[weblacky]

Hi All,
As part of my rebuild process with my collection I'm looking at cleaning/protective products for SGIs.  

There are two basic issues here:

1. Trying to diminish scuffs/scratches while also deep cleaning dust from the "textured" surface of many of the units (like Indigo2 and Indy skins).
    A. I'm big into "SW848 Plastic Cleaner" for basic plastic cleaning, using a soft brush to work it in and remove deep grime with a microfibre cloth.  
    B. I know some skins are "softer" than others so scratching is a real possibility, I know there is a middle-ground to possibly polishing a skin's area to try to diminish a deep gouge (like O2, Octane, Tezro).


2. Trying to prevent discoloring in the future for mint/very good skins I already have.
    A. I've seen people start to recommend "303 Marine Aerospace Protectant" to prevent UV discoloration for vintage 80's products restoration.  I know it needs to be reapplied at intervals as well.
    B. I have shelves that have cloth covers over them and they are not near any window to prevent natural light from touching them.  This how I've managed to keep the skins I have in very good condition over the many years.


Looking for people to add posts about their own experiences with this topic.  What I'd like is to establish a trusted base of products people have used without maring a skin to clean it, perhaps protect it, and maybe even to slightly reverse discoloration (like green Indy skins) by either abrasion or cover.

[megaimg]

Hi All,
As part of my rebuild process with my collection I'm looking at cleaning/protective products for SGIs.  

There are two basic issues here:

1. Trying to diminish scuffs/scratches while also deep cleaning dust from the "textured" surface of many of the units (like Indigo2 and Indy skins).
    A. I'm big into "SW848 Plastic Cleaner" for basic plastic cleaning, using a soft brush to work it in and remove deep grime with a microfibre cloth.  
    B. I know some skins are "softer" than others so scratching is a real possibility, I know there is a middle-ground to possibly polishing a skin's area to try to diminish a deep gouge (like O2, Octane, Tezro).


2. Trying to prevent discoloring in the future for mint/very good skins I already have.
    A. I've seen people start to recommend "303 Marine Aerospace Protectant" to prevent UV discoloration for vintage 80's products restoration.  I know it needs to be reapplied at intervals as well.
    B. I have shelves that have cloth covers over them and they are not near any window to prevent natural light from touching them.  This how I've managed to keep the skins I have in very good condition over the many years.


Looking for people to add posts about their own experiences with this topic.  What I'd like is to establish a trusted base of products people have used without maring a skin to clean it, perhaps protect it, and maybe even to slightly reverse discoloration (like green Indy skins) by either abrasion or cover.

I use 303 Aerospace Protectant - Ultimate UV Protection. This is use in boats plastics to prevent damage, conditioning and protect it for UV light. I been using it for 2 years right now on all my retrobright jobs....work great.... 

Amazon Link

[Raion]

Denatured alcohol for scuffs, baking soda or magic eraser for deeper stuff, armor all for UV protection and shine.

[robespierre]

If you can do it that way, aqueous cleaning is safest for plastics. Water will never damage them, if water temperature is sufficiently below the resin's transition temp. A liquid car soap will provide good cleaning action and those are all plastic safe.
If water cannot be used, isopropyl alcohol is also safe on all plastics. It is more effective on some soils than others. Other solvents that are safe include limonene and heptane, which are available mixed together in TechSpray 1613.
The best protectants are hard paste waxes. Renaissance Wax is safe on plastic objects; some others contain toluene which is best avoided.

[weblacky]

My employer utilizes Renaissance Wax but warned me against using it. He uses it to cover vintage metallic objects after de-rusting to prevent rust but he warned me that on nearly all surfaces it will leave a haze, while it’s a fantastic creation with no known lifespan, I was urged not to use it on colored or reflective surfaces due to hazing. I asked about counteracting the haze and I was told in the many years they’ve been using it always has an affect (even if not immediate). So items like old guns, swords, armor, metal cabinets-Yes, any glossy or very brightly colored surface- white haze.


