RetroBrighting SNES

Hello Birders! 🐥🎮✨

I have been working on many projects lately, one of them was RetroBrighting a Super Nintendo. 

RetroBrighting is the process of using chemicals and UV to remove the yellowing from ABS plastics. Many older electronics were gray when they were new but they are beginning to turn yellow with time and UV exposure.

An example of different stages of ABS yellowing:

 

RetroBrighted | Stored indoors | Stored in a garage

I have seen many YouTube videos of different techniques used for this process and compared them. Among them, these were my favorite:

8-Bit Guy - Adventures in Retrobrite

Adrian Black - A new way to fix yellowed plastics indoors?

For this project, I used SalonCare 40 Creme and applied it to the clean console shell with a brush. I left the shell out in the sun and rotated it about every hour for even exposure.

RetroBrighting can be dangerous, chemical splashes and UV exposure may cause blindness! Please wear the appropriate safety gear if you try this.

I have been working on restoring a Super Nintendo found in a garage. The original case for the Super Nintendo was far too brittle for the process, so I had to use a replacement shell.

Here is the "new" shell:

 

Most of the dirt came off at the top and looked much better after it was washed.

 Cleaned parts:

 

 It is critical that each part that will be processed is completely clean because it may cause a marbling effect if the dirt is cleaned off after RetroBrighting.

 After about 4 hours, here is the end result:

I was aiming to get to this color:

 

Here is a comparison between the new RetroBrighted shell and the original shell.

Although the bottom shell of the RetroBrighted SNES might need some more work, it is a major improvement, and not bad for my first attempt!

I hope to try different methods of RetroBrighting, such as completely submerging the plastic in clear SalonCare40 or UV lighting, so I may update this post.

Thank you!

 

-Pico