this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2024
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A SNES I have that is so old it has yellowed with age (The yellow color is due to oxidation of the plastic that was used). I don't even know if it still works... ๐ญ The last game I played on it was Super Mario World and I experienced a corruption in which the screen went completely black and there was a rumbling sound in the background.
There is a treatment for that that involves like baking soda and aluminum foil and UV light. I think it's called retrobrite. Might be worth looking into but at the same time if you're going to do that you might have other repairs you would need to make on the machine.
imo it's not really worth it unless you really need to make it look new.. the chemicals are toxic and plastic will get weaker as well.
Apparently it's hydrogen peroxide and not baking soda but I am not aware of hydrogen peroxide being especially toxic.
Peroxide, heat, and UV light makes for a good combination.
But it's not without risk, such as streaking or over-lightening. It also isn't a permanent solution, but should buy you a good additional handful of years if the console is stored under optimal conditions.
I have used retrobriting on a few consoles, with decent results. I restored the plastic on a model 2 Japanese Sega Saturn this way, and it turned out gorgeous.
The plastic on the SNES was some of the worst ever, when it came to UV discoloration. Though the SNES Jr. model specifically fairs pretty well, and has the additional benefit of being a 1CHIP model.