Edit: 80sFREAK pointed out that you may need to cover the printed aluminum plates on your system with gentle masking tape while cleaning it to prevent the print from being damaged!
Hi there,
This is an attempt to write a relatively comprehensive guide to overhauling your Famicom system and making it look and function as close to new as possible. Here is what we will cover:
1. What you will need
2. Taking the system apart
3. Cleaning the Famicom
4. The de-yellowing process
5. Some final notes
Before I go any further, I want you to know what you are getting in to. When I started, my system was yellowing and was quite dirty. The discoloration was un-even and it looked like someone had it in storage for a while. This is what it looked like after the cleanup and one round of retr0bright de-yellowing:
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7070/6847396862_e34c4e6771_b.jpg)
I don't know if the photo really even does it justice. It is very white, but my lighting isn't that great :(
Note that the stickers are missing. The only stickers on the entire system that will really hold up throughout the process are the silver serial number sticker on the bottom of the system, the controller faces, and the logo on the front of the system (it's not a sticker). I'm not taking any responsibility if you damage your system or yourself while following this guide, so please be careful and wear protective gloves and goggles if you feel inclined.
Anyway, on to our first step...
1. What you will need
-Phillips Screwdrivers - size PH1 and PH2 (roughly)
-Isopropyl Alcohol (90% concentration or better - found in the pharmacy aisle)
-Q-tips, cotton buds, or whatever you call them in your country.
-3% Hydrogen Peroxide (three or four quarts, found in pharmacy for less than a dollar a quart)
-OxiClean (found at grocery store on the laundry aisle)
-Steel Wool or Wire Wool (000# size)
-Dish Soap
-Toothbrush
-Towels
-Compressed (Canned) Air
-Beeswax (??? completely optional and only if you want your slider to stop squeaking loudly)
-Clear Plastic or Glass Container (slightly larger than your Famicom) Like this:
(http://img2.targetimg2.com/wcsstore/TargetSAS//img/p/11/86/11861881.jpg)
2. Taking the system apart
-Follow this guide to take your Famicom apart first. It's pretty comprehensive:
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nintendo-Family-Computer-Famicom-Teardown/3199/1 (http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nintendo-Family-Computer-Famicom-Teardown/3199/1)
- Also, take your controllers apart. Remove the six screws on the back, noting which back belongs to which controller. Take all the innards, buttons, and rubber contact pads apart and put them aside.
-Take the lever assembly apart that pushes the games out of your system. If you look inside the cylinders of the assembly, you will see there are two Philips screws holding it together. Remove them and separate the plastic pieces from the metal.
-You may also take the sliding red button off the top of your system. Gently press on the flexible tabs on the sides of the slide and lift it off.
3. Cleaning the Famicom
-Place all of the bare plastic parts in a sink, and run warm water over them. Add dish soap to the still water so it doesn't foam too much.
-Wait a few minutes.
-Scrub everything gently with a toothbrush and set it all aside on a towel.
-Drain the sink.
-Place everything back in the sink and rinse thoroughly.
-Use canned air to clean off any electronic parts that are dusty.
-Very gently clean the volume slider contacts (on the button itself) from controller II with the steel wool and a little alcohol on a Q-tip.
-Use Q-tips and alcohol to thoroughly clean any and all of the controller button contacts on the rubber pieces and on the controller PCB.
-Use steel wool to polish up the RF connector on the back of your system.
-If you need to, put a drop of alcohol in the power switch and slide it back a forth a few times. You can also you Q-tips and alcohol to clean the switches on the back.
4. The de-yellowing process
This is where you will want to put on your protective gear. From my experience, this stuff is mostly harmless if you are using 3% hydrogen peroxide, but you may as well take precautions.
-Place all of the plastic parts in your clear container (I didn't put the bottom piece in the container when I did this).
-Pour the hydrogen peroxide over all of it. Make sure its all covered.