I haven’t actually tried it though. I was relying on my employers 35+ years of experience and took it on faith.

[robespierre]

It sounds like that may be in relation to uncontrolled humidity or incorrect application methods. It's used to preserve historic furniture and arms in museums (that was what it was developed for) so I'm sure if there was some fatal flaw with the product that curators would have noticed.
There are other (much cheaper) paste waxes based on carnauba that can also be used—just don't use Briwax because it has toluene and that isn't plastic safe.
When applying any kind of wax, it needs to be in an environment without condensation—without excessively high humidity in the air. The wax is a solid suspended in a solvent, usually mineral spirits (sometimes traditional turpentine solvent is used). The solvent makes the mixture soft and spreadable so it will fill in surface irregularities (that is why it shines). As the solvent evaporates, the mixture becomes progressively harder until it reaches its full hardness when all the solvent is gone. You always need to buff a wax coating before it becomes fully hard (that could be within an hour or within a day depending on the solvents and the ambient temperature). During buffing, heat is generated which remelts some of the wax and levels the surface so it becomes more shiny. It's also possible to use a heat gun to do this partial remelting, as long as it isn't excessive to the point of damaging the underlying object.
It sounds like the person you talked to was applying it heavily and not buffing it out. Some metal tools, like saws, can't really be buffed, so a hazy surface is fully expected. As the paste dries without buffing, the wax will crystallize instead of being amorphous: scattering light from the surface.

[Raion]

Car wax, I dunno if I'd use that, but that's me.

I have found some more industrial/focused stuff, but as longtime nekochan user told me personally "Armor All does an acceptable job at keeping the shine."

[CB_HK]

This is an excellent topic and I really hope this one takes off so others can share their tips and tricks for preserving these beautiful machines.

Here's my process and how I restore the machines that I add to my collection. I should note that with a few exceptions most all of my machines that I've collected at this point have arrived in various stages of neglect. Specifically the usual amount of having been tossed around with no care about scratches or dirt or even paint transfer from scraping walls. With that in mind I've taken tips and techniques from others to come up with my process for restoring plastics.

For this example I'm going to use the Onyx2 that I rescued from an e-waste recycle center a few years back. It was in really rough shape and needed a lot of work but it now sits looking factory fresh.

** Disclaimer **  No matter what, there is no perfect solution to removing scratches. Once they're there, the only way to truly remove them is by removing layers of the plastic around it in order to bring everything down to the level of the scratch. As we all know, SGI's have textured plastic and this is not a viable method of dealing with them. The process I will outline below makes use of multiple products and techniques to help minimize the appearance of scratches so that you would have to be looking in exactly the right angle or, even better, very very closely to see any marks. This is something I am quite pleased with and hopefully others will find it useful as well.

Step 1

Every machine that I pickup goes through a thorough cleaning. This is accomplished by complete removal of all plastic skins. If it's a machine I haven't had in my collection before I make sure to reference anything and everything (web, manuals, etc.) to make sure I don't break the skins taking them off.

Once removed and depending on the size of the skins I will take them either to a utility sink or a tub and give them a cursory rinse with plain water. I don't do much more than get things wet.

Next, I liberally apply Simple Green all over the skin(s) and allow it so soak into all cracks and crevices for at least 10 minutes. For skins that are exceptionally dirty, this process will be repeated.

After leaving them to sit, they get a scrub with a nylon cleaning brush. I have not found this to cause any damage or scratching of opaque plastics. In the case of the Onyx2's translucent front panel I made sure to use a different process, avoiding the scrub brush.

Once scrubbed, a thorough rinsing is accomplished and the parts are removed to be dried and then left to sit.

