The first (and only) item I've even done a Retrobrite to (and the first DMG I ever modded!) has really yellowed again just 3 years later and this has been stored out of any sunlight for most of the time.
Retrobrighting - I just don't bother with it anymore. It's a very temporary fix and probably will end up degrading the plastics when applied again and again.
It's from the oxidation of the plastic that does the yellowing. It's like car tires when you clean them a bunch of brown comes off but the is no signs of dirt. It's the rubber that is oxidized. About all petroleum based products will do this in some form rather we realize it or not.
Se for realmente a oxidação do plástico, o que fazer nesse caso? Se o plástico está oxidado, ele já perdeu suas propriedades, mesmo que exista um produto anti oxidante, apenas passá-lo não resolverá o problema, vai ser preciso deixar o plástico branco antes disso. Após o retrobright, se passar algum produto antioxidante no plástico, será que funcionaria?
That's why I don't do retrobrighting. There's a lot of evidence that it ends up making the yellowing worse and the plastic more brittle than just leaving it alone.
Yeah I don't know for sure this doesn't seem brittle at least but I don't think GameBoys are too bad for that (compared to the SNES for example!) I do have another stock DMG that's not too yellow so that's good and if I decide to rejuvenate this one I'll just go with a decent quality aftermarket shell that looks like the original.
Neither are true. The yellowing doesn't get worse, it just resumes its yellowing process. And it doesn't become more brittle, or I should say, it does but in such an insignificant way it's rather irrelevant. I've read comments from 2 different people with expertise in chemistry that criticized the bromide fire retardant assumptions and those concepts, and there's an extensive analysis of the yellowing issue and retrobrite on a channel named "Hey Birt!" that goes really in depth with the science behind it. Look it up. The problem is really just oxidation, it's fairly simple. Retrobrite does nothing but bleaching. It's glorified bleaching. And bleaching doesn't last forever.
Likewise, not a good idea. A specialised german magazine had an article they cowrote with museum curators ... just clean and don't retrobright. It affects the plastics. Otherwise just recreate new plastics in the color you want, you can always put the old ones back on
@@Shendue Sounds like you saw the same video I did. Because everything you said, literally came from the chemist who conducted actual experiments in which it was discovered that bromine wasn't actually the cause of its yellowing after-all, but rather merely oxidization. Now we're here spreading the word. lol So possibly the same person you saw, also mentioned using 303 UV resistant protector spray after a retro-brite process, in order to slow down the oxidization effects. On top of that, it was also discovered that simply leaving your yellowed plastic out in the sun (no peroxide) will actually bleach out the yellow in a similar way (due to UV radiation) that "retrobrite" will. It didn't make sense to me until I've tested 2 SNES Super Scope sensors and an original NES Advantage joystick that turned so much, it actually looked more like light coffee rather than yellow. Well.. after one week of sitting next to my living room's glass patio doors, where the sun would shine in the mornings until the evening sunset, it actually bleached it about 90% back to it's original color. Fair to note that my NES advantage was only heavily discolored from the surface. Underneath the plastic shell, still looked color accurate. My two Super Scope sensors had been properly bleached, but not to it's original color unfortunately. It just took out the yellow, but the grey is now more like a standard grey, rather than that slate grey it once was. Not sure if more sun bathing would help, but i pulled them out of the light and gave them a wipe of armor-all UV resistant spray for now. Apparently, sun bathing, so long as the sun isn't extreme (Australia sun) can bestow safer bleaching than with the use of peroxide with UV, which the chemist said, showed a change in the plastic structure, hence making some very old plastics brittle. But if the plastic is already semi-brittle, using the sun to bleach it, may only further weaken the molecular structure. Really interesting stuff. I used to blame it on bromine and UV too. But my when my white Dreamcast turned completely yellow in a pitch black storage unit for years, i knew something wasn't right about the whole UV thing. lol
Oh no, that sucks! It's so hard to tell when Nintendo plastic has gotten back to original gray, just because they used so many different shades of gray plastics. 😩 Thanks for sharing this.
I still believe there's a science to remove it completely. I used the OddTinkering method and 2 years in mines still looking pretty good. Not sure about the brittle part. Still feels pretty normal to me upon comparison from the other GBs I haven't RB.
It's amazing what we appreciated back in the day with the limited screen tech of the day, rose tinted glasses definitely affect our memories but it is great what can be done these days mixing old tech with new mods.
@@MN12BIRD That is true too, I do try not to look at screens that are too tiny these days, my eyesight has diminished, one of the reason even on some of my older ANDROID handhelds I love emulating old handhelds that had tiny or poorly lit screens on a nice sharp backlit modern 5 inch or greater screen.