-Place the container in sunlight (make sure it's not so intense that it will melt the plastic - in that case, use indirect sunlight)
-Pour a couple of teaspoons of OxiClean in the container.
-Wait for 2-4 hours and check on the system. You may leave it for longer if it needs it.
-You may have to repeat this process a couple of times to get the full desired effect. You may also have to move the parts around periodically to make sure the UV light reaches all of the surfaces.
-Rinse the system off when you finish and wait for it to dry thoroughly.
-When I did this, the retr0bright solution we just made ate the black ink off of the sticker on the very back of the system. If this happens to you, make sure you wipe it all up and clean it off with a paper towel.
5. Some final notes
-Put the system back together following the guide in reverse.
-If the intense squeaking of the slider on top of the system bothers you, you may rub a tiny bit of hard beeswax on the surface underneath to lessen the intensity. Slide it back and forth to spread it evenly. There are better plastic lubricants, put this is what I had on hand.
-If you have any questions, I will try to answer them in a timely manner.
Thanks for reading!
I only forgot one thing! Impressive. So uh, what was it :-[
Thanks for your help! Are you referring to the printed plate on the front (the Family Computer logo) or the back (the AV etc. print)?
Any before pictures of your Famicom?
I don't have before pictures unfortunately. I didn't plan on making a guide when I did it, that's why there aren't any pictures of the process. But when I finished, the results were really great and the process was cheap, so that's why I decided to share. If I do it again, I'll take pictures next time! ;D
Nice work! That retr0bright-stuff is really amazing! 8)
Yeah, it's surprising what a few dollars worth of hydrogen peroxide can do. It's funny that collectors struggled with yellowing electronics for so many years, not realizing that the solution was simple and right under their noses!
http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=17667&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a (http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=17667&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a)
Here's a great tutorial for retr0bright on the SNES. He uses significantly less OxiClean and leaves it in the sun for 10 hours total. The results are pretty fantastic. Peroxide and UV light will invariably have some effect on bromine-yellowed plastic, I think it just takes some experimentation to figure out exactly what combination of the above that you will need. That said, I've never tried this on an SNES, and I hope that it will work eventually - those poor things look so ugly when they're yellow :(
Also: http://www.tested.com/news/feature/articles/2505-why-your-old-super-nintendo-looks-super-yellow/2/ (http://www.tested.com/news/feature/articles/2505-why-your-old-super-nintendo-looks-super-yellow/2/)
Even without having a "before" picture, I can definitely say that your "after" Famicom looks ridiculously beautiful, n0d.
:)
Thanks, treismac! I'm quite proud of my little Fami ;D
Quote from: n0d on March 20, 2012, 06:01:53 am
Thanks, treismac! I'm quite proud of my little Fami ;D
Not tryin' to make you paranoid, bro, but I'd be careful leaving a Fami that hot alone with your bros 'cause, you know, things happen. ;)
Quote from: treismac on March 20, 2012, 01:03:59 pm
Quote from: n0d on March 20, 2012, 06:01:53 am
Thanks, treismac! I'm quite proud of my little Fami ;D
Not tryin' to make you paranoid, bro, but I'd be careful leaving a Fami that hot alone with your bros 'cause, you know, things happen. ;)
Ahahahahaha! Oh, sh....
Put some clothes on, Fami >:(
it looks really great
just wish it was possible to keep the stickers on it
Quote from: treismac on March 19, 2012, 10:17:03 am
Any before pictures of your Famicom?
As the guy who sold him this Famicom I can say that it looks massively better now than it did when he got it! ;D That really does look great.
Quote from: senseiman on March 21, 2012, 06:25:10 am
Quote from: treismac on March 19, 2012, 10:17:03 am
Any before pictures of your Famicom?
As the guy who sold him this Famicom I can say that it looks massively better now than it did when he got it! ;D That really does look great.
Yeah, the first unspoken step to any of this is to buy some Famicom stuff from senseiman!