Normally I would brighten stained computers by just placing them in the sun for a few hours which was working quite well in April 2022 then May arrived with day after day of clouds and rain. So I thought I would make a Retrobrite box for those rainy days and here it is
I simply purchased a basic container , some tin foil, some UV led’s and a power supply and put it together. There are plenty of videos on youtube on how to do this. It took about a couple of hours to line the box with foil using some glue and to wire the lights.
I used 12v UV 395 405nm black light 5050 60led’s per metre approx £4.50 but this was the price in 2020 and they have been sat on a shelf till now May 2022. This light strip can be cut every 3 led’s so you can conveniently size the strips to your box.
I used a 12v 150w supply from ebay which cost about £14. However “be careful” as this type of supply comes configured for 110v mains supply!! and needs to be switched to 240v for use in the UK. The switch is located under the metal grill and can be switched with a thin screwdriver avoiding taking it to pieces..
Ensure you connect all the “+” positive contacts together (Red) and the “-” negative together (black) with your supply connecting at one end.
The initial test revealed some UV leakage which was quickly resolved with more foil.
I was initially intending to try the peroxide / oxiclean method but this seamed like a messy process so decided to stick with the simpler peroxide paste and cling film.
It worked well as seen here
This took about 8 hours with massaging the paste each hour.
The unit takes 40 watts of power which works out at about 1p per hour so its quite inexpensive.
I wish I had done this a long time ago as the weather in England is very changeable and can be frustrating waiting for Sunny days to come around.
I use blonde peroxide creme from home bargains for about £1 per bottle. Then just coat the item liberally dabbing it on with a brush. Once fully coated I then cover with cling film. Make sure to use rubber gloves as this stuff is not good for your skin.
Happy retrobriting!