I’m debating on trying a spray lacquer after retrobrighting my snes. Can’t make it worse but if it doesn’t yellow in a few years then I’ll know lacquer is the answer
Of course exposure to light is irrelevant. Yellowing is caused by oxidation, not light exposure. Light only adds energy to the process, potentially speeding it up. But the culprit is oxygen. Unless you put it in a vacuum, it will keep yellowing. There's a great video on a channel named "Hey Birt!" that goes in depth with the science behind yellowing and retrobrite and busts some myths. Also, a few comments from people with chemistry degrees I've read some time ago explained the same things expressed in the aforementioned video. The guys that first crested the retrobrite technique weren't chemistry experts, therefore they spread some misconceptions. I strongly suggest to watch the video from "Hey Birt!". It's called "The truth about retrobrite" or smt. It's one of the best analysis of the issue I've seen.
I guess with all the work involved in the whole retrobrite game, it would be easier to buy a modern shell. There are many really good ones out there, and they are cheap (around £12 in the UK, in 2024).
Interesting. I've never done any retro brighting myself, but I had heard the yellowing could return. I didn't realize it was independent of UV exposure though. I suppose this means that if you really don't like the yellowing, a coat of paint is the best way to go.
Well if the plastic became yellow originally than why would you expect it to not come back? How well you did the retrobrite will determine how long it will last. Also the type of plastic matters.
Some plastics just re yellow over time I have an Apple IIc+ and I retrobrided it and about 7 years later it reallowed but it's not that big of a deal to just take it back apart and just retrobrite it again
I think it's gotta be the bromide in the plastic, which is embedded into the plastic batch and is continually producing this result (leaching?). Shame that, but this must be a batch composition/chemistry thing since as you see the backhalf is unaffected. Very common to see half a SNES discolored and the other half fine. I think this must be something to do with oxygen (oxidation) rather than simply UV exposure. Like a cut apple kind of thing. I think best case scenario is try to locate a non-degraded one thats' broken for cheap and swap the case.
Nope. That's not correct. Bromide has nothing to do with that. That was a wrong assumption made by the people who first created the retrobrite method. I've read comments from people with chemistry degrees saying that the idea is wrong and there's a very well done video on a channel named "Hey Birt!" that debunks the concept. Look it up. The real issue is simply oxidation of the ABS plastic.
I have a sort of half-baked theory that keeping the plastic in a confined space can cause it to yellow. I put my old (hitherto unyellowed) Atari ST in storage for a while, and packed it really carefully in a cardboard box that I cut to fit it perfectly. It was stored in a cool dry place, and zero light could get to it, but when I took it out a couple of years later, it had yellowed really badly. In other words, it survived many years without yellowing, but a couple of years confined inside a tight-fitting cardboard box caused it to suddenly yellow very badly. I retrobrighted a beige Compaq keyboard. I put that away in storage, just for a few months this time while I was in the process of buying a house. It was inside a cardboard box with some other computer stuff. The yellowing came back with a vengeance. It was the same as before, because the yellowing had been uneven, so I recognized that the pattern of yellowing was the same as it was previously before I retrobrighted it. I set it up on a desk with a PC, meaning to retrobright it again eventually. It was out on the desk under artificial light, but with no direct sunlight hitting it, and the yellowing went away on its own! I think there must be some offgassing occurring, and if the plastic is stored somewhere unventilated, the gas has nowhere to go, and it will cause yellowing. We know UV also causes yellowing, but I think confinement does too. I don't know if it's the same process occurring or a different one. They must be related somehow though, because the inside surfaces of the plastic never seem to go yellow, and there is obviously little to no air movement inside the casing. Anyway, try re-retrobrigting that DMG, and this time store it somewhere where it is not exposed to excess heat or UV light, but air can move freely around it.
Yep, that's why I don't Retrobright anything. I remember when this became a thing like 13 years ago or so. I tried it on my old yellowed SNES. First it came out crappy, it looked like it had waves all through it. Then not even a year or 2 later it was even more yellow then it was originally. So I only replace cases now, most of the popular systems you can buy new cases for. And I only replace if they are super brittle, and are cracking and stuff. People are going to find later on that if you retrobright your retro consoles and computers, it will take value away from them. Kinda like a nasty dirty coin is worth more then one that is all polished up. If you take the patina away, it takes the history of the item with it I guess. lol... Now don't get me wrong, I would love to have a SNES for example that is all nice and pretty, but I will leave it alone. And if the case gets brittle, then I will think about changing it out with a new one.
Yeah I'll probably end up replacing the shell when I can find a good quality original grey with all the proper printing (some don't say Nintendo Game Boy) on them but eventually I'll just swap it and have one that at least looks the part!
Damn ): I'm sorry about it ! I like to keep things original as possible, but I suggest buying a new shell instead.... Some of them come in great quality !
That's pretty bad looking. it's that exact outcome why I don't buy retrobrited white/grey consoles. When I wanted a good looking Sega Dreamcast, I spent 13 months looking for one did eventually find one that ticked my criteria case and GDROM wise. If I still had a SNES and the upper or lower shell part had yellowed... I'd look around for one with a good non-yellowed case part and put it onto my SNES to complete the clean look.
It works great, but if there's any yellowing at all, which in your case there was, it will come back. You usually want to make it slightly lighter than originally so it doesn't come back so quick.
