-XL-Label-Logo-Sticker-Badge-brushed-aluminum-48-x-9-mm-287/182185824896 but it is a lot thicker then the original. It doesn't look exactly the same as well, the lettering is a bit bolder. Is there a better alternative for a replacement logo/badge?

Edited November 12, 2018 by jowi

[flashjazzcat]

If you have a laser printer, glossy photo paper and some aluminium strip, you can make your own case badge. Look up toner transfer (basically printing a reverse image and then ironing it into the metal). Works well.

[_The Doctor__]

mirrored, reversed... it's all so confusing!

[jowi]

After removing the old badge, i saw that the slot for the badge had a raised platform, chiseled that out carefully, so that the new, thicker badge would lower a bit. It is still not leveled like the old badge, but it looks ok. If i had a milling machine i could have taken out some more, but by hand it is a bit risky...

[Tezz]

Yes, those replacement case badges are way too thick with their plastic backing. I carefully sanded mine down last summer (800XL and 600XL) and used 3M 467 tape to attach them permanently.

 

Here's a before and after photo..

[Tezz]

Thanks to __The Doctor__ for the correction...

 

The cartridge flaps, console key tops and case trims on the XLs are iridite treated brushed aluminum. Where the surface of the console key tops have become worn away with use in previous years as mentioned earlier in this thread I've polished them back to shiny Aluminium with metal polish. Last year I bought a 600XL which wasn't in the best shape, the console keys tops were scratched, worn and affected by bad storage as was the case trim. This time I set up a small wooden jig and sanded the console keys down with low grit wet n' dry paper working up to a higher 1500 grit until all of the marks were removed, I then gave them an anodized look with a re-anodizing spray paint. I masked and carefully sanded the case trim without removing them and gave them the same paint treatment. Everything turned out quite nice in the end. If I had other things to paint I would have given them a 2k clear coat as well but they look nice as they are and will probably wear at least as well as the original surface.

Edited February 8, 2019 by Tezz

[_The Doctor__]

brushed.

[jowi]

I've used contact spray on the connectors of a mainboard, but used it a bit heavily i guess; i sprayed part of the mainboard and chips etc as well, and it leaves a greasy residu on the board... how do i clean this?