Atomic Seagull
NES4 min read

A free NES, a blue screen, and a fading logo

My first attempt at retrobrighting, on a free NES that couldn't reliably read cartridges. The original connector got the games running again. Getting the shell back to grey took several days, and cost it a little of its Nintendo logo.

Before: A free NES, a blue screen, and a fading logo After: A free NES, a blue screen, and a fading logo Before After

This one didn't come from eBay. Somebody gave me a front-loading NES, the kind with the little door you lift to slide a cartridge inside. Made in Japan, with a Mattel Canada label underneath, and a top shell that had gone very yellow. The bottom was still grey, which made the difference hard to miss.

It was described as picky about reading cartridges, with a power light that blinked more often than the games started. That needed fixing, but I also wanted to try something I'd never done before: retrobrighting, a treatment for yellowed plastic. A free NES seemed like a good place to learn.

Four days of sun

The forecast showed four straight days of clear skies. Before trying peroxide, I put the top shell and cartridge door outside in the sun, with no chemicals at all. Twelve hours later, there wasn't much to show for it.

The yellowed shell and cartridge door on their first day outside, without peroxide.
The yellowed shell and cartridge door on their first day outside, without peroxide.

The next day, I tried a closed container with 12% hydrogen peroxide, keeping the plastic above the liquid for the vapour approach. My notes for that day included a reminder to be careful and wear gloves with the 12% peroxide. This was my first attempt, and I was watching for a change rather than knowing what to expect.

The shell standing inside the clear container for the peroxide treatment.
The shell standing inside the clear container for the peroxide treatment.

After another twelve hours outside, I thought something was happening. Not much, but something.

Condensation on the inside walls and top of the sealed container during the peroxide treatment.
Condensation on the inside walls and top of the sealed container during the peroxide treatment.

The following day brought eleven more hours and a small accident: while moving the table to face the sun, I let the shell slip onto its side inside the container. I didn't want to open it and let the vapour out, so I left it where it landed.

Then another ten hours outside. This time, the difference was clear. The grey was coming back.

The shell after several days outside, looking much closer to grey.
The shell after several days outside, looking much closer to grey.

One more approach

With less sun the next day, I tried a different setup. I bought a litre of 3% hydrogen peroxide and put the shell in a sealable bag with it. The bag went into a cooler with water at around 45 °C, to stay there until the next day.

The bagged shell in the cooler for the final soak.
The bagged shell in the cooler for the final soak.

While the plastic soaked, I turned to the part that actually had to play games.

The blue screen

Inside, the NES was a little dusty. The more useful clue was how a cartridge felt going in: loose. There wasn't the grip I expected from the slot.

Before cleaning, dust and debris had collected around the metal parts beside the cartridge tray.
Before cleaning, dust and debris had collected around the metal parts beside the cartridge tray.

With a game inserted, I switched it on and got a blue screen. The power light stayed on, without blinking. That was different from the fault I'd been told about, but it still left me with a console that wasn't running a game. Between that screen and the loose cartridge, the connector was my first suspect.

A blue screen instead of a game, with the power light staying steady during the test.
A blue screen instead of a game, with the power light staying steady during the test.

The cartridge connector is the row of spring contacts that connects the game's circuit board to the console. If those contacts don't grip properly, putting a cartridge in doesn't mean every connection has been made.

Once I had it out, the pins were cleaner than I'd expected. No corrosion. They were, however, bent too far back to grip the cartridge properly. I bent them back into position and cleaned them while I was there. The original connector stayed.

The original cartridge connector, with clean-looking pins that needed their grip back.
The original cartridge connector, with clean-looking pins that needed their grip back.

The board needed a cleaning too. It wasn't a disaster, just dirty enough to deal with while everything was apart.

The underside of the board before cleaning.
The underside of the board before cleaning.
The underside after cleaning.
The underside after cleaning.
The component side of the board before cleaning.
The component side of the board before cleaning.
The component side after cleaning, ready to go back in.
The component side after cleaning, ready to go back in.

I put it back together and tried Yoshi's Cookie, a game I played a lot as a kid. This time, I got the game instead of a blue screen.

Yoshi's Cookie running after the connector work and board cleaning.
Yoshi's Cookie running after the connector work and board cleaning.

One cartridge wasn't enough to call it fixed, so I tried another classic: Dragon Warrior. That worked too.

Dragon Warrior running on the NES as well.
Dragon Warrior running on the NES as well.

No new connector, no replacement board. Cleaning and bringing the pins back into position had been enough to get both games running.

The soak didn't add much. Most of the visible improvement had already happened during the days in the vapour container, and the shell was now close to its original grey. Unfortunately, part of the Nintendo logo on the cartridge door had started to disappear during the soak.

The shell is grey again, but the red Nintendo lettering has lost part of its print.
The shell is grey again, but the red Nintendo lettering has lost part of its print.

That's the part I wish I'd left alone. I liked the colour I'd recovered, but the little bit I was still chasing wasn't worth losing some of the logo. On this console, the vapour approach gave me the better result. After this first attempt, I don't think I'll try soaking again.

I finished cleaning the rest of the pieces the next morning. The board was already clean; now the rest of the console caught up.

The NES cost nothing. Half a bottle of 12% peroxide was C$10, the XL sealable bag was C$1, and the litre of 3% peroxide was C$5: C$16 in supplies, with no replacement parts. Two games working, a much cleaner console, and a shell that's almost grey again. The faded logo stays in the photos, because that's part of how this one went too.