Getting the Yellow Out! (PC-Engines, SNES)

[Leroy]

I posted this over at the PC-Engine FX forums but I figured the information might be useful here too. I bought a PC-Engine Duo-R the other week and like most of them doing the rounds these days (check eBay or Yahoo Japan) it was a bit yellow. As a collector, this wasn't acceptable; so I set out to make wrongs right.

The below is written out for a PC-Engine Duo-R, but obviously any yellowed system should be much the same. Other PC-Engine systems or accessories, Model 1 SNESes, etc. Because the blue logo (lettering) on the Duo-R was not affected, I'm assuming the bleach isn't really whitening the system more than it's actually just breaking up and sucking out all the dirt and grime in the plastic.

Here's the process I used, you can do this or your own variation of it. You'll need some Comet or Clorox gel all-purpose cleaner, a large bottle of bleach (or two) and a toothbrush or two (medium bristle for scrubbing). The Duo is a very nice system to take apart, everything is fairly simple and friendly unlike the hell that is taking apart a PS2. Everything on the CD lid can be taken apart so you're left with just the plastic and the small plastic piece over the CD drive and lens also removes very easily. The first step is using the gel and toothbrush to scrub the system down. This should get most of the color out and loosen up the deep-in surface color. You can be as gentle or rough as you want, just be careful as you could mark the surface lightly. If you want to apply major elbow-grease perhaps a sponge would be better. After you're satisfied with the scrubbing, place the shell in a cake pan (you'll probably have to do each half separately) and fill to the top with bleach. I can't say how long to leave it in, but I left each piece in for 16-24 hours before removing. Once you remove, rinse thoroughly with cold water, towel dry what you can and leave it to dry for an hour or so. You may use a hair dryer to speed up drying, and you'll need to make sure there isn't any bleach or water left in the corners or screw holes. Piece it back together and you're done!

Now, this is what I did. Both steps may not be necessary. If anybody wants to try soaking in bleach alone (to avoid scrubbing the system) let me know how well it comes out. Take before and after pictures if you can!

http://pixyjunket.aorange.com/userpics/random/duopad1.jpg

http://pixyjunket.aorange.com/userpics/random/duopad3.jpg

http://pixyjunket.aorange.com/userpics/random/duor1.jpg

http://pixyjunket.aorange.com/userpics/random/duor2.jpg

Enjoy!

[TEND]

Wow, that's the first time I've ever seen someone get the yellow out of the system, I had just assumed that it was permanent. I'll try it out on one of my yellowed SNES's in a few days.

[SkiDragon]

Ive used comet bleach powder to clean dirty systems, but It never took any "yellow" off, that I can tell. Are you sure this wasnt just dirty? Ill believe this when I see it on an SNES. Plus it will probably gradually turn yellow again.

[actofgod]

I'd always heard that Nintendo used different suppliers for the plastic cases on the original SNES. Some were of lower quality and yellowed over time. It explains why other systems don't seem to ever turn yellow, and why some systems only turn half yellow (top or bottom parts).

Seems like they can turn yellow just from grime and such also. I wonder if this method would work in both situations or just the latter. Regardless, nice job finding this... I would have never tried soaking it in bleach; seems like it would be too harsh on the plastic. Someone try this on a SNES and post results.

[Teo]

In my search for a white Saturn I noticed those can get a little yellow too.

[McBacon]

Oh craps, thats amazing! I've got a spare snes that I can try out. (My primary SNES is spray painted silver :P)

[Jibbajaba]

I am skeptical, but I'm going to try this on my yellowed SNES tommorow. That before picture doesn't look like dirt to me, it looks like a yellowed system. If this really works, then you sir are going to be legendary in the classic gaming community.

Chris

[AlexKidd]

That's very useful information. I don't have a pc engine duo unfortunately but I think i'll be doing that to one of snes' and my top loader.

[Cauterize]

After you're satisfied with the scrubbing, place the shell in a cake pan (you'll probably have to do each half separately) and fill to the top with bleach.

Can you explain the Cake Pan business more please?

Is the bleach in contact with the Console Shell, or is it the fumes which do the work (If bleach gives off any!?)

The way you say place the shell "in" the cake pan, and bleach in the "top" kinda confused me


(Feel free to call me a dumbass...)

[NESaholic]

That looks great man, awesome even, i have a SNES who i got in this yellow state i will try it soon.Thanx for the info!

[Leroy]

After you're satisfied with the scrubbing, place the shell in a cake pan (you'll probably have to do each half separately) and fill to the top with bleach.

Can you explain the Cake Pan business more please?

Is the bleach in contact with the Console Shell, or is it the fumes which do the work (If bleach gives off any!?)

