New Retrobriting Techniques

Also, does the ozone generator emit pure O3, or does it actually emit air but with the O2 converted to O3 (ie: 78% N2, 20% O3, 2% etc.)?

If you do this kind of experiment again, another thing to try is adding some (dye and perfume free) Oxiclean to the peroxide bath. It contains sodium percarbonate, which breaks down into (additional) hydrogen peroxide, as well as Tetraacetylethylenediamine (TAED) which apparently makes hydrogen peroxide bleach more efficiently.

This video was outstanding! excellent scientific process. excellent observations to make. I still can't even belive that ozone method works. it sounds like an infomercial scam :-D but there it is, in a video i trust. i gotta try it.

I think that the concentration of ozone (there could be a perfect balance) and the type of plastic is relevant. The C64 case did not have any reaction same as several other 80s things I put in. More modern plastics seem to react more. I bleached an air vent grill from 2006 and it got back to the original near-white from an ugly dirty yellow. I did not take pictures of this since I could not compare it in one shot. The same seems to have happened with the keyboard (2008). The picture on Flickr is from an Apple IIgs 3.5" floppy drive. I will try the heat + diluted H2O2 method on the 3.5" floppy drive next WE.

stynx

Neat.. Looks like we have a ways to go in figuring out the optimal technique for this.

The 8-Bit Guy

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/88521483@N03/36035229543/in/dateposted-public/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.flickr.com/photos/88521483@N03/36035229543/in/dateposted-public/</a>

stynx

Thanks for confirming. I believe you of course, but something odd happened. My comment was here last night. Today, it's gone. Anyway, the only semi-important thing I said was that I looked up the specs on the Clean Water Systems Ozone 500-i used in the video and it claims 0.5 grams per hour.

toasterking

Toasterking - I haven't deleted any comments. As far as I know, I've NEVER deleted any on Patreon, and only rarely delete them on YouTube. They usually have to be SPAM or hate speech for me to delete them.

The 8-Bit Guy

Why was my comment deleted?

toasterking

Next update for the ozone method: The C64 case top has not changed in any way by using UV for 4hrs from a lamp and ozone at the same time. But the background-paint of the label has begun to dissolve. I accidentally softly scraped the label with my fingernails and left a deep scratch that made the aluminium beneath visible. In some places the paint has bubbled up. The ozone generator is not recommended since it has begun to short in some areas. After cleaning the generator the shorts stopped but it only ran for about 12hrs total in closed containers ... hmmm Maybe I should buy a smaller 'tube'-based generator.

stynx

No damage to rubber. BUT it may react with organic residue like grease or oil. My uncleaned keyboard got sticky after the treatment. It was easily cleaned but there may be more to this. I would not put a complete disk drive into a ozone laden environment.

stynx

Nice.. I had a look. I knew it would work. But I too have been concerned about damage to metal or rubber parts by using ozone.

The 8-Bit Guy

Hi, i made the test with the keyboard <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/5251478676/permalink/10156669677623677/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/5251478676/permalink/10156669677623677/</a> and I have some very important infos about the method I used. I can be very dangerous to use such highly concentrated Ozone as I did. It is not only corroding to metals but also to your lung! Don't breathe the Ozone enriched air in. It can damage your lung permanently. I got only a small whiff of the ozone and coughed heavily. It burned in my throat and it seems to me that I can still smell the ozone. Ok, I used a 10g/hr generator (the small one that the 8-bit Guy used was probably about 0.1-0.3g/hr). I have a breadbox C64 case top in a separate container that was treated with artificial UV from a lamp and 10g/hr ozone for 1 hr so far. I will continue tomorrow and let it run for another 3 hrs. :-)

stynx

TL;DR: Ozone + UV works well on plastic but corrodes metal. Pingback from Apple II Enthusiasts group on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/5251478676/permalink/10156669677623677/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/5251478676/permalink/10156669677623677/</a> I posted a link to your video there, which sparked a conversation and inspired some others to try the ozone + UV method. One person tried an entire keyboard without disassembly and posted results. The plastic looks nice, but he notes that metal parts corroded very quickly during the treatment, so doing it without disassembly probably wasn't a good idea. Photos: <a href="http://bit.ly/2wNPqo3" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/2wNPqo3</a> <a href="http://bit.ly/2xkds7Y" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/2xkds7Y</a> "the bag was about 60cm circumference and 100cm long ... a small transparent garbage bag. It was about 4hrs in the bag in full sunlight."

toasterking

That's a good idea. Walmart also sells 10-gallon Ziploc bags in packs of 4.

toasterking

So, with the "too white" part about the heat method. I think if you just used less time, you would get a more accurate result. So instead of 4 hours, just do 2 hours and inspect it. As for why ozone worked, basically you need free oxygen atoms that want to bond with something. Oxygen in the air is O2, so it won't easily bond. Ozone is O3, but apparently the UV light will cause it to decompose, leaving a free oxygen atom.

The 8-Bit Guy

I'm a little concerned with the conclusions from these results. First off, keys are not the best test surface because they wouldn't show streaking, which was the main problem with the Osborne restoration. Secondly, the very lightest result (peroxide?) was actually TOO light -- the key was now bleached white when the original color of that plastic is more of an ivory. Finally, I am concerned that the "best" result, done through heat, is a good idea because excess heat is either going to potentially melt the plastic, and even if it didn't, will certainly artificially age it -- I'm worried it will make it more brittle. I think the best result is the clear pure hydrogen peroxide -- this has always shown to have the best results, but is cost-prohibitive which is why it is only used for smaller parts. The big unanswered question for me is why the ozone method worked at all -- it shouldn't have, but it worked a little bit, and that's very interesting because it seemed to have the lowest cost, light, and heat. I'd ask a chemist why that worked a little bit and whether or not it could be improved.

Jim Leonard

The fact that Ozone + sun worked so well, makes me really hope you do a larger Ozone test with a full sized object for a longer period of time. Similarly, the question of is it UV or heat, you can easily test by using a UV light with Ozone.

Very interesting. Look forward to seeing what you come up with for the heated version. We don’t get enough sun in the UK to go for the leaving it on the driveway solution.

Kevin Leah (AKA Zoinks!)

For the o-zone, you could use one of those vacuum bags for storing clothes, should be big enough and air tight.

Sam

You mentioned sealing the plastic a while ago when answering the question if retrobrighted plastic becomes yellow again. Can you maybe do a video on actually sealing the plastic/giving it a protective layer some time? I'm really interested in that since it seems like it's the cherry on the pie so to speak, the finishing touch. I might just try the heat method on my SNES' case since that thing is horribly yellowed (dang the seller for not sending me what was advertised...). :P PS: also asked this in the YT comments, sorry for that.

Just what I came here to say! Only problem is that they require a minimum liquid level.

Hey David, rather than building your own water heating device, maybe look into some kind of sous vide cooker? It's a system that heats and circulates water bath to a very specific temperature for cooking, and they are often stand alone units that can simply be placed in a tub or pot.