Technology

I mean, just scan and 3D print it, if you want like new?

I don’t know much about this but have used hydrogen peroxide and sunlight (UV) for things like keyboard/piano keys. Does that operate on the same chemical principle; i.e., do the same warnings apply?

To me, yellowed plastic is a badge of honor. Old age comes for us all.

I've never retrobrighted anything because I always had a hunch this would be the case. It turns out I was vindicated. We all know full well that oxygenation is one of the things that deteriorates many materials, including embrittling plastics, and what you're doing with this stuff is literally just oxygenating the shit out of your plastic in order to bleach it.

For stuff that I've really cared about de-yellowing, I've always just cleaned it thoroughly and painted over it. This has the added bonus of the paint being an additional protective layer rather than a destructive chemical reaction inflicted on the material itself. Sure, it sucks that you also paint over any logos printed on it or whatever, but you can recreate those with stickers if you really care. I figure that if anybody can't identify what an NES or Dreamcast or something is shaped like, even without the logos on it, they're probably not invited to any more of my parties anyway.

The plastic is already getting old and brittle. I’m not that worried about retrobright damage.

I wonder if anyone has experimented with storing those consoles in an oxygen free environment. Sounds crazy, but there are cheap vacuum sealers around and you can easily push some CO2 from a sodastream into those bags. That works with groceries like salats and it might be possible to put a Dreamcast into a vacuum bag, fill it with CO2 and seal it.