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YouTuber shows the damage of retrobrighting on old console after 10-year test

Debora Pape
9/12/2025
Translation: machine translated

The YouTube channel Tech Tangents shows why your retro consoles are better off yellowing. Subsequent whitening damages the ABS plastic more than the natural ageing process.

If you bought a new keyboard, games console or computer in the 1980s and 1990s, you could see how the light grey ABS plastic housings became increasingly yellow over the years. This is due to UV rays and heat, which damage the plastic.

ABS plastic yellows over time, as seen here on a TRS-80 colour computer.
ABS plastic yellows over time, as seen here on a TRS-80 colour computer.
Source: Wikipedia

Some retro fans are therefore working on chemical treatment options to reverse this process. The aim is to restore the device to its original as-new look. This is known as retrobrighting. The operator of the YouTube channel «Tech Tangents» has years of experience with various retrobrighting methods.

In a new video, he explains why he no longer recommends retrobrightening. A long-term test showed that subsequent bleaching damages the plastic in the long term and even increases yellowing.

Bleaching leads to molecular damage

In 2015, the YouTuber used a method known among retro brighteners in which he treated a Sega Dreamcast console with hydrogen peroxide. The result looked good at first. He then left the console disassembled on the shelf for ten years.

During this time, damage apparently developed on the plastic surface. In the video, Tech Tangents draws attention to stains and streaks.

With increased contrast, the damage to the plastic is more visible. The light-coloured strip on the right of the image is a pure white area for comparison.
With increased contrast, the damage to the plastic is more visible. The light-coloured strip on the right of the image is a pure white area for comparison.
Source: Tech Tangents

Pale areas age faster

Apart from this, the YouTuber suspects that retrobrighting actually promotes yellowing in the long term. In 2015, he used adhesive tape to cover areas on the underside of the Dreamcast that should not come into contact with the hydrogen peroxide. These areas should therefore look more yellowed today than the treated, whitened plastic. However, the opposite is the case: after ten years, the untreated area is less yellowed than the bleached material.

In the centre of the image, you can see where adhesive tape protected the plastic from the hydrogen peroxide ten years ago.
In the centre of the image, you can see where adhesive tape protected the plastic from the hydrogen peroxide ten years ago.
Source: Tech Tangents

This can also be seen in a direct comparison of the inside of the casing. One was treated, one was not. According to Tech Tangents, the console had been lying unassembled on the shelf and all parts had been equally exposed to UV radiation. He concludes from the result that the bleaching had chemically altered the surface of the plastic to such an extent that it was subject to strong ageing processes in addition to UV discolouration.

The untreated, naturally aged lower casing shell on the left and the bleached upper shell on the right.
The untreated, naturally aged lower casing shell on the left and the bleached upper shell on the right.

At the end of the video, the YouTuber makes a clear recommendation: Don't treat your old consoles and let them age gracefully.

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Debora Pape
Editor
Debora.Pape@galaxus.de

Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.

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