The way you say place the shell "in" the cake pan, and bleach in the "top" kinda confused me


(Feel free to call me a dumbass...)
Sorry if it was worded badly. It puts the lotion in the.. wait, wrong method. You place the shell of the system (obviously you want to remove all the insides as placing electronics in bleach would probably give negative results) in the cake pan. You fill the cake pan to the top with bleach, or at least to the point where the plastic shell is fully submerged. Like I said above, you'll probably have to do it one half at a time.

[Leroy]

I am skeptical, but I'm going to try this on my yellowed SNES tommorow. That before picture doesn't look like dirt to me, it looks like a yellowed system. If this really works, then you sir are going to be legendary in the classic gaming community.

Chris
Legendary.. I like that.

Let me know how it turns out. I did this to my Duo-R, 2 controllers and a multi-tap and all of them are sparkling white now. The controllers (as seen in my picture) were practically brown when I got them.

[anagrama]

Man, that's sweet :) I've got a slightly-yellowed PC Engine in the post to me at the moment, so I'll have to give it a crack when that arrives. Thanks! :D

[Lord Contaminous]

It really does work. I just tried it on my Duo-R controller. And now it's so pearly white.

I have to do it to my Duo-R system shell itself sometime. The yellowing is not as bad as the controller was, but all in all the color is a little off in comparison.

[SuperShark]

I do not have a system to try this out on, but I do know some advice I can still give.

Please make sure that all inard componets and any metal objects like screws are completly removed as the bleach WILL leave very bad side effects on them. One thing that I do know about bleach and I have learnd from expierence is that it is increable at making rust! That's right, seconds of having bleach on a metal object will result in rust!

Just thought I'd give this little heads up. Nice job on your discovery Leroy!

[Funk Buddy]

I may have missed this mentioned, but if it came from Japan it's probably cig smoke that yellowed it and not the plastic changing like the SNES systems.

[Leroy]

I may have missed this mentioned, but if it came from Japan it's probably cig smoke that yellowed it and not the plastic changing like the SNES systems.
Is smoking THAT big of a problem in Japan? It's possible, but it's SO difficult to find one that's not yellow (especially the controllers) in Japan even that I'm leaning more towards just general yellowing plastic.

[D-Lite]

The big question now Leroy is how well is the video output working ;)

[§ Gideon §]

2 words: knowledge base.

[Funk Buddy]

I may have missed this mentioned, but if it came from Japan it's probably cig smoke that yellowed it and not the plastic changing like the SNES systems.
Is smoking THAT big of a problem in Japan? It's possible, but it's SO difficult to find one that's not yellow (especially the controllers) in Japan even that I'm leaning more towards just general yellowing plastic.

I know mine smelled like smoke when I got it.

[Leroy]

Well hopefully somebody can chime in with some SNES results since it appears between here and PC-Engine FX forums, it seems to be working rather well for all PC-Engine stuffs.

[D-Lite]

2 words: knowledge base.
Has been submitted in Leroy's name. 8-)

[RockyRaccoon]

I don't have any Yellowed Systems to test this out on....

But I would like it if we can get more people to test this out and figure out the success rate if it's not 100% already. :)

I'm not Doubting the method, but this will determine if it works on any kinda of "Yellow" as it is.

~Rocky

[anagrama]

Well, I'm going to be trying it on my PCE as soon as I get the gamebit I ordered a couple of days ago. Will take before & after pics :)

[Lord Contaminous]

From what I observed when my PC Engine Duo-R controller was taking a 2 day bleach bath, one sign that it's working is that off little brown pieces of sediment settling at the bottom of the bowl. Residue shrivels up and crumbles.

EDIT: BTW when using bleach, don't use metal bowls. The metal absored the bleach and ruined the bowl and we had to throw it away. Best thing to use is maybe a plastic bucket or some form of tupperware.

[SuperShark]

Shoot Man! Did you not read my post?

[anagrama]

Well, I can firmly recommend this now, after my yellowed PC Engine took a 24-hour bleach bath yesterday and came up looking pristine pearly-white :D I'll try and get some comparison pics up in the next cople of days.

[Leroy]

Well, I can firmly recommend this now, after my yellowed PC Engine took a 24-hour bleach bath yesterday and came up looking pristine pearly-white :D I'll try and get some comparison pics up in the next cople of days.
Good to hear! Looking forward to more pictures.

Hopefully someone can try out an SNES soon.

[TheSmirk]

I have a SNES to try, dunno when I'll have time though, and I guess I can scrap my....umm.... "Crest-whitening strips" experiment LOL, this one seems to work good so far.

[§ Gideon §]

LOL. Actually, I think Crest Whitening Strips are basically strips of bleach. Are they not? So, it just might work.

