Gamerade - Remove Yellow from Super Nintendo, Other Consoles, Plastics - Adam Koralik 

The actual reason to do this is not because it makes sense financially, but because old systems (whether consoles or home computers) decrease in numbers and will never increase again, so it makes a lot of sense to preserve them, within reasonable and mildly seemingly unreasonable expense. A Super Nintendo or even a Dreamcast is no longer a consumer item, they are collector items and people keep becoming collectors, but they barely ever quit. This also means the worth of well-preserved items is going to increase, which makes preserving classic consoles sensible. I'm not sure whether processing the part makes them less brittle - i don't see why it would be the case. Both active components are effectively bleach. PVC for example is naturally brittle, and gets plasticisers besides fire retardants added to it in production, but at no point are you adding plasticisers back in. However with SNES which yellowed on the inside, probably it's not PVC but ABS, and it's not necessarily naturally brittle, and something else is going on there, and i'm not sure what.

Thank god this guy exists.

Tried a variation of this with amazing results. Reminding back to the little I learned about science and chemicals, I know that if you have a solution that's intended to serve a specific purpose, mixing anything else in is going to effect the results greatly. That being said, I wanted to avoid adding the gum and glycerine since they didn't seem too serve a purpose in the reversing of the yellowing. So what I did was set up everything just like you did in the pans, mixed a 6% peroxide and oxyclean mixture (just these two ingredients on their own) in a spray bottle and just continuously sprayed the parts every 15-20 minutes or any time they started to look dry. It took about 2 hours to get my snes looking new again. Thought I'd share.

Next time you do it, try putting it under a UV light, rather than the sun, it's a lot quicker and stronger.

***** I think it's a pretty safe assumption that MOST versions of the SNES (model 1) are prone to yellowing. It's not like later models are impervious to this, it just seems to be a general trend that they don't do it as often. Likely due to alterations in plastic mixtures. Even if that's bullshit and totally wrong, who cares? The point is to fix it, not to complain about which ones are more or less likely to turn to shit.

Salon Care at Sally Beauty Supply is basically the same as Retro Brite, except you don't have to mix it. Also, if you set it under a UV lamp, you can leave it overnight. Leave it for a few days and you'll get great results!

Thanks for watching, and I'm glad you liked the video.

@Charlie Smyth Thanks for watching!

Ok, we get it. You are good at hand gestures.

Reading the comment section is really painful... People keep asking if it will work on other consoles or that they like the aged look of the yellowing. He clearly states in the video that this WILL work on ANY plastic that is yellowing from ultra violet light, this include other consoles and anything that is not a console as well. I do suggest adding the gum 1 tablespoon at a time as you're mixing to get the perfect thickness. Also he also states that if you don't mind the yellowing, you do not have to do this, but that it is a good idea to do this in order to give the plastic a longer life because it is not just a color change, it is a chemical reaction that causes the plastic to become hard and brittle. So doing this will not only restore the plastic color but it will restore the plastic properties as well (which is the more important part of doing this process).

For as long as I have been watching you, never actually watched this. Hearing Adam talk about chemical reactions brings joy to a recent chemistry grad.

This was the first video I ever saw on what is now commonly known as "retrobrigting." It's crazy how much the technique has been perfected in 10 years. You were a pioneer in the field sir.

According to a recent post on Slashdot, following a discussion among experts from the retro-gaming community with input from chemists, what you are seeing is the same effect from bleaching t-shirts. Unfortunately, bleaching plastic is a surface effect and it does not change the chemistry of the plastic. The discoloration will return after a few months to a few years when the flame retardants migrate back to the surface. I've had computers since the 1980's and I can tell you that stored plastic will discolor. Most UV light (UVB and UVC) is blocked by windows. Nobody uses these old computers outside, so I think most of the discoloration is accelerated by operating temperature with a secondary effect from UVA.

+ToddSixSweeney /Facepalm. The plastic is ROTTING because of the bromine. You need to restore it properly or it will become brittle and fall apart. Just painting it doesn't fix that.

Thanks for watching.

@Michel Chirac Thanks, though I can't take credit. I just followed the instructions.

I would much rather hear the sounds of nature and bugs over gunshots and car horns from the city.

