craigm71 Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 So I been working on the Retr0bright on my second Colecovision Adam and I wanted to post some of my results and my thoughts: First, the Adam is a hard unit to Retr0bright, this is because the unit is two toned and the stickers. I don't like to remove them so it was much harder to do this. You might want to compare my First and second Adam posts if you need to catch up on this and see the starting pics The first Adam I bought was from http://ann.hollowdreams.com/ and you can see that topic here: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/210378-new-coleco-adam-owner/ This is the second Adam I bought from Craigslist: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/210616-new-coleco-adam-owner-part-two/ In the pictures, the parts on the right will be the second Adam (the Retr0bright one), the pics that the units are stacked, the whiter one is the retr0bright item Some things to note: 1. I used the http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/Retr0Bright+Gel setup: Merlin's Original Recipe 2. I used hydrogen peroxide at around 14% 3. Everything that was originally white (the main case, keyboard shell, top plates) turned out AWESOME! Not an issue anywhere. 4. The Keyboard was a straggle for me, while it looks better, the main keys turned out bone white while the rest turned out perfect. 5. The grey items like the front plate turned out bad, you can see the splotches and I am not sure why though I think I should of had my hydrogen peroxide lower. 6. I did the sun and UV light, the sun whitened it faster but it was hard to keep the mixture wet. The UV was easy to keep moist but did not seem to work as well. 7. While the joysticks look great, the knob did not come out well. (Next time I would do the bottom out in the sun, the top in UV light) I hope this gives you a basic idea...if anyone has questions, please ask!!!! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 looks good, but the splotychyness on the side is why I avoid the high powered stuff ... dollar store mixes and plenty of patience is worth it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew180 Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Looks nice, but from what I have read, and IIRC, the problem with the "yellowing" is with the plastic itself. To clean it up you have to take off a layer to get to the original color, but then you expose that new layer and in time it will yellow too. Are you adding a protection layer to the case after making it white again? Also, some plastic will discolor all the way through, so you can't "remove" the yellow per se, you have to change its color (and only on the surface). Sadly it still does not help with the problem of the plastic getting brittle though. Here is what I remember reading several years ago (gotta love information that survives for so long online!) http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/189 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIAD Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 The issue that I see is that the beige colored sections of the ADAM Memory Console (front snap on, the top of the Data Drive and door, the reset buttons, the cartridge flap door and the Expansion Interface door) all look grey now. Is this due to where you took the pictures and the lighting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigm71 Posted May 20, 2013 Author Share Posted May 20, 2013 Nope...that is from the Retr0bright...it was a great learning experience and I might do it on another Adam, but two things I will do different: 1. I will NOT retr0bright the grey panels, the become off white and its not a good look 2. I will use a lower % of hydrogen peroxide (maybe 9%), I think 14% is too high. It might take longer but that's ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqoon Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 Do retrobrighted pieces yellow again in time? Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 yes unless you use a uv protectant clear coat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigm71 Posted May 24, 2013 Author Share Posted May 24, 2013 I am almost hoping for that on this run...then I can try again...then use a clear coat on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telengard Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I'm hoping to try retrobright out on my Adam keyboard (some of the keys are pretty yellowed). I noticed in your picture that the keys towards the middle are more gray than bone. Was the whitening uneven or is it just an artifact of the picture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiLic0ne t0aD Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 That looks pretty good. Unfortunately I don't have an ADAM but think this would probably work out good on my yellowing Nintendos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigm71 Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 Yep, anything like that would work, just take it slow with the treatment, I was too aggressive on mine which caused "streaking" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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