Removing the "Yellow" from computer components

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2011, December 8 - 7:48pm

Macnut9765

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Joined: 2011 Nov 24

Removing the "Yellow" from computer components

Being a collector of the vintage Mac's myself and also was a smoker for years my computers turned from the nice clean beige to looking like a chunk of cheddar cheese. This obviously happens even in a non-smoking environment but smoking of course speeds up the process exponentially. Anyway, being the oldest computer I have which I had since new. Looking at it today it is a sad state of affairs. Years ago I painted the lid like an idiot and it even worse.

Now the good news.....rather than put a link to another forum I can sum it up by saying that it's a simple mix of a couple household products and a few days to restore it's luster to new. Basically a 50-50 solution of Hydrogen Peroxide (can be purchased at any grocery store or pharmacy) and water and tablespoon of Oxy type laundry detergent. This formula is for 1 cup of solution. Then, merely soak the item in it for 2-3 days. I would assume the less water you use the stronger the solution would be but straight peroxide and Oxy would most likely be too strong.

I have also seen it argued that the assistance of a UV light speeds up the process. I'm a phone company technician not a scientist so I dunno. There was also mention of a bubble stone and air pump from an aquarium also makes this chemical solution more effective.

Do NOT use bleach as that will have the opposite effect and actually cause yellowing. I personally wonder if something like baking soda or rubbing alcohol would help. I know I have used alcohol to clean computer components and it does remove some yellowing but I never soaked anything in it. As far as baking soda, It works awesome on a wide varieties of things including helping to remove yellowing as I have done it with a abrasive sponge and it worked decent but again not making it look new. To mix either of those in the solution I have no idea if it would help it, hurt it or cause a chemical explosion. Once again, I'm a technician not a chemist.

Lastly, there was another person who added more of the Oxy detergent and made it into a paste and used a brush to apply it on the item. Of course this had to be repeated several times as it eventually dries out. Also the paste would have to be removed with water and would likely get caught in the cracks and such so it's not my first choice.

NOTE: The process above does NOT take the lettering off if it was painted/stamped on. If it's stickers then of course they may fall off since your soaking it in liquid, common sense but felt it needed mention. One person use this process to restore a keyboard and it looked like it just came out of the box when he was finished, it was an amazing result.

I plan on using the case for my IIcx as a Guinea pig and I will post links to before, during and after process. I'm doing it on a larger scale using an old aquarium to soak it in rather than a cup. Anyone else who wants to do this and post pics I think this will prove to be an interesting thread. Any other ideas, mixtures that anyone else has especially if you have more knowledge than me with chemicals would also be interesting.

Comments

2011, December 9 - 1:04am

dajhorn

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Joined: 2011 Jan 20

Diluted bleach and bright sunshine works too. Put blue painting tape over the ports, apply the solution with a spritz bottle, put the computer outside, and keep it moist.

If the case is cheddar yellow, then it will take several days in intense sunshine to get it near the original color.

2011, December 9 - 5:02am

MadMac

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Joined: 2010 Mar 20

Believe me, nothing like soap for wash machines, specially the ones with the blue chips (i think it is peroxide or some similar reactive). I manage to remove the yellow from the plastic carcass of a G3 266 Desktop using a concentrated solution of soap and warm water (warm=30 or 40 Celsius of temp) aprox 200 Grams of soap and 10 litres of water completly mixed and sunk on it for 15 min.
Peroxyde is very corrosive, because it allows a chemical reaction that includes a oxygen reaction to bleach ¨everthing¨ and metallic parts are specially sensitive to this.
In the other hand, ¨pure¨ concentrated detergent (like those used for washing dishes), a soft piece of fabric and a lot of dedication... (this works too in my LClll)

2011, December 9 - 5:32am

Macnut9765

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Joined: 2011 Nov 24

I started soaking the IIcx case about 5 hours now, it's already changed from cheddar yellow to deli American cheese in color, not quite to mozzarella yet. However it's already a drastic improvement. I'll check it again in the morning. Should be interesting. It will be nice to not have a Mac n' cheese when this is done! Badum bum

2011, December 9 - 6:39am

yoyomac

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Joined: 2010 Mar 17

As for old hardened goo that you might have in some hard to reach spots (like from old stickers), I have had good success scrubbing these off using a toothpick with the tip broken off and some windex. The wood fibers act as ultra densely packed bristles that reach all angles of the surface texture without scratching. Takes patience depending on the size of the spot. I managed to remove ball pen graffiti on a Mac Plus' vents with this trick...
Note that for extreme stains surgical use of nail polish remover (in the toothpick technique) will help. Careful though, this stuff will rapidly damage the plastic of the case.

2011, December 9 - 6:49am

Macnut9765

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Joined: 2011 Nov 24

Zippo fluid works great removing sticker film and isn't as harsh as the alcohol in nail polish remover. Works awesome getting old windshield stickers off your car too. It's pretty much the same thing as "Goo Gone" with a different scent. A damp Mr. Clean magic eraser will take pen, pencil, crayon and marker off nicely, even Sharpies. If you have little ones running around the house you will grow to appreciate Magic erasers in a hurry. It takes some of the yellowing with it too. If you use it too much it will change the texture of the plastic to smoother than original so I like this soaking method better.

2011, December 9 - 8:37am

MikeTomTom

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Joined: 2009 Dec 7

For any kind of glue (old hard, sticky, the works) on plastic/glass/old Macs, etc, I always use a product called "Brasso". Its available here "down under" and in the UK, I don't know if you can buy it in the US or elsewhere. Anyway this stuff just "eats glue for breakfast" and leaves the plastic alone. Its normal use as its name suggests, is for polishing brass.