Great video, Adam. Very helpful info on how to restore some classic systems. That yellow plastic really can be an eyesore sometimes, and it's good to know that there is a fairly simple and effective way to get rid of it.

another great video Adam - the best video on this topic I have seen so far. It's really good you explained ingredients etc as well, other videos seem to gloss over this part

you can make they way simpler just use hydrogen peroxide and destilled water: 2 parts water 1 part hydrogen peroxide and submerge your pieces - done you can spare the oxyclean - those are usually just other peroxides which technically do the same, but look fancy because they are dry adding xanthan only makes it easier to handle to brush it on - but if you disassemle it anyways, just submerge your pieces and you are done: way faster with the same effect. and for the gylcerin: you need to mix the glycerin to the dry xanthan to pervent lump building in the first place, afterwards it is too late and useless - a really good tip is to go to the pharmacy and get "Cosphaderm X 34" it is a xanthan based thickener used to creams and lotions and has pretty low lump building

Oxi Clean? HI BILLY MAYS HERE!!!! pom

My pleasure, thanks for watching.

Advice: Remember the sun rises east to west, so, I'd set it out in the morning facing east say around 8-9 AM, check it at 10, 11, 12 whatevs, if it still needs longer, check it around 2 or 3 ( If in the summer months and you live in the south, DO NOT leave it out for long when it's 100+ degrees, it WILL melt or warp). For the consistency, you want a honey-like consistency, Your solution will go further and cover more area. You can also use a "true" black light UV bulb (the more, the merrier), what makes this work, is UV-A (That's what makes clothes and posters glow), it's not dangerous either, UV-B is what burns you (OR, if you have access to a tanning bed, it's powerful, and you can get both sides completed at the same time). For washing, throw it in a dish washer, top shelf, on rinse cycle...

Super nintendo dentist

Thank you so much for doing this video. I have been considering doing this for a long time, but I've never seen anybody do it right or keep it on for long periods of time so I wasn't sure if it was worth the money. Love your videos. Keep kicking the ass.

+Shpati21 I would recommend using Pledge after all that to restore a lot of the shine. If it's hot enough to melt plastic, then don't do it. Any sunlight will work.

1: You'd end up needed a LOT of hydrogen peroxide. 2: Once you mix the oxyclean with it, it only has so long where by it's reactive.

If you want to save time and get a better result, just buy hydrogen peroxide that's already creamy. I use Salon Care volume 40 (it's 12% hydrogen peroxide). You can get it at your local hair salon or at Amazon. It's basically what they use to bleach hair. Then wrap it up in plastic wrap so that the H2O2 doesn't evaporate and put it under a UV lamp for a couple of hours. Works great. Using a cream rather than a thick paste makes it muck easier to apply it more even, which you definitely want to avoid making it look all dappled.

I’m definitely trying this one out. Don’t have any of the materials or a microwave, but this seems like the most effective technique I’ve seen so far.

Agreed. Thanks for watching.

4:47 Get 40 Volume clear developer. It's the same thing and they won't think you are crazy.

I blew my hands off trying this, DO NOT DO THIS

BY FAR the best video on this topic, thanks for this!

Hooray for field trips with Adam! ^_^

I always thought they yellowed cuz of people smoking in their house.

17:42 It looks like mashed potatoes.

amazing how much you know about all those old consoles. Respect man..

Can you restore blue / green / red ABS plastic with this method or would it turn grey? I have blue consoles made from ABS plastic which have discoloured from UV damage. Thanks!

Hey Adam - thanks for the video. We are a nostalgic/retro toy store (Full Circle Toys - www.fullcircletoys.com) outside Atlanta. We sell "childhood memories" - mostly stuff from the 1960s-early 1990s. ...action figures, vintage vinyl and gaming systems/games are big for us. We really only started selling the game systems a year or so ago and are expanding that department rapidly. We sell a lot of NES, SNES and other vintage systems (other Nintendo systems, Atari, X-Boxes, Sega, Playstations, and handheld systems, etc). We clean them, test them, and then bundle and shrink wrap them in a package for resale....each system comes "Tested, Guaranteed and Certified Pre-owned". We have had a number of systems (and other plastic retro items) that have yellowed. A few of the gaming systems have been so bad that we have just used them for parts. I have a couple complete NES consoles that are complete and working, but badly yellowed, so i plan to give them the "Adam treatment" soon....I bought all the stuff today....which as you said, cost about as much as a console itself. ...about $65. I got the Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide (HP) and the Glycerine at a Health Food Store, the X. Gum at Whole Foods and the Oxiclean at CVS. A few questions (anyone's response is appreciated!!). 1. Would it be possible to recycle/re-use the mixture? If i left the X. Gum out and made enough "liquid" to submerge the parts in (instead of making a paste), would it continue to be effective after use?...or would the reaction between the HP and the Oxiclean breakdown/stop working? I would be happy to invest in enough HP to make a gallon or so of this stuff if i could reuse it...it would save in the long run if could use over and over....you would of course lose a bit each time to spillage/evaporation, etc. ...but the HP is about $20 a bottle and would go fast if you simply made a paste and threw it out after each application. Also, if I didn't make the paste and just submerged items in the liquid in the sunlight, would it work eventhough the items are submerged? 2. After you clean the pieces off (with water?), do you then spray them with Pledge or something else to give them a shine and help protect them further? I read the notes and someone said something about Pledge, but wasn't sure if this was a good idea or not? Again, thanks for the video and your feedback! Richard - Full Circle Toys - Newnan, GA

Seems pretty extreme just for some yellowing.

