20 Sep
2010
20 Sep
'10
12:07 p.m.
On Sep 20, 2010, at 2:54 PM, Chuck Guzis wrote:
On 20 Sep 2010 at 14:31, Michael Kerpan wrote:
So it sounds like much of the vintage equipment that this community has been rescuing from
the landfills will ultimately turn into dust, in spite of our best efforts. And I thought
that capacitors going bad was a pain...
-Mardy
Frankly, that seems a bit much. Given that there
are ways to reverse
that yellowing if it occurs (google "retrobrite" for more info), I'd
say that simply limiting exposure to UV is an adequate measure. If
things happen anyway, at least you'll know it can be fixed.
There are a number of articles that have been published by
conservators for museums that limiting UV exposure doesn't prevent
the degradation of plastics.
Indeed, it's a big headache now for museums and no one's come up with
any satisfactory answer to the problem. Cold storage at least slows
the process.
I've had gear packed away (in the dark) for 20 years that was in good
shape cosmetically but now is yellowed. At no time did the stuff get
any appreciable exposure to UV (or ozone, for that matter). The
forumulations used in some of the plastics are simply unstable.
Most notably, I had an old Apple color monitor stored in a black
plastic wrap. When I went to retrieve it, I found that several bits
and pieces had spontaneously detached themselves from the unit--the
plastic was so brittle you could break it right off with a minimum of
force.
--Chuck