New formula for Retrobright

[matt3o]

Today I tried a new formula for retrobright. The goal is to reduce cost as much as possible and make it easy to source everywhere as I understand that high vol. peroxide is not easy to find in all countries.

PLEASE don't make this a "yellow comes back"/"it won't last" thread. We all know the limits of retrobright.

If you don't like foreplay go to the TL;DR at the end of the page.

Here's how I found the new formula.

The other day I saw an ad about some hair beauty products and I remembered that to stain hairs of a lighter color you actually need to bleach them first. The bleaching products already come in a cream that is nothing more than gellified Hydrogen peroxide. The strongest I could find is 40 Vol (12%) which is quite good for retrobrighting.

I looked for beauty saloon products and found 1 liter of bleaching cream for around €2 euros (!!!). Don't buy products for "home" use by Wella or BBlonde, they are insanely expensive.

My first try was a complete disaster. I put the cream directly over the yellowed plastic and wrapped it with a transparent plastic peel (the one you use in your kitchen) to prevent the cream to dry too quickly. The result was a zebra-like piece of plastic. Some areas were super white, others yellow with all the gradients in between. Bummer.

Second try a success! I took 4 parts of bleaching cream, 1 part water, 0.5 part oxy put into a spray bottle, stirred and sprayed over the plastic. Exposed to direct sun light and every approx 30 minutes I sprayed again the solution. The result was overwhelming! After just 2 hours the plastic was as clean and white as new. I couldn't really believe my eyes.

So to sum up

TL;DR

- buy 40 vol hair bleaching product. Buy beauty saloon products not products for "home" use. I can easily find them on ebay, I paid just €2 for one liter
- mix: 4 parts of bleaching product, 1 part water, 0.5 parts oxy/vanish (the gelly/liquid version is easier to mix). You really don't need much product. To bleach the mouse you see below I probably needed 100ml product total
- put everything in a spray bottle and spray over the plastic
- expose to UV light (artificial is actually better than sun!!)
- spray again every 30 minutes or before it completely dried out
- in my experience after just 2-3 hours you are good to go. YMMV

Unfortunately I don't have the before picture, but believe me: it was incredibly yellow.

Now it's like this:


IMPORTANT: it's not a miracle formula, many things could go wrong. You may very well end up ruining your precious retro junk! Don't do it if you don't understand the risk!

[kbdfr]

Thanks for opening a new thread for this.
I should have done it a month ago when I posted my method, which is quite the same as yours:
http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/g80- ... ml#p237406

Mixing both components in a spray bottle, however, is a really great idea.

[Muirium]

Yup, this sounds like best way of applying the stuff yet.

What happens to the residue left over in the spray bottle once you're done? I'm trying to figure out what sort of shelf life the mix has. Had any gumming up in the pump head?

[matt3o]

Thanks for opening a new thread for this.
I should have done it a month ago when I posted my method, which is quite the same as yours:
http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/g80- ... ml#p237406

Mixing both components in a spray bottle, however, is a really great idea.

there was no way I could find it under "Pimp my G80 5000"

[matt3o]

Yup, this sounds like best way of applying the stuff yet.

What happens to the residue left over in the spray bottle once you're done? I'm trying to figure out what sort of shelf life the mix has. Had any gumming up in the pump head?

once opened peroxide has a very short shelf life. maybe the bleaching product lasts a little longer but you can't really store it for months.

[XMIT]

I use a 40% peroxide gel available at a local beauty supply.

I mix it as a paste with Oxi-Clean and apply with a paint brush. When it gets dry I spray on some distilled or reverse osmosis water.

I do this indoors under a UV lamp. It takes longer (12-24 hours) but provides me with controlled conditions. For me this is an acceptable tradeoff. Outside, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and cloud cover provide too much variability for a nice procedure.

[002]

Nice one, matt

I think this is very important to remember when choosing the hair product for retrobrighting:

The bleaching products already come in a cream that is nothing more than gellified Hydrogen peroxide.

From memory, some of these hair products come with other additives that may contribute to blowouts where it actually bleaches the plastic, causing it to become brittle and really white. As you suggested, knowing and accepting the risk before going ahead is definitely recommended. Always test on Cherry products before proceeding with your real treasures!

[XMIT]

Yes, this is absolutely true. The one that I get around here is peroxide, water, gelling agents (like stearic acid) and phosphoric acid. Some Internet research revealed that ABS plastics are resistant to phosphoric acid particularly in low concentrations. If nothing else feel free to post the ingredients list of what you have here. Someone (perhaps our resident chemist?) may be able to tell you if it is safe or not with ABS, PBT, PVC, POM, etc. - the usual keyboard plastics.

[kbdfr]

[…] Always test on Cherry products before proceeding with your real treasures!

[matt3o]

The only weird think I found in my bleaching cream formula is Etidronic acid that is used --I believe-- as a peroxide stabilizer (which sounds good to me).

[Muirium]

Keep us updated - with before and after pictures - when you do move on to the precious stuff. Yellowed doubleshots are the toughest test for retrobright that I know about, amongst keyboards. I've seen damage when people try it, bleaching the dark colours as they try to save the bright. It's a challenge.

[XMIT]

Check my NEC APC restoration thread. I definitely whitened those keys without damage to the black insert legends. It must depends on the exact dye used.