Retr0bright, how to make old computer cases nice and shiny again

Details: 01 September 2014

I'm progressing on my RaspiBoy project. So I'm getting in touch with a couple of yellowish Gameboy cases and game cartridges.

Older game console cases, such as Gameboy, Nintendo NES, Commodore 64 and so on, start yellowing. The more sun they get the more yellow they become. There is finally a solution (beside sand paper and overpaint) to de-yellowize them. It's called Retr0bright.

Before

After

Retr0bright is a recipe to get rid most of the yellowish something. This yellowish something is Bromine. It's not possible to remove it by any scrubbing, detergent or soap. Only Retro0bright could help. I started my own cleansing by using a Gameboy and a game cardtridge. Until today I cleaned the cartridge successfully. The Gameboy case is next.

Steps

Obtain a yellowish case
Get some Hydrogen peroxide solution (about 12%). Handle with care, use eye and hand protectives. Get some TAED-based laundry (like OxiClean or Vanish Oxi Action) and a UV source (using the Sun or an UV lamp)
Place the parts in a bowl or bucket. I took a glass bowl
Pour Hydrogen peroxide into the bowl and add some (a tea spoon for 250ml) TAED. Mix it.
Place the UV source over the bowl and come back in some hours.

Whoa! Looks spooky.
Enjoy!

I wanted to reuse the solution after cleansing the cartridge. I used put a Gameboy cover into it and repeated the steps but it did not work. It seems to me that the solution is for one-time usage only. I'll retry with fresh Hydrogen peroxide. It was also interesting, as soon as the UV light is switched on, bubbles start to appear.