Lately I have found that a lot of people will not use sandpaper to remove engraved letters on their Apple ii computers. That is because the sandpaper removes the original grain pattern in the plastic.
Others, do not want to bother with RetrObrite, so for those people a technique is still waiting to be discovered.
The only other alternative is to use this technique I have come up with.
Although I have not tried this myself, I would if I had to.
To restore the original grain type finish on plastic, use RustOleum Rippled Effect spray paint.
I discovered this spray paint about 2 years ago.
The grains can be simulated using this paint but it also depends on how well you use it.
So get your messed up plastic and experiment!
Give it a try just for the heck of it.
We can post the results on this thread.
I will post this info on Facebook also.
Here is the website for this unique product:
http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/specialty/rippled-effect
I have found the best way to restore a really bad system is to use the same type of paint gun Apple's supplier used and you can create the same pattern with some practice. This only works for painted systems which doesn't seem to yellow but chip easily (II, II plus). The IIe and GS had the finish cast since they aren't painted and the only way to restore them is to use retrobrite or something like it. I like the BBlonde cream. You can get it from Amazon.uk or if your visiting England or live there it's cheap.
Cheers,
Corey
To get what you suggested=hard.
To get what I suggested,=much easier.
That was my point.
IIRC, the early ][e Cases of Jerry Mannock's design are painted like the ][ and ][+.
MarkO