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Has anyone seen this?
http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/Retr0Bright Gel
It was basically found that the old flame retardant in old plastics (computers, SNESes, whatever of that era) reacted to UV light and degraded into another compound, causing the "yellowing" of older computers. It was found that a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, Oxi-Clean (oxygen booster) and UV light/sunlight could reverse the yellowing permanently!
There are three recipes on the site - apparently the original gel recipe (with glycerine and xanthan gum) dries out less quickly and works better.
It was also suggested that you set up a "de-yellowing" chamber consisting of - UV light source, large transparent container, cling wrap/food wrap, some water at the bottom of the container to keep the gel wet.
Over winter break, I'm going to do some experiments. I have a ton of old hardware (urm...maybe Pentium 2 computers) that I can end up doing with these. The Microsoft optical mouse I have also needs a turn de-yellowing.
Update: I found Xanthan gum at the local Bulk Food retailer (Bulk Barn, if you are in Canada - it's in a package, but it's still worth it). You might be able to find it at a health food store or the gluten free section (it's a common thickener).
Also, glycerine is found at the drugstore/chemist...I got mine at Shopper's Drug Mart.
I found that deyellowing on smaller pieces works well with just a few glugs of hydrogen peroxide and a pinch of Oxi-clean.
http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/Retr0Bright Gel
It was basically found that the old flame retardant in old plastics (computers, SNESes, whatever of that era) reacted to UV light and degraded into another compound, causing the "yellowing" of older computers. It was found that a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, Oxi-Clean (oxygen booster) and UV light/sunlight could reverse the yellowing permanently!
There are three recipes on the site - apparently the original gel recipe (with glycerine and xanthan gum) dries out less quickly and works better.
It was also suggested that you set up a "de-yellowing" chamber consisting of - UV light source, large transparent container, cling wrap/food wrap, some water at the bottom of the container to keep the gel wet.
Over winter break, I'm going to do some experiments. I have a ton of old hardware (urm...maybe Pentium 2 computers) that I can end up doing with these. The Microsoft optical mouse I have also needs a turn de-yellowing.
Update: I found Xanthan gum at the local Bulk Food retailer (Bulk Barn, if you are in Canada - it's in a package, but it's still worth it). You might be able to find it at a health food store or the gluten free section (it's a common thickener).
Also, glycerine is found at the drugstore/chemist...I got mine at Shopper's Drug Mart.
I found that deyellowing on smaller pieces works well with just a few glugs of hydrogen peroxide and a pinch of Oxi-clean.