RyeMAC3.net

I'm a total Apple addict, as you might tell.

Categories

Mac SE Restoration

Pasted Graphic 520

The SE is going to need some serious time in the peroxide if I’m to get it back to its original color. It is very, very discolored.

Pasted Graphic 522

Time to dig in. First, remove the 4 case screws.

se1

Since Classic Mac case opening tools are scare, you’ll have to resort to popping the case open with a screw driver. Be careful not to gouge out the plastic.

Pasted Graphic 523

Gently work around the whole case until the back if free from the front.

Pasted Graphic 524

Once freed, slide the back cover off.

Pasted Graphic 525

Sadly, the interior of an SE is not engraved like its predecessors are.

Pasted Graphic 526

The back panel just slides off. You may have to give it a wiggle.

Here’s what you’re looking at:
A. The sweep/power supply board
B. The CRT
C. Hard Drive
D. Floppy Drive
E. Main housing assembly
F. Main board

se2

The first thing you have to do is discharge the CRT. WARNING: This is very dangerous business, so be very careful. These CRTs can hold up to and in excess of 10 KV! You’ve been warned!

The grey suction cup thingy on the back of the CRT with the red cable is called a “yoke” Behind the yoke is a small metal clip. You have to short the clip to the grounding nut on the frame.

se3

Now that the CRT is discharged, I can touch it. Pulling back on the yoke shows the metal clip. You have to squeeze the sides together to get it out. It’s kind of like a binder clip.

se4


Just reach in there with a pair of pliers and squeeze together...

se5

Remove the bottom shield. It is not secured and will come away from the machine easily.

Pasted Graphic 527

This is the power supply and sweep board. It is connected to the rest of the system by 5 cables.

Some are easy to reach. Some are not. I guess it all depends on how big your hands are. But if you try and reach down there to disconnect them, you can run the risk of slipping and damaging the back of the CRT. So give yourself a break and remove the board first before attempting to disconnect the cables.

se6

Spin the unit around to its side and locate the following 8 screws. They all have to be removed.

se7

This bracket also comes off once you remove these two screws. Make sure you take note of which side is facing out. Make sure it goes back on the same way during reassembly.

Pasted Graphic 528

Disconnect the power supply ground wire from the main housing. You only have to remove the one screw.

se8

The board should now be loose. While holding the board steady, remove the top connector.

Pasted Graphic 529

Gently ease the board out enough to reach the following 3 connectors. They are right above the power supply.

se9

Continue to ease the board out being careful not to damage the display brightness knob.

se10

Once the board is disconnected and the display brightness knob is free, the board should simply fall away.

Pasted Graphic 530

Pasted Graphic 531

Tip the unit over and remove the 4 CRT screws.

se20

Lift the CRT from the sides.

Remember, hold the CRT from the sides, don’t touch the back coil or wires.

se21

Lift the CRT out of the frame and place it in a safe spot.

Pasted Graphic 533

Disconnect the hard drive and floppy drive ribbon cables.

Pasted Graphic 534

Notice the notches cut out of the main housing. They help retain the logicboard.

se30

Grasp the logicboard and pull it up until it is free of the notches.

se31

You can now swing the logicboard out.

se32

Disconnect the speaker connector.

se33

Take note of its orientation.

Pasted Graphic 535

And there she is, in all her glory. Check out that 68000!

Pasted Graphic 536

Pray you never have to change this battery. It is soldered to the logicboard. I wonder why it was user replaceable on the Mac Plus, but not on the SE?

Pasted Graphic 537

Remove the 3 screws from the main housing.

se34

Swing the housing around and remove 2 more screws.

se35

The main housing should now be free.

se36

If you wanted to remove the floppy and hard drive caddies, you could do so by removing these 4 screws.

se37

Something you’ll find on the SE that you wont find on the previous models is the speaker.

Pasted Graphic 538

The speaker sits on 4 plastic posts, 2 of which have been melted over to secure the speaker to the frame. You have to take a knife or screwdriver and scrape off the plastic.

Pasted Graphic 539

You then simply put the screwdriver underneath from the side and pop the speaker off. Since the other two legs have not been melted, you can melt those two over when you reassemble it. Or, you can just give it a dab of hot glue.

se38

I removed the plastic strip that covered the top floppy drive slot. I’ll have to clean off the extra adhesive.

se39

Save the Apple logo.

Pasted Graphic 540

Find the hole on the opposite side.

se40

Push a paper clip or small drill bit in the hole and pop the Apple logo out.

Pasted Graphic 541

Pasted Graphic 542

And that’s it!

The front panel is all ready for the peroxide treatment.

Pasted Graphic 543

I removed the UV lights for the shot, but once the solution went “critical mass” I rotated the case and returned the lights to the solution.

Pasted Graphic 544

I kept rotating it every 15 minutes. I’d also give the hard to reach places the treatment with a 3” brush...

Pasted Graphic 545

...which eventually melted. Don’t use a synthetic brush.

Pasted Graphic 546

After a few hours the solution had lost its “oomph”. I removed the case and washed it off. I let it dry overnight.

As you can see from this shot, the metallic paint in the inside has been pretty much removed. I hope that’s not a problem with grounding/static shock.

Much of the yellowing has been removed, but it could definitely use another dose.

Pasted Graphic 547

Pasted Graphic 549

The metallic paint on the front panel did not survive the treatment either. It just washed right off.

Pasted Graphic 548

Some spots are a little patchy/ashy. It looks more like it was previously cleaned with bleach or something. i think I overcooked it.

I hope that with a second treatment, the finish will even out. Hopefully I don’t make it any worse.

Pasted Graphic 550

See, patchy. You can see that the left side of the case is a lot whiter than the section on the right.

se41

Heres the back after another dose. I still think it looks a little yellow and patchy. I don’t want to bleach it like the LC III. Some spots are whiter than others, but if I scratch it with my nail, the white actually goes away. It’s not like it’s some kind of residue because nothing comes off on my nail. I think it’s more like “felt”. In the sense that it looks darker from one side than it does from the other. I wonder if I can get ride of it if I take a plastic scouring pad to it.

se42

Pasted Graphic 551

See the scratch marks? The top left hand side of the case is especially white, but it goes away when I scratch it. So I think I’ll have to find something to “scratch” the whole case. I guess it’s safe to say that I made the same mistake as I did with the LC III. I made the solution too strong and I bleached it.

se43

Now for the peripherals...

Disassembling the external floppy was a snap. Just 4 screws on the outside, and 2 on the inside.

Pasted Graphic 552

The floppy case is pretty bad. Look at those feet!

Pasted Graphic 553

Save the Apple logo!

Pasted Graphic 554

Here’s what it looked like after an hour or two in the solution. Not bad.

Pasted Graphic 555

There’s some slight discoloration on the label, but I think the feet came out nice.

Pasted Graphic 556

The keyboard is probably the worst part of the whole setup.

Pasted Graphic 557

A little ashy, but it cleaned up nicely after just a few hours.

Pasted Graphic 558

The mouse is not as bad as the floppy drive and the keyboard, but it’s still pretty ugly.

Pasted Graphic 559

The mouse looks perfect after about 2 hours in the soup.

Pasted Graphic 560

Upgrades...

I picked up another 4 Megs of RAM for $3 bucks on eBay. I wanted to max this thing out. Also, you need more than 2 Megs if you want to run System 7.

Pasted Graphic 561

Out with the old, in with the new.

Pasted Graphic 562

I pulled the hard drive from the SE and put it in the LC III. This way I could use the SuperDrive in the LCIII and install system 7.1, along with a CD-ROM driver.

Pasted Graphic 563

I burned all the old files onto a CD from my Mac Pro. I was then able to connect the SCSI CD-ROM drive that came with the LCIII to the SE. It worked perfectly. I was able to move MacPaint, MacWrite, some games, and System 6 and 7 files to the SE’s hard drive.

Pasted Graphic 564

Upgraded:

4 Megs of RAM
System 7.1

Pasted Graphic 565

I was also able to create a System 6.0.8 boot floppy for the Mac Plus.

Pasted Graphic 566

I scored this MacCon Ethernet adapter on eBay for $20 bucks. Installation was a snap. I just have to install the driver.

Pasted Graphic 567

This thing is huge!

Pasted Graphic 568

Installation was a little tricky, but not too bad.

Pasted Graphic 569

Now for the final before and after shots.

Pasted Graphic 570

Not too shabby. A little ashy, but what a difference. I think maybe I’ll make the solution a little weaker next time. I think it’s too strong and it’s burning the plastic.

Pasted Graphic 571

What a nice addition to my Apple museum!

Pasted Graphic 572