Step 2

Depending on what is left on the skins I use three different products to help with getting things back in order. For anything sticky (inventory tags, sale tags, etc) that have left residue, I will use Goo-Gone citrus-based cleaner to gently remove any stuck adhesive. For any paint marks or stuck dirt I will turn to a magic eraser. The catch here is that you have to go slowly, use even pressure, and know when to call it good. Since magic erasers have a slight abrasive quality to them, overuse can result in flattening down the texture of the plastic and leaving a shiny spot that's not going to come out. Make sure to stop often and ensure that you're not starting to get the plastic color on your eraser. If you are, then it's time to call that spot good, even if it's not 100% perfect. Lastly, for scratches, I use Meguiar's Ultimate Compound. This is an automotive product designed for polishing scratches out of paint. It is EXCELLENT at helping to remove light scratches and does an extremely good job at minimizing deeper ones on plastic.

When using Ultimate Compound, I apply a quarter size drop to the spot (or more if it's a long scratch) and use a microfiber cloth to slowly polish the scratch using circular motions. As with the magic eraser, stop often and check your cloth to see if any plastic color is being transferred. If done slowly with even pressure, this process will really do wonders to make scratches either disappear or look much less noticeable.

Step 3

If I've done any part of Step 2, it's time for a quick Simple Green bath. This one is quick--no need to let things soak. I just want to get any residue from the cleaning process off.

Step 4

By now the plastics are completely clean and I've removed any paint marks and minimized any scratches to the max extent I possibly can. At this point the plastics likely look a bit dull and some of the scratches are still visible (this step will help them disappear even more). It's time for Aerospace 303.

Depending on how scratched the plastics look and how chalky they appear, I will use one of two techniques. The first is to spray 303 on a microfiber cloth and start to wipe down the skins. I'll do this a few times, making sure to leave as even of a finish as possible. The second technique involves soaking the plastics in 303 and leaving them to sit. This gives the product time to sink into the top layer of the plastic and really brings the luster back to it. It has the added benefit of helping to change the reflectivity of the plastic and masks any of the scratches that couldn't be completely removed earlier. I'll make sure to wipe the skins down with a dry microfiber cloth after letting them soak to make sure I wipe off anything that hasn't soaked in.

I will typically reapply 303 every few months to my different machines. It keeps them looking new and has the added benefit of blocking UV.

Step 5 (as needed)

If you have any translucent plastics, I recommend using a plastic polishing compound and microfiber cloth. I personally use a three-step system from Novus and find it to be very good.

Example Photos






Note: If you happen to have a deskside that squeaks a lot when you try to roll it around, Blaster Dry Lube works really well to get rid of that noise!

[jums]

Note on preserving assemblies with moving plastic parts: from dealing with old keyboards I've always been wary of grease/oil lubricants on plastics, and I use PTFE tape (white teflon thread tape) used in plumbing fixtures for hidden hinges and friction points. SGI skins are the first time I've encountered all-plastic assemblies where even the moving/friction bearing parts are plastic, a horrifying thing to find on 20+ year old pieces.

PTFE has been especially effective on plastic power buttons that have grown scratchy and stuck with age (success on a VW320 and a late new logo Octane 2). I've also freed up the door hinges and sliders of the Octane 2's front swinging door. I simply wrap one or two layers of the friction points with PTFE tape to get them moving again without wetting them or dusting them up with dry lube. I'd like to post some pictures but they'll have to wait until I next disassemble my machines so that I don't needlessly wear them down, but if you're clever you can come up with a way that you see fit once you have the assembly taken apart. I first had successes with PTFE tape after successfully silencing/lubricating the metal wire stabilizers on a variety of vintage keyboards, including a white Alps AT-101-based Granite. I would like others to try it out and come up with even more effective ways than I can of dry lubricating with PTFE tape.

I understand that on hearsay a lot of wet lubricants seem safe on a variety of plastics but we really don't have a good record right now on what is safe years on into the future. Dry lubricants are an option but might not last long and can escape into dangerous places. PTFE tape seems the safest to me for the time being. Please try it out.

[robespierre]

One of the strangest posts I've ever seen—apparently unaware of mold release fluid that all plastic parts are born with!