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Old 21st Feb 2021, 1:13 pm   #1
tim.norris
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Default Bush TR82 Retrobright Test

I am eventually getting round to rejuvinating the many different versions of the Bush TR series , the front and rear cases on these suffer from colour degradation caused by years of sunlight . I recently wet sanded a TR82B but it was very time consuming and impossible to get into the grille vents and it then needed polishing as well . Watching some You Tube videos of people restoring Commodore /Atari games consoles which were also badly affected by sunlight , using the retrobright method , coating the surface with hydrogen peroxide hair cream and then leaving under uv lamps to bring back to the original colour. I was a bit dubious that this would work with 1950`s plastic but had nothing to lose so gave it a try . I lined a plastic box with tin foil and purchased some string type led uv lights which were stuck to the lid bought some Blonde hair product from are local superstore . Wouldn`t get a job on Blue Peter ! I covered one half up to be able to discern any difference, coated the uncovered part with the cream and then covered it with cling film , put it in the box overnight not expecting much to happen but when i looked this morning the difference was remarkable , once washed off the surface and shine still remain but its now the correct colour for very little effort ! Obviously I will have to tweak a few things but it looks very promising for very little outlay . Will report back when I have had more time to play , regards, Tim.
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Old 21st Feb 2021, 1:37 pm   #2
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Default Re: Bush TR82 Retrobright Test

Gosh, that's good. Now for the other half without a join!
 
Old 21st Feb 2021, 1:41 pm   #3
tim.norris
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Default Re: Bush TR82 Retrobright Test

This is only my test piece there`s a big lump missing top left ! but yes it is good , will probably work on other plastic radios of this era that have yellowed badly , regards, Tim.
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Old 21st Feb 2021, 3:25 pm   #4
paulsherwin
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Default Re: Bush TR82 Retrobright Test

Presumably you could use a bright summer's day as a UV source rather than building a light box.
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Old 21st Feb 2021, 3:50 pm   #5
tim.norris
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Default Re: Bush TR82 Retrobright Test

Yes, but we don`t seem to get many sunny days in Lancashire ! regards, Tim.
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Old 21st Feb 2021, 5:12 pm   #6
SiriusHardware
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Default Re: Bush TR82 Retrobright Test

What really amazes me is when I see this used on keycaps and other printed items to no apparently harmful effect. Common sense tells you that they should all be wrecked by a process like this but that does not seem to happen.
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Old 21st Feb 2021, 5:30 pm   #7
tim.norris
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Default Re: Bush TR82 Retrobright Test

Yes me to , but I wouldn`t like to risk it with the printed red dial plate on the Bush , I have removed it quite easily so that I dont have to worry about it . Will let you know how I get on during the week , regards, Tim.
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Old 21st Feb 2021, 7:05 pm   #8
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Default Re: Bush TR82 Retrobright Test

Tim well done an impressive result, I must try this myself.
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Old 21st Feb 2021, 7:21 pm   #9
tayjack17
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Default Re: Bush TR82 Retrobright Test

That is a very good result. I like the LCD strips
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Old 6th Mar 2021, 9:33 pm   #10
tim.norris
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Default Re: Bush TR82 Retrobright Test

After a bit of experimenting here are a few thoughts on the method ,
Have added an extra flourescent uv lamp to cut down on time and add a little heat . First Remove any marks with very fine wet and dry , wet of course before retrobrighting. Keep rotating the item and replenish the peroxide every few hours otherwise "banding "occurs though this can be eliminated by leaving in the box for a longer period. . Have found that however long you leave it cooking it will not get any lighter than the original . have tried it with the lighter panels of a tr82d and it works just as well with these . Be prepared to strip everything ! inc the dial plate though it doesnt affect any painted lettering .After all this it works far far better than i had hoped . A while back i bought a "headlamp"restorer kit in Aldi for restoring yellowed plastic headlamps ,ive used this on the clear plastic dials with great results , so i used the very fine emery included to get rid of blemishes in the cases of an etr82 export model i am rejuvinating and also used the included polish on the cases before retrobrighting . On removal they looked fantastic so gave them a going over with some solvol autosol chrome polish then finished them off with the uv prevention cream included in the kit. Even the wife thinks they are great ! Its a labour of love but when youv`e got every model made in England it has to be done , only another 15 to go ! Regards, Tim.
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Old 7th Mar 2021, 10:38 am   #11
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Default Re: Bush TR82 Retrobright Test

Wow, that has come up really nice! I’ve got a few manly ones here, maybe I’ll give it a go. Out of interest, does doing this have any long term effects on the plastic? Such as making it go brittle or crumbly? I have a Hitachi black and white telly with a white rear cover, seems to be made of a slightly flexible plastic, but where it’s discoloured it has begun to go powdery, it also smells like armpits too..

Regards
Lloyd
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Old 7th Mar 2021, 11:09 am   #12
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Default Re: Bush TR82 Retrobright Test

Amazing , like Lloyd I was wondering if there would be some long term effect on the plastic only time will tell, very impressive though, Mick.
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Old 7th Mar 2021, 1:31 pm   #13
tim.norris
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Default Re: Bush TR82 Retrobright Test

Lloyd and Mick , I`m sure that its only the surface of the plastic that`s affected ,ive not noticed any changes to the plastic whatsoever , the only problem i have now is what to do with the chromed plastic BUSH letters that are always in poor condition . The early ones had real metal chrome letters ,probably a cost saving measure by bush. Regards, Tim.
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Old 9th Mar 2021, 3:01 am   #14
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Default Re: Bush TR82 Retrobright Test

The Retr0bright inventors (it's an open-source discovery from some vintage computing forum with various different mixes and methods - you can read some here at the Retr0bright Project) say that they haven't had any reports of it affecting the plastic. However, the earliest attempt wasn't many years ago in the life so far of these objects, so I don't think anyone is completely certain. They have had industrial chemists on board and believe it's to do with the bromine fire retardants in the mix, rather than a structural element of the plastic, so I think they're relatively confident it won't accelerate any normal age-related decay.
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