29 Jun
2000
29 Jun
'00
12:42 a.m.
Without getting the entire "Preserve vs. Restore" argument
started again, has anyone ever found a way to restore the
original beige color to plastic skins that have discolored
due to long exposure to UV?
I'm assuming what's happening is more than just the lighter
elements of the plastic evaporating, but rather that some
kind of chemical change is taking place that likely can't
be reversed.
I would think paint to not be a solution; at least not for
me, as it always takes better hand/eye coordination than I
can manage.
How about dyes? Has anyone tried some kind of analine dye
to restore beige plastic? Dyes spread more evenly and I
think can even penetrate perhaps a few microns.
thanks,
-doug quebbeman
29 Jun
29 Jun
1:39 a.m.
Hi Doug,
I aways run plastic parts through the dishwasher first. It
performed miracles on my Apple ]['s.
Second, try soaking a throw-away (broken) in bleach. Fill up
a laundry tub with water, dump in a gallon or more of bleach,
and let it soak. The cheap plastic jobs at local home repair
stores (Home Depot, Eagle, Lowes, etc) work well, and don't
really need plumbing connections.
If that doesn't work, I'm interested in knowing your luck
with dying the items. The laundry tub would work well for
that too :)
clint
On Thu, 29 Jun 2000, Douglas Quebbeman wrote:
Without getting the entire "Preserve vs.
Restore" argument
started again, has anyone ever found a way to restore the
original beige color to plastic skins that have discolored
due to long exposure to UV?
I'm assuming what's happening is more than just the lighter
elements of the plastic evaporating, but rather that some
kind of chemical change is taking place that likely can't
be reversed.
I would think paint to not be a solution; at least not for
me, as it always takes better hand/eye coordination than I
can manage.
How about dyes? Has anyone tried some kind of analine dye
to restore beige plastic? Dyes spread more evenly and I
think can even penetrate perhaps a few microns.
thanks,
-doug quebbeman
7 a.m.
Bleach seems to have "some" effect, but nothing I have tried, and I have
tried a long list, has "removed" a yellow sun stain.
2:38 a.m.
Just did this recently. Used Ajax Chlorine Scouring
powder, without any scouring per se.
Had a severly discolored VT240, realy unpresentable,
sort of dark sunburned yellow. I fingerpainted on a
paste of the Ajax, made pasty so it wouldn't drip
anywhere it shouldn't and rubbed and waited. Add a
little water if its too dry. Sponge off with a damp
paper towel (again, so that water will not run out).
The first sponging took off what appeared to be paint
really thick plasticy stuff, with a lot of the color
in it. Repeat sponging until no residue (3-4 passes).
Took it down from "gross" to "slightly aged".
Colors as remembered:
Before: R 240 G 200 B 0
<html><body bgcolor="#F0C800"></body></html>
After: R 255 G 230 B 160
<html><body bgcolor="#FFE6A0"></body></html>
John A.
4:58 a.m.
Had a severly discolored VT240, realy unpresentable,
sort of dark sunburned yellow. I fingerpainted on a
paste of the Ajax, made pasty so it wouldn't drip
anywhere it shouldn't and rubbed and waited. Add a
little water if its too dry. Sponge off with a damp
paper towel (again, so that water will not run out).
The first sponging took off what appeared to be paint
really thick plasticy stuff, with a lot of the color
in it. Repeat sponging until no residue (3-4 passes).
Took it down from "gross" to "slightly aged".
I'm not sure what the colours you pasted on at the end looked like, but
this sounds more like Nicotine discolouration from being around a cigarette
smoker.
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |
5:46 a.m.
Zane
I'm not sure what the colours you pasted...
This is a one line web page you can create and
view locally.
...looked like, but this sounds more like Nicotine
discolouration from being around a cigarette smoker.
Possibly. It did smell a hell of alot like paint
when it came off, but showed no dropletting patterns
(was as even as the original finish), tended to be
on the top surfaces (as if from Sun or a precipitation)
didn't look smoky or carbon-like, didn't smell like
cigarette Smoke at least.
Does this sound like Nicotine?
My guess if it wasn't sunburn is perhaps a fine oil
from some kind of manufacturing, it really bound on
to that plastic.
John A.
6:20 a.m.
