Re: Discoloration of Apple II keyboards

["Michael J. Mahon" <mjmahon@aol.com>]

trulore wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I collect and repair of old Apple II computers, mostly the II and II+.
>
> I've collected a few IIe computers, but one question has always bugged me:
>
> Why is the spacebar on old Apple IIe computers always discolored?  Look at any 
> old Apple IIe computer on eBay, and the spacebar is this gross discolored 
> shade of grey-yellow, even though the rest of the keys on keyboard are 
> original grey.  
>
> I don't think the Apple IIe originally had a spacebar that was a different 
> color than the rest of the keys, so this must be some odd effect of aging, and 
> the spacebar must be made of some material that doesn't age as well as the 
> rest of the keyboard.

That's correct--it is a different material than the smaller keys.

The discoloration is, unfortunately, the standard oxidation that many
Apple plastics are prone to.

Although some exotic remedies have been proposed, none seem to have a
suitable cost/benefit ratio for casual use.

-michael

NadaPong: Network game demo for Apple II computers!
Home page:  http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/

"The wastebasket is our most important design
tool--and it's seriously underused."