Wow! That is incredible that it still works.
And yet, I acquired a similar 128
in a haul/donation last year.
I lovingly called the 128 the
Desert Storm edition, as it was so brown and dirty it looked to have been found somewhere in the desert. Possibly by Indiana Jones himself.
And guess what - it works, too!
I gave the computer to
dddaaannn who lives locally here in Seattle and is also a member of the
SEA-CCC. He was looking for a "project from hell" and I delivered. Hah!
Relevant side-note:
I was watching
a video today of the 8-Bit Guy's where he went through a long scientific experiment of various retr0brighting methods on an even nastier VIC-20. He compared the following:
- hydrogen peroxide/saran/light
- hydrogen peroxide + heat (a suggestion by a chemist)
- vinyl and fabric dye
- engine cleaner (!)
- engine degreaser (!!)
- “usual” treatment of salon creme solution/saran/light
- sodium bicarbonate
- and an ozone generator - something I was not familiar with at all, but found very intriguing.
His initial results were interesting.
Anyway, this test allowed him to produce a matrix of sorts in terms of difficulty and time spent (+ success rates).
Had he used the Ozone machine for 2X the time, it may have produced the same results as the peroxide / salon solutions.
Video is interesting to watch and may give you some ideas. He actually made a
series of restoration videos the topic is such a popular one.
Worth noting that, for all of these methods, it doesn't seem to be a permanent cure. This is 100% anecdotal, but I've heard the plastic will revert back to its yellow states again over time.