[godsey1]

No one has posted if this works on a SNES, so I have a SNES soaking right now. I'll take it out of the bleach tomorrow evening. Here are the before pics:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-1/587922/HKMGO-GEWUP-INEZV-snes2.jpg
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-1/587922/VMSUX-snes.jpg

Tony

[anagrama]

Here's further proof with a couple of pics of my PCE. The pictures aren't the best, but the difference is obvious :)

Before:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-9/821525/pcebefore.jpg

After:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-9/821525/pceafter.jpg

[godsey1]

That is a big difference. Was the yellowing on the inside also like the SNES? The SNES is soaking, and will be ready by tomorrow evening.
Tony

[anagrama]

No, it was just on the surface. It'll be interesting to see if this works on the SNES - good luck! :)

[godsey1]

I hope it works also, I have about 5 or 6 that are like this.
Tony

[Great Hierophant]

Is there a posibility of this getting a SNES "too white?" After all, the SNES is not supposed to be a pure white, more of a light blueish-gray.

[D-Lite]

From what I observed when my PC Engine Duo-R controller was taking a 2 day bleach bath, one sign that it's working is that off little brown pieces of sediment settling at the bottom of the bowl. Residue shrivels up and crumbles.

EDIT: BTW when using bleach, don't use metal bowls. The metal absored the bleach and ruined the bowl and we had to throw it away. Best thing to use is maybe a plastic bucket or some form of tupperware.
You oxidized that bowl.

Note to everyone, bleach is a VERY strong oxident. By putting it in contact with metal you are going to really cause some damage. Rust is a form of metal oxidation.

Also, please do not ever mix bleach with an acid of any kind!!! This means things like vinegar or even baking soda. You will produce HCl gas which can do major damage to your lungs and eyes!

[omnedon]

Wise words from Dean!

Thanks!

[anagrama]

That is a big difference. Was the yellowing on the inside also like the SNES? The SNES is soaking, and will be ready by tomorrow evening.
Tony

So how'd your SNES turn out?

[rbudrick]

It would seem you are taking off a layer of plastic when you do this, as the plastic is yellowed as a result of an oxidation process (like when metal rusts, only this is on plastic).

Also, may of these plastics are yellowed all the way through. I'd bet if you cracked some of the plastic after de-yellowing, you would see the middle still yellow on some items. :)

-Rob

[davidleeroth]

Also, may of these plastics are yellowed all the way through. I'd bet if you cracked some of the plastic after de-yellowing, you would see the middle still yellow on some items. :)

-Rob

In my experience I've found that this is not the case at least with NES, SNES and PC-Engines.

[anagrama]

It would seem you are taking off a layer of plastic when you do this, as the plastic is yellowed as a result of an oxidation process (like when metal rusts, only this is on plastic).


But if that's the case, then how was the logo on my PC Engine untouched?

[§ Gideon §]

Yeah, that has got to be false unless I've mistaken something. Plastic does not "breathe", so only the surface oxidizes.

I predict the yellow SNES will turn white, like GH said.

[godsey1]

My opinion is that this does not work on the SNES. I left mine in it for 2 days, and the only thing that it did was make the yellow cleaner. Here's the after pictures: http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-1/587922/ROTXW-snes1111.jpg

[SkiDragon]

Thats really a shame.

EDIT: It actually looks a bit whiter, at least on the picture.

[godsey1]

Yea, it is a tiny bit white, but not much. I wouldn't go through the smell just for that little bit of difference.
Tony

[rbudrick]

Yeah, that has got to be false unless I've mistaken something. Plastic does not "breathe", so only the surface oxidizes.

Well there was some pretty heated threads about this before. It was pretty conclusively proven that the yellowing is due to oxidization in almost all cases (99%, I'd guess). Some folks have broken their NESs and SNESs and it was yellow all the way through. I'm not sure what you mean by "breathe" but oxygen will bond with whatever it feels like. Plastic is generally very porous and facilitates this.

And to those who say it is due to cigarette smoke or sunlight, this does not account for the nonsmokers that left their SNES or NESin a box in a closet, only to take it out years later and find it yellow.

As for the logo, I would bet that the bleach doesn't affect that material, or only did minimally.

With the PC Engine, I believe it is a different plastic and therefore did not yellow all the way through.

-Rob

[phreak97]

i know the snes plastic turns to shit during the yellowing process.. i dropped my yellow snes about one foot, and it cracked open a huge gaping hole.. the plastic has gone extremely brittle.

[mills]

Grat thread, great discovery. It's a shame that there may not be a method be de-yellowing an SNES case. But luckily my SNES isn't yellow at all! What release of the SNES did I get that just doesn;t happen to turn yellow?

[Leroy]

Sad to hear it didn't work out for the SNES.

I still get a smile when I see my shiny white Duo-R.