New subject: Acquiring, playing with, and living with classic computers
Well, let's see: Right now I have the following
* Dining room table (Computer Lab): A Mac LC II, a Mac LC III,
an Amiga 2000, a Commodore 128D, and a Coco 3. All work
* Studio (bedroom table): An Apple IIe (connected to an AlphaSyntauri
synthesizer), an Amiga 1000 with 2 Mb memory expansion, and a TI99/4A,
with Corcomp disk drive/rs232/32k expansion. All work.
* Electronics lab (bedroom desk): An Atari 800 (works, but dodgy
keyboard), a Commodore 128 (works), and a Coco2 (works). Also a
TRS80 Model 100 (works)
* Storage (closet): An Apple IIe (works, just no really good place
to put it), 2 Dell 486s (both work), a BBC Model B (I think it works,
but may have been damaged in a flood, haven't tested it), a Leading
Edge Model D (works), a no-name 286 (works) and a no-name 8088 PC
(no longer boots from the hard drive). Also some odd bits here and there
(a Matell Aquarius, a Spectravideo 128, and a NEC something-or-other...
don't know if any of those work)
Most of this stuff I got from the local swap meets (TRW in Redondo
Beach and the like). Occasionally I'll get lucky at a thrift shop,
but not often (mostly broken 286's they want too much for)
I've bought stuff on Ebay and usenet, although shipping (especially
CPU's and heavy stuff) is expensive and can be problematic. I tend
to prefer using them for small peripherals and software items.
I don't really spend all that much...maybe up to $20/cpu at a
swap meet, Ebay, etc. A lot of stuff I've even got for free, or
just for shipping costs.
Time to play with all this stuff: Is not in abundance. I have a long
commute and very little home time, which must be divided among
other pursuits (music, ham radio, etc.) So right now, I'm more in
acquisition mode, looking for peripherals and software for these machines.
Currently, I am unmarried and live alone, so no need to worry about
what other people might think. My folks thought I was wierd for
collecting all these old machines....but now they collect old Macs!
4:35 a.m.
Without getting the entire "Preserve vs.
Restore" argument
started again, has anyone ever found a way to restore the
original beige color to plastic skins that have discolored
due to long exposure to UV?
It can not be restored. On the Boatanchors list some time ago, there was
a very detail post about why plastics yellow.
I'm assuming what's happening is more than
just the lighter
elements of the plastic evaporating, but rather that some
kind of chemical change is taking place that likely can't
be reversed.
Correct.
Probably the best solution (and if you think about it, the most "proper")
is to cover it with a very light coat of paint (something not too
aggressive).
William Donzelli
aw288(a)osfn.org
8:44 a.m.
On Thu, 29 Jun 2000, William Donzelli wrote:
Probably the best solution (and if you think about it,
the most "proper")
is to cover it with a very light coat of paint (something not too
aggressive).
Ok, something subtle like the way that doodlebugs (VW Beetles) were
sometimes decorated in the 1960s and 1970s? Also, how about black
backgrounds with flourescent dragons, faeries, crystal-balls, trees,
unicorns, streams, waterfalls, horses, etc. painted on them? Hmmm, my
collection would look rather neat that way. Does anyone know an
artist who's into painting computers? :-)
--
R. D. Davis
rdd(a)perqlogic.com
http://www.perqlogic.com/rdd
410-744-4900
9:01 a.m.
R. D. Davis wrote:
On Thu, 29 Jun 2000, William Donzelli wrote:
You know.... I don't know if you're jokeing or not, but.... That could be
pretty cool :^) Maybe not for something like my PDP-11/44 mind you
(although I kind of like that idea), but it would definitly be a cool idea
for a large PC tower case :^)
Zane
Probably the best solution (and if you think
about it, the most "proper")
is to cover it with a very light coat of paint (something not too
aggressive).
Ok, something subtle like the way that doodlebugs (VW Beetles) were
sometimes decorated in the 1960s and 1970s? Also, how about black
backgrounds with flourescent dragons, faeries, crystal-balls, trees,
unicorns, streams, waterfalls, horses, etc. painted on them? Hmmm, my
collection would look rather neat that way. Does anyone know an
artist who's into painting computers? :-)
2:33 p.m.
