Ah that Yellowed PC Engine Look (RetroBrighting)

Thought I’d back up my post from AssemblerGames forums seeing as the forum looks like its closing soon and think this is handy info for anyone wanting to remove the yellowing from their retro consoles…

Have managed to scored a few PC-Engines, Core Grafx and Core Grafx II systems, the white PC-Engines were very yellowed so i used some 35% strength hydroperoxide mixed with water in a washing up bowl to bring back the white goodness!!..

Before…

And after 48hrs after…

Thats quiet a transfomation!!

Now the thing was the last few days there hasnt been a massive amount of direct sunshine, and its been very overcast, so it would appear that this method doesnt really need to have the sun to work just basic daylight UV!

While this method works excellent with white coloured systems, what would it do to the grey shell of the Core Grafx based systems??, as some of them appeared to be stained slightly. Would putting these grey shells in to the hydroperoxide mix de-colour the grey shell, as with the white shells not only did it bring the white back but it also removed stains on the shell as well??

And another 2 cases done!!!..

You can see how yellow they were by the sticker on ther lower PC-Engine, guess ill have to peel that off

I managed to get the marks of the case with those Erase-All Magic Foam Sponges…

I should also add then its a good idea to use UV protection spray after you have got your consoles restored to help protect against this happening in the future.

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Nicely done.

Did you hear about the method that just requires sunlight, no pastes or solutions?

Thought that was debunked?

Im not sure how that would even work as its UV that cause the issue with the fire retardant plastic in the first place so im not sure how exposing it to direct sun light would reverse the process!??

Debunked where?

Apparently it’s one type of UV (amongst other things) that causes it and another type of UV that reverses it.

Anyway, sunlight only works for me. Here are my photos (it’s a MiniDisc case):

RetroRGB tired it out on a SNES and it didnt work apparently

Guess it might depend on the console then and what type of plastic it is

Nice looking PC engines. Recently my day one Japanese Saturn blew its power board. Luckily I have a white Saturn or should the be yellow Saturn. Its awful. I’m going to do your method this week on it.

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PC Engine has a label on the bottom so I prefer to mask it with tape and use creme so the label isn’t damaged. Submerging would likely ruin that? Same with SG1000 and Mark III, submersion isn’t really an option due to paper labels.

I’ve never felt confident doing any paste or solution because of the risk of it not applying evenly.

Is this your first retrobright @BlockABoots? Any tips on application?

Awesome, let us know how it goes

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To be fair its a white label with numerous numbers and characters on in a standardise font, nothing thats too hard to reproduce. Its not like it has a bar code or special symbol in reflective diamond finish label.

Ive heard far to many horror storys of people using the creme method which results in streaking and making it look worse than it did in the first place!, at least with submerging the case you’ll get an even covering.

But if you are worried about the labels you could cover them in clear nail polish/varnish to protect them!?

Yeah was my first attempt and was super please with the result.

Not much advice really as its straight forward and not much can go wrong BUT…

  1. make sure you wear some gloves as getting the HP on your skin stings like buggery so make sure you wash your hands and keep away from your eyes.

  2. In the morning i did top up the HP slightly as its suggested it loses its strength over a time, to be fair after the first 24 hrs i didnt really notice it getting any whiter

  3. your might need to get a jam jar or the like and fill it with water and place it on the parts to keep them submerged as long as nothing is blocking the UV rays/sunlight thats why i went with a transparent bowl as well

  4. when it starts reacting you should start seeing it bubbling ever so slightly, this is normal

Covering them in plastic or in plastic bags or just good monitoring and there are no issues. Been doing it since ~2012.

I think a lot of the issues were people using the original gluggy ‘retrobrite’ formula which has basically stopped being used for years.

Here’s the main thread on it here

Still the liquid would be easiest for stuff with no paper on it. It’s not that huge a deal for PCE but is a dealbreaker for SG1000 for me, as they have the serial number on the paper.