How to clean old white peripherals?

[Ken]

Hello,

I have a few white peripherals here (mouse, keyboard, monitor) that work
great, but they are old and they are not white anymore, they are rather
yellowish. I tried to clean them with a piece of fabric and alcool but
it didn't solve my problem. How do you clean old white peripherals? Thanks.

Softscrub. Just keep it away from parts you do not want to scratch
such as the CRT screen.

 

[Charles]

Hello,

I have a few white peripherals here (mouse, keyboard, monitor) that work
great, but they are old and they are not white anymore, they are rather
yellowish. I tried to clean them with a piece of fabric and alcool but
it didn't solve my problem. How do you clean old white peripherals? Thanks.

 

[Charles]

Softscrub. Just keep it away from parts you do not want to scratch such
as the CRT screen.

Thanks Ken. It helped /a bit/ but it's not white yet. Any other
suggestion? Thanks again.

 

[kony]

Thanks Ken. It helped /a bit/ but it's not white yet. Any other
suggestion? Thanks again.

Keep rubbing? Over time the top layer of the plastic itself
is permanently yellowed from light and only by removing the
top layer of plastic will you have it white again. I
suppose it's possible that tobacco smoke might even
penetrate deep enough that even that isn't enough though
I've never tried to get a smoker's case completely white
again.

Since scrubbing or sanding down the plastic removes the
texture and leaves marks unless quite tediously resanded
with ever finer grit, it is probably unworthwhile or even a
lost cause to try to make it pure white again. You might
consider painting it instead with vinyl dye or appliance
paint. The former seeps into the plastic so it won't chip
or scrape off as easily but doesn't hide surface flaws well
at all (but preserves the original plastic texture which
looks better, IMO) while the latter is a harder shell that
does hide flaws and texture but also comes off easier - and
yet still more durable than regular paint or even paint
supposedly for plastics (like Krylon Fusion).

The appliance paint is pretty nasty stuff though from the
volatile ingredients, should definitely be sprayed outdoors
or in a _VERY_ well ventilated area. Unfortunately I don't
recall seeing any white vinyl dye, but that doesn't mean it
doesn't exist (and I haven't ever sought any online as
shipping would be as much as the cost of it, rather I buy
from a couple local auto parts stores, usually black or
silver). Unfortunately vinyl dye is not suited for metal
areas of the case, a shame since it does so well better at
plastics. This makes matching whatever color of dye you
might find more difficult but I suppose a two-tone case
isn't that bad really, even some that come from the factory
aren't perfectly matched between metal and plastic parts.

Even after doing what I felt was a good job painting a
case's plastic it still didn't look right. I mean not
stock, it did look pretty but I seldom try for "pretty"
rather than unobtrusive so I tend now to only paint drive
bay items like a drive's faceplate or a fan panel,
controller or port plate, etc.

Recently there have been some sales and rebates in the US
for a few Coolermaster cases. Don't know if those deals are
still ongoing (ClubIT, SVC, Newegg, et al.) but they made
the cases pretty cheap, cheap enough that it's not too much
pain to just scrap an old case. Granted there are a lot of
cheap cases out there but many look poor or have really thin
metal while these were normally one step up in quality
(though not quite high-end either in the ones reduced to
under $30 AR).

 

[kony]

Recently there have been some sales and rebates in the US
for a few Coolermaster cases. Don't know if those deals are
still ongoing (ClubIT, SVC, Newegg, et al.) but they made
the cases pretty cheap, cheap enough that it's not too much
pain to just scrap an old case. Granted there are a lot of
cheap cases out there but many look poor or have really thin
metal while these were normally one step up in quality
(though not quite high-end either in the ones reduced to
under $30 AR).

For example the following at $25 delivered AR, though it
looks like today is the last day to buy and get in on this
rebate (no idea if any other rebates will be recurring).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068

Not white though, but most cases that are white are now not
only rare but old designs with marginal cooling.

 

[AdenOne]

Very difficult if it is light-damaged. Although you might not want to
hear it, buying new ones is usually the only way. Although, I did
manage to spray-paint a case and monitor once, but its time consuming
and tricky.

 

[kony]

Very difficult if it is light-damaged. Although you might not want to
hear it, buying new ones is usually the only way. Although, I did
manage to spray-paint a case and monitor once, but its time consuming
and tricky.

I'd be more likely to paint a monitor, though if it were
white and old enough to be yellowed it's probably a CRT (but
really even if LCD it's...) meaning a pain in the ass to
disassemble the whole thing as I wouldn't try to tape around
the screen and paint with it and the other internals in
place since there are quite a few vent slits in the typical
monitor. I suppose there are worse things than getting some
paint mist inside but if putting forth enough effort to
paint it at all I'd be more likely to go all the way with a
complete disassembly first, especially to more thoroughly
clean and prep the surface if the type of paint required it
for a good result.

 

[Guest]

Hello,

I have a few white peripherals here (mouse, keyboard, monitor) that work
great, but they are old and they are not white anymore, they are rather
yellowish. I tried to clean them with a piece of fabric and alcool but
it didn't solve my problem. How do you clean old white peripherals? Thanks.

I always use bleach! It'll turn 'em white!!!

 

[GT]

Hello,

I have a few white peripherals here (mouse, keyboard, monitor) that work
great, but they are old and they are not white anymore, they are rather
yellowish. I tried to clean them with a piece of fabric and alcool but it
didn't solve my problem. How do you clean old white peripherals? Thanks.

I don't think its dirt - the plastic colour has faded over time. You can't
clean off time!

 

[kony]

I always use bleach! It'll turn 'em white!!!

Depends on what's on them I suppose, and Charles already
mentioned using Softscrub which has bleach in it. Bleach
will get rid of some surface dirt coloration and the
abrasives will strip a fine top layer off but not
necessarily return a sun faded case to white again, and will
attack any unfinished metal if exposed to it.