On Thu, 29 Jun 2000 healyzh(a)aracnet.com wrote:
You know.... I don't know if you're jokeing
or not, but.... That could be
pretty cool :^) Maybe not for something like my PDP-11/44 mind you
(although I kind of like that idea), but it would definitly be a cool idea
for a large PC tower case :^)
Actually, I was serious. :-) ...after all, my PDP-8/e is already has a
black case. I sort of hate to paint my 11/73's rack or the front
panels of my 11/44 or RL02s, however, can't we somehow coat these
things with something removeable that we can paint? :-) After all all
those flourescent mythical designs on black backgrounds in a room with
black lighting would look neat with the blinking lights on front
panels. Has anyone here done anything like this?
--
R. D. Davis
rdd(a)perqlogic.com
http://www.perqlogic.com/rdd
410-744-4900
4:23 p.m.
New subject: Paint JObs (was Re: Restoration of Discolored Plastic)
At 02:01 PM 6/29/00 -0700, Zane Healy wrote:
You know.... I don't know if you're jokeing or not, but.... That could be
pretty cool :^) Maybe not for something like my PDP-11/44 mind you
(although I kind of like that idea), but it would definitly be a cool idea
for a large PC tower case :^)
Keeping in mind, that (at least in the past) if you paid IBM enough, you
could get a mainframe done in just about any color scheme that you wanted.
I have to think that the wildest one that I personally experienced, was at
a Ralston Purina (feed) plant. And yes, as you might guess (or fear) the
entire system was painted in red and white checkerboard.
-jim
R. D. Davis wrote:
> On Thu, 29 Jun 2000, William Donzelli wrote:
> > Probably the best solution (and if you think about it, the most
"proper")
is to cover it with a very light coat of paint
(something not too
aggressive).
Ok, something subtle like the way that doodlebugs (VW Beetles) were
sometimes decorated in the 1960s and 1970s? Also, how about black
backgrounds with flourescent dragons, faeries, crystal-balls, trees,
unicorns, streams, waterfalls, horses, etc. painted on them? Hmmm, my
collection would look rather neat that way. Does anyone know an
artist who's into painting computers? :-) 
30 Jun
30 Jun
7:21 a.m.
New subject: Paint JObs (was Re: Restoration of Discolored Plastic)
At 09:23 PM 6/29/00 -0700, you wrote:
I have to think that the wildest one that I personally
experienced, was at
a Ralston Purina (feed) plant. And yes, as you might guess (or fear) the
entire system was painted in red and white checkerboard.
I had some personal experience with that sale. IBM at first said no, just
the standard colors. Ralston Purina said we'll buy at Control Data, they'll
give us what we want. IBM gave them checkered covers but it did take some
levels of approval.
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P.O. Box 3365 Spring Hill Florida 34611-3365
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Computer & Video Game Garage Sale
29 Jun
29 Jun
10:16 p.m.
On Thu, 29 Jun 2000 16:44:42 -0400 (EDT) "R. D. Davis"
<rdd(a)smart.net> wrote:
Ok, something subtle like the way that doodlebugs (VW
Beetles) were
sometimes decorated in the 1960s and 1970s? Also, how about black
backgrounds with flourescent dragons, faeries, crystal-balls, trees,
unicorns, streams, waterfalls, horses, etc. painted on them? Hmmm, my
collection would look rather neat that way. Does anyone know an
artist who's into painting computers? :-)
I'm no artist, but I often paint my computers black.
Nothing really rare/classic, you understand, unless you
count an Atari ST (also added some INMOS transputer links
to that one). Ordinary beige PC cases and disk drives are
much improved by the addition of some black paint, Allen
bolts, keyswitches, flashing lights (Ethernet Tx/Rx), and a
reset button with a clear plastic flip-top protective cover.
--
John Honniball
Email: John.Honniball(a)uwe.ac.uk
University of the West of England
8901
days inactive
8902
days old
13 comments
11 participants
participants (11)
-
aw288＠osfn.org -
dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com -
gehrich＠tampabay.rr.com -
healyzh＠aracnet.com -
jimw＠agora.rdrop.com -
John.Allain＠donnelley.infousa.com -
John.Honniball＠uwe.ac.uk -
mikeford＠socal.rr.com -
rdd＠smart.net -
transit＠lerctr.org -
vaxman＠uswest.net