I'm really glad you made a video on this Adam. I did a lot of research on this a while back when I bought my first dreamcast online. That thing is very yellow and I was furious when it arrived but I never sent it back since I was just excited to own one. On the off chance you ever want lots of plastic to do this to I'll send it to you with some compensation.

did not plan to go through the process when i clicked on the video, but still watched it all the way through, you did good at keeping my attention I was amused and interested the entire time, good video :)

Jesus Christ. Are you cleaning your snes or making Meth.

American Super Nintendo consoles are ugly compared to our European versions.

Thanks for watching, and good luck man.

Adam love the video. I wanted to get your advice on something. I recently bought 2 snes consoles 1 has the yellow thing going on. I would like to do this but I live Oregon and it's not very sunny here. I am wondering if there was like special a light bulb or other alternative to the sunlight. thanks

American Super Nintendo's look like complete shit. What were they thinking making a square SNES?

Great video Adam. A lot of people are wanting to know this, so it will have no trouble getting a lot of views.

I was just following what all the recipes said, and it seemed to work fine.

Great tutorial! I've recently gotten into repairs and maintenance on Nintendo stuff as a hobby. I have a feeling I'll be learning a lot!

@AdamKoralik Would you still recommend this?? IM getting a SNES In a few days and its quite yellow, its a european famicon shape :)

I'm trying this right now. The sun juuuust hit my side of the building as I was finishing "painting" the stuff on the SNES cover - perfect timing. I am watching it get all puffy like Stay Puft, cuz you know...SCIENCE!!!

Oh man. I just bought a dreamcast again and i needed this. Thank you!

Awesome video Adam! I really want to do that with my SNES aswel!! Thanks for the video!

Do you have a link to the items that were used for the yellowing? I have tools I just don't know what I need for the yellowing problem. Thanks by the way nice video

I've seen lots of guys put cling wrap to keep the peroxide from evaporating, is that necessary? Also have you tried salon care 40? Seems to be a popular option as well, I'm not sure which is better, and does the plastic actually get stronger!?

Adam thanks for your video. I tried this on my recent nostalgia SNES purchase. The console was yellow. On the top and piece inside and out and was brittle breaking apart at places. The bottom and controller ports were fine. I ended up using the Sally Beauty 40 volume xreme and got the same results so thanks. But would you say the SNES. You did is stronger, weaker or about thesame as before?

How long does it last? Some did a similar thing for Star Wars action figures from 1977, but with peroxide only and it was fine, but then after a while the yellow came back. So is the oxy-clean and glycerin make a difference to make it last?

Loving the expression I'm seeing in your hand. Top notch.

i watched some of your other videos earlier. i watched 1 minute of this one.paused it. took my ps2 apart blew all dust out ( couldn't believe how much there was) cleaned it down. my dream cast was all dirty like something spilled on it. it looks great now. then i pressed play and watched rest your video lol. all these old systems were made to last. you just gotta take care of them.

Hi Adam. - Really like these videos. Very informative! (I used your advice to clean up my grotty Mega Drive Model 2 and now it looks great! Thanks very much!) I was thinking of using this mixture on a Dreamcast and SNES, but I've read about several instances where the plastic has returned to its yellow state again just a few years after the retr0bright procedure has been carried out. I was wondering if this has occurred/started to occur with any plastics you've treated? Thanks.

Thanks for the demo! I substituted flour because I couldnt find the gum powder and it worked great!

Do you think there is some sort of 'Lacquer' or equivalent to prevent yellowing? It seems to me all you need to provent is some sort of UVA Block?

AdamKoralik you should do a video showing your game and console collection as they sit in your living room or wherever you have everything. It'd be cool to see your massive game and console collection and how you have them set up.

Where on earth did you get that Converter cart? I definitely need one of those, since I don't have the SNES.

Awesome video. I just bought a SNES from the bay and its pretty yellow. Im hoping to get a NES and try this out on both consoles. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.

Interesting idea. Thanks for watching.

What you ever do a video on soldering? The back port on my SNES is gone and I was thinking of buying a new one, but I have no idea what to do. I've never soldered before and my local gamestore doesn't do repairs. My next option would be to buy a new one, but my SNES is in good shape other than the port thing.

have you tried on the SNES controllers, do you know if it will erase the gray print on them or is it safe?

ah. fantastic. thanks for the info. a surprisingly unique way to solve a problem with a console. great info and great vid. will be doing this with my NES and SNES. at some point in the future. im guessing then that with the PAL SNES not being compatable, it is possible that the interior is different too. havent taken apart mine to clean yet. waiting for the 2 game bits to come through.

Thanks for the video man, I was wondering if the same recipe works for the NES ?

Massive massive help, Adam. Thanks so much. Really needed this. Planning on stocking up on famicoms and the cheap ones i find are extremely yellow. but like i said, cheap. like $20. Also gonna be hitting up my favorite spot sooner or later, so i'll find you something nice and send it in.

Could you do it longer if you had a UV (or Plant light) light set up instead of putting it in sun light?

Thank you very much for your videos Adam you taught me how to repair video game consoles I have restored video game consoles I kept for my personal collection I'm thinking about opening my own video game consoles repair shop in a few years You rock Adam koralik

If you notice in the video that the center (untreated) on the outcome is darker then the case (treated). A SNES has a slight purple hue/tint which tends to fade when the yellowing occurs (chemical breakdown) which also breakdown the dye used to give it its unique grey color.

anyone ever tell you you are handsy?!?!!? this video is like a 4 minute video and you went insane on the jazz hands and explanations. thankx for the video :)

Thanks for the video. I found it to be very informative and helpful. I am going to try a budget version of this with smaller quantities since I only have one snes. I was wondering, how do you keep your consoles protected from the sun while still having them available for gaming? Since you still have the snes from your childhood, in its proper color, I assume you're well informed about the subject, and it is something I would be interested to learn about.

Hey Adam I have to ask. I de-yellowed a guitar pickguard (made of plastic) that was sun stained yellow. But then the yellow reappeared. Have you noticed this problem after a few years with any consoles?

What about the very first models with the cartridge lock? Is it difficult to put back together?

Does the Bromine in the Super Nintendo's plastic ONLY REACT to natural sunlight or does light from lightbulbs also cause it to yellow?

Looks good for keeping my Dreamcast strong. Thanks Adam I'm gonna try this sometime!

Instead of using the Xanthan Gum wouldnt it be better to make enough mixture to submerge the SNES? or It wouldnt work the same?

WOW a massive improvement ;) Looks good ! I wonder if you have a sunbed you could blast them under UVA or RUVA tubes and it should work in less time ??

great vid dude. do u know if this will work on a nes case that has yellowed?

Thanks for making this, was just asking you the other day how to fix this.

Adam do you think UV light would work quicker than the sun? As its pure UV?

Hey Adam, will this method be fine to use on a Dreamcast also? Nothing different I should know? Thanks!

in a sence yes, and if you know of any internal differences, i.e. if the plastic cartridge tabs are there or not. or if the games are compatable, i.e. not needing that adapter?

I have a question for you Adam koralik how do you remove Browning on the switches for the Super Nintendo

I know this video is almost 9 years old, but do you know what brand of that Cartridge Adapter (that was in the video) is? I've been trying to find that exactly one, but it keeps showing me the one by my arcade and that one only works on American super nintendo. I was looking for the exact one that you had to where you can either use it on American super nintendo and/or the Japanese Super Famicom.

Does the yellowing ever occur in the Gen3 SNES(NA Redesign)?

if you do want to use a UV lamp or an UV Sterilization Equipment they use for towels is it the UVb or UVa that the plastic needs? because if we cant have it in the sun for 8+ hours, could you have it in the UV Sterilizer for 12+ hours and it does both sides at the same time.

Nice video with lots of cool info and video to accompany the procedure. You just made me consider revitalizing 2 of my SNES. Thanks!

Wow, my SNES is so yellow I thought they were supposed to be that color before I saw pictures of the normal gray ones. I'm definitely going to try this out.

You apply to all grey no yellowed systems do u think this will help them aswell

Are you asking why the US Super Nintendo uses a different shell than the Super Famicom and PAL SNES?

Yes, please let me know, I'm curious.

I've just done a similar process for my Famicon and 2 SNES and I've got a problem where I think the peroxide I used dried even though they were in double zip freezer bags with plenty on. One SNES now has large blotches of white and won't change. Anyone know of a way of getting rid of this?

*Great video sir!* ⭐️

If there's bromine in the plastic I wonder if platinum shock stabilizer would work for removing yellow