Cleaning PlexWriters – Gammitin (Ben) 💾 on X: “@jpluimers Usually the trays are a little sticky on these: I take them apart, grease up the tray mechanism and any gears (use lithium grease), clean the laser with Isopropyl alcohol, clean all the connectors with WD40 contact cleaner, retro-bright the front – job done!”
Posted by jpluimers on 2025/02/14
Back in the days, Plextor made a series of great PlexWriter CD and DVD/RW devices. This is how to get them working again:
[Wayback/Archive] Gammitin (Ben) 💾 on X: “@jpluimers Usually the trays are a little sticky on these: I take them apart, grease up the tray mechanism and any gears (use lithium grease), clean the laser with Isopropyl alcohol, clean all the connectors with WD40 contact cleaner, retro-bright the front – job done!” (retrobright thread further down this blog-post)
Via [Wayback/Archive] Gammitin (Ben) 💾 on X: “I’ve fully refurbished the Plextor PlexWriter on the bottom, inside and out, I need to get these other three sorted! 👍 💿📀📀📀”
Retrobright thread
From [Wayback/Archive] Thread by @Gammitin on Thread Reader App – Easy “anyone can do with minimal effort” Retro-brighting tutorial:
Easy “anyone can do with minimal effort” Retro-brighting tutorial:
I have been asked many times how I retro-bright things, so I wanted to share the method I used, that’s very simple, requires no special tech and gives fantastic results.
(Use relevant PPE, gloves etc.)PlexWriter 16/10/40A before and after retrobright
All you need to purchase is:
1️⃣ Cling Flim / Saran Wrap
2️⃣ 12% Hair Blonding Peroxide Cream, I use JEROME RUSSELL Bblonde (40 Vol)
I do this inside my house, so a window sill out of the way that you can leave something on for a while is recommended.“Ingredients” needed: cling wrap (plastic food wrap), cream peroxide (hairdressers product), sunlight (works best during summer)
- Plastic wrap or Stretch wrap
- UK: [Wayback/Archive] Jerome Russell Bblonde Cream Peroxide, 40 Volume, 12% Peroxide, Lifts 8-9 Levels, 75ml : Amazon.co.uk: Beauty, or EU (could not find affordable small quantities): [Wayback/Archive] pilu cosmetic Creme Oxydant 1000 ml 12% Developer, Hydrogen Peroxide for Hair Colour, Hair Dye, Bleaching, Mattifying, Cream Developer : Amazon.de: Beauty or [Wayback/Archive] Comair M:C Cream Oxide 12% 5000 ml Cream Developer : Amazon.de: Beauty
Step 1:
Dismantle the item that you want to retro-bright, it’s important that you remove electronic components and are left with the outer shell only. 🪛Step 2: Thoroughly clean the item, use a sponge, brush and give it a very good clean with warm water and a degreaser like Fairy Liquid. You want the surface to be as clean as possible and leave no debris and any dirt on the surface. 🪥🫧
Step 3: Dry the item out completely, if you’re in a rush you can use a hairdryer and on a lower heat to speed the drying process. Be careful not to use too much heat and accidentally melt the item.
Disassembled supernintendo ready for applying peroxide cream.
Step 4: Lay out your Cling Film / Seran Wrap on a flat surface and put your item on it. Brush the Peroxide cream on as evenly as possible, a paint brush is a good tool to use. Then once done, gently fold the film / wrap other the item, scrunch the edges, so it’s sealed.
Supernintendo plastic parts with peroxide cream applied and wrapped in plastic ready for sunbathing.
Step 5: I add white paper underneath my items as it will reflect like up. Place in direct sunlight and wait for the brighting process to start. It can take a few days or more depending on how much Sun you get.
The effect is evened out as you get peroxide vapor inside the wrap.PlexWriter plastic parts wrapped in plastic after applying peroxide cream now sunbathing
Step 6: Once you can see the brightening process has got as far as you need, wash the items, dry out again and then reassemble.
I’d recommend using latex gloves (unless you want bleached hands) and some kind of eye protection 🥽, it can get splashy!Extra notes:
If you try this out, it’s at your own risk!, it could weaken the plastic and is not recommended on already brittle plastic.
I’d advise to start on something small and experiment.
Here’s some additional reading on why some plastics yellow: Retrobright – Wikipedia.
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--jeroen
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