Hack-a-Day linked this stuff. Apparently, a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and Oxy-Clean can make old yellowed electronics look like new again. (They added glycerin to make a gel that gets painted on.) Apparently you mix this stuff up, leave it out in the sun for a day (or under a grow light), and it restores the plastics without harming decals. (But don't use it on NES cartridge doors; the red ink can be cut with rubbing alcohol and it might not like the peroxide.) They recommend spraying the parts with clear acrylic afterward to help keep it from happening again, but Armor All wouldn't change the look as much.
Apparently it's the fire retardant chemicals they added to ABS plastics that causes the yellowing.
http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/
http://hackaday.com/2009/03/02/restorin ... r-plastics
There's a gallery of user-submitted images. Looks like the glycerin thickener is entirely optional; someone ripped the keys off a keyboard and left them in a mason jar full of the stuff and it worked just fine.
http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/The+Gallery
(56k warning!)
I do want to stress that, if you do this, you be VERY CAREFUL WITH HYDROGEN PEROXIDE. It's pretty nasty stuff. Wear gloves and some kind of protective glasses. Long sleeves would probably be a good idea, too.
They say it's safe if you use a little oxy-clean and low concentration hydrogen peroxide (the stuff you get at CVS or Walgreen's), but you shouldn't use a lot of oxy-clean or apply heat. Apparently if the mixture is too strong it can start attacking the plastic to the point of damaging it, and heat (obviously) will cause the plastics to warp.
Anyone going to give it a shot? (I'm going to try it on an old AT keyboard once I get around to buying all the stuff.
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