Colecovision Adam Retr0bright results

[craigm71]

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!!!!

[Osgeld]

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

[matthew180]

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

 

[NIAD]

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?

[craigm71]

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.

[sqoon]

Do retrobrighted pieces yellow again in time? Just curious.

[Osgeld]

yes unless you use a uv protectant clear coat

[craigm71]

I am almost hoping for that on this run...then I can try again...then use a clear coat on it.

[telengard]

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?

[SiLic0ne t0aD]

That looks pretty good. Unfortunately I don't have an ADAM but think this would probably work out good on my yellowing Nintendos.

[craigm71]

Yep, anything like that would work, just take it slow with the treatment, I was too aggressive on mine which caused "streaking"