Trevellion Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Hello all. I have a couple of Atari 800XL computers that are in good condition apart from one issue that they both have. The little rectangle of aluminium trim that is above the function keys on the right of the computer is missing on one of the computers and badly dented on the other. I know the aluminium trim isn't much thicker that sweet wrapper and is prone to dents but it is a bit of an eyesore on otherwise good looking computers. This is just a shout out in case anyone has a broken 800XL that they use for spares. If anyone has the part in question, I'd be happy to pay a reasonable fee and postage costs. Kind Regards Karl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 You might want to say where you are as postage is not fun.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevellion Posted January 17, 2022 Author Share Posted January 17, 2022 Good idea; forgot about that. I'm in UK, but would pay postage from US if necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 (edited) I just had a look at my spares XL and mine has a big scratch across it otherwise you would have been welcome to it. Only other issue is how do they come off (I've not dismantled the XL keyboard in a long time, if its easy I'd swap the scratched one with my other XL as it's going to stay with me and not be sold so I don't mind a scratch. As said, if it's easy you are welcome to it, no cost or postage, the group has been kind to me so I pay it forward when I can. Edited January 17, 2022 by Mclaneinc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevellion Posted January 17, 2022 Author Share Posted January 17, 2022 They seem to be stuck on with double sided tape. Heating the part up with a hairdryer softens the glue on the tape and then you can prise it off with a fingernail. The metal is very thin and easily bent so you need to be careful not to force it before the glue softens. It's very kind of you to offer exchanging one from your machine Mclaneinc, but I wouldn't want to deface one machine that is in working order just to fix mine. Also if you have an 800xl in good order and appearance, I wouldn't start pulling off trim, because the trim is very thin and can bend - then we'd both have damaged trim. I'll wait to see if someone has a good bit of trim off a broken machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Ah, if it's thin and easily bent then perhaps I'm not the best person, I have a slight tremor in my right arm from spinal damage. It rarely triggers, but you can bet it would on something easily breakable. As for the actual bit, I'm not bothered re the small scratch on the other XL, it's 40 years old+, a few war scars are ok with me. I'd offer that if you were close to me in West London I'd pop the machine around and let you take the part off. Paul.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevellion Posted January 17, 2022 Author Share Posted January 17, 2022 Thanks again for the kind offer Paul. I'm in Yorkshire, so a bit too far away. Cheers Karl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 oops, way too far Upt Norf for me Good luck.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrshoujo Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 If one part is dented, then just remove it, flip it over, and use the butt end of a plastic screw driver handle to push it out and flatten it on a hard surface. Use some metal polish to shine it up. If you want a brushed aluminum look, not sure what to tell you. Might as well replace the red power on LED with another color to customize it while you're at it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 16 minutes ago, Mrshoujo said: If you want a brushed aluminum look, not sure what to tell you. One possible approach: https://youtu.be/3-IEetUJB1w?t=964 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevellion Posted January 18, 2022 Author Share Posted January 18, 2022 6 hours ago, Mrshoujo said: If one part is dented, then just remove it, flip it over, and use the butt end of a plastic screw driver handle to push it out and flatten it on a hard surface. Use some metal polish to shine it up. If you want a brushed aluminum look, not sure what to tell you. Might as well replace the red power on LED with another color to customize it while you're at it! I already tried that with the aluminium piece and, if anything, it looked worse after my attempts to straighten it out. It was a bit like the Father Ted fixes a dent in his car scenario. Thin aluminium is a bugger to try and fix and I don't have the skills or the proper tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevellion Posted January 18, 2022 Author Share Posted January 18, 2022 6 hours ago, flashjazzcat said: One possible approach: https://youtu.be/3-IEetUJB1w?t=964 Have thought about this and may resort to it if all else fails. Can't get the dents out satisfactorily though and trying to get the brushed aluminium effect afterwards may result in one piece standing out from the rest even more if it doesn't match completely. Simple replacement seems easiest and best outcome if I can source a part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manterola Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Trevellion said: Have thought about this and may resort to it if all else fails. Can't get the dents out satisfactorily though and trying to get the brushed aluminium effect afterwards may result in one piece standing out from the rest even more if it doesn't match completely. Simple replacement seems easiest and best outcome if I can source a part. You are right about a simple replacement. But doing the brushed aluminium part is quite easy.. and it is very forgiving to defects. The only trick is to come up with a way to move the piece over the sandpaper in STRICLY 1D (one dimension/direction). For example, fixing the part and moving the sandpaper along an edge if a pice of wood or metal.... or the opposite: fix the sandpaper and move the piece . I have done that with very ugly buttons keycaps (which you can take off the keyboard) with excelent results, just choose the correct sandpaper (fine). So you can do something similar with the trims AND the Start, Option, Select, Reset, and Help buttons so you get an exact match between them. Edited January 18, 2022 by manterola Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrbrevin Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 2 hours ago, Trevellion said: It was a bit like the Father Ted fixes a dent in his car scenario ? a classic! can you make a 'form' that matches the underside of that part you need to straighten so it can be re-flattened with more force? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevellion Posted January 18, 2022 Author Share Posted January 18, 2022 1 hour ago, manterola said: You are right about a simple replacement. But doing the brushed aluminium part is quite easy.. and it is very forgiving to defects. The only trick is to come up with a way to move the piece over the sandpaper in STRICLY 1D (one dimension/direction). For example, fixing the part and moving the sandpaper along an edge if a pice of wood or metal.... or the opposite: fix the sandpaper and move the piece . I have done that with very ugly buttons keycaps (which you can take off the keyboard) with excelent results, just choose the correct sandpaper (fine). So you can do something similar with the trims AND the Start, Option, Select, Reset, and Help buttons so you get an exact match between them. I'll certainly give that a go on the dented piece if I can straighten it out and can't get a replacement. I think I'd stick to attempting to fix the damaged part rather than sanding all the aluminium parts to try and get consistency. With my skills, I'd more than likely end up with 7 pieces of aluminium all looking different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevellion Posted January 18, 2022 Author Share Posted January 18, 2022 44 minutes ago, xrbrevin said: ? a classic! can you make a 'form' that matches the underside of that part you need to straighten so it can be re-flattened with more force? That sounds like a plan worth attempting. I'll wait a little while to see if I can get a replacement and then go down this route if I can't. I'm just waiting for a couple of parts to finish my Sophia 2 install on one of the 800XL's so maybe when I have that done I'll have a go at fixing the trim. Lots of good advice on this forum that I've benefitted from already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bee Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 pm me plz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMil Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 I bought two from Best Electronics about 6 months ago. He had a few left and he would only sell me two. Brad said that he is out of the key cap pieces and the longer piece at the bottom of the function keys too. DavidMil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrshoujo Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 17 hours ago, Trevellion said: I already tried that with the aluminium piece and, if anything, it looked worse after my attempts to straighten it out. It was a bit like the Father Ted fixes a dent in his car scenario. Thin aluminium is a bugger to try and fix and I don't have the skills or the proper tools. Really? I've done it in the past on various dented objects and using the proper size tool, obtained good results. Oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMil Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 (edited) 3 hours ago, Mrshoujo said: Really? I've done it in the past on various dented objects and using the proper size tool, obtained good results. Oh well. Just make sure you have a good, very flat, clean surface to work on. Any tiny particles or bumps will show up when you try to smooth out your piece! I have also found it most often BAD to use metal objects to do the flattening. I will usually cut a piece of wood the size of the aluminum to make sure I get a total surface coverage when I apply pressure to the aluminum. But as someone said to me lately, "Your results may vary". DavidMil Edited January 19, 2022 by DavidMil Spelling error. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preppie Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 Not sure if it's any use in the specific case, but retroshack used some tape to improve the look of his 800xl and it worked well: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevellion Posted January 20, 2022 Author Share Posted January 20, 2022 On 1/18/2022 at 11:48 PM, Bee said: pm me plz PM sent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevellion Posted January 20, 2022 Author Share Posted January 20, 2022 20 hours ago, Mrshoujo said: Really? I've done it in the past on various dented objects and using the proper size tool, obtained good results. Oh well. Probably a reflection of my ham fistedness. Someone with a bit more finesse would have had better results I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevellion Posted January 20, 2022 Author Share Posted January 20, 2022 2 hours ago, Preppie said: Not sure if it's any use in the specific case, but retroshack used some tape to improve the look of his 800xl and it worked well: I'd probably go down this route if a number of the keys were badly marked. It's a bit like painting a console that is badly yellowed - it just wouldn't feel authentic for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 Totally agree re painting a machine, it can look really nice, but I would feel like I'd masked the real machine out of sight. Paul.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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