[Restoring yellowed white plastic]

martyboy70 · Post by **martyboy70** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 3:06 am

Ive been looking to restart my collection of G1 figures and have been trawlng everyones favourite auction site looking for bargains.
Ive noticed that a lot of the figures with white bodies or accessories (UMagnus Jazz Wheeljack etc)have gone a browny yellow so:
A)What causes this-is it from being in a smoky home etc or what?

B)Do any of you know of anything that will restore this back to white? Has anyone tried say toothpaste or bleach or another cleaner and had good results?

Just wondering as theres a complete boxed Ultra Magnus going for a tenner (about 6 bucks) posted.Its ending in less than a day and has discoloured badly.
I suppose they have an excuse to look tired as they are no longer teenagers but i wondered if they are salvageable.

Knightdramon · Post by **Knightdramon** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 6:44 am

White plastic yellowing\browning is a common case with G1 Jazz\Jetfire\Metroplex. It's caused by exposure to sunlight [and strong light bulbs] and smoke. I've read cases of white toys going yellow while they were stored, away from light etc.

Not sure if it's salvageable...

Post by **Denyer** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 11:04 am

I've got a French magazine article on this somewhere, but can't remember the chemical they used -- it's extremely toxic to skin, anyway... but it worked extremely well on an old Star Wars figure IIRC.

Will try to remember to dig out mag and a scanner later...

martyboy70 · Post by **martyboy70** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 9:37 pm

If you could Denyer that would be great.
Had to work late and missed the auction it ended up going for 22 quid odd (40-45 bucks) so id have given it a miss anyway.
But if these yellowing ones go cheap and can be cleaned up Ill keep an eye out for more though it might not be worth losing skin to save a couple of pounds.

numbat · Post by **numbat** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:50 pm

My RID Prowl and Ultra Magnus went the same way. UM was on a single glazed window sill mind... (have since replaced him, and sent the poor fellow to charity...).

Prowl did it in storage though.

No smoke in my home...

None of my G1 figures did it in storage, though...

I do intend on replacing Prowl someday too, but if he can be cleaned up, I'd be interested as well Denyer!

Post by **Denyer** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 2:50 pm

[edit: some of the scans aren't showing now]

Probably sold under a different name wherever you are, but I'm fairly sure Perhydrol is 35% concentration hydrogen peroxide -- much stronger than the stuff you get in hair dye, but not strong enough to be really corrosive or used as an industrial propellent. It can destroy mucous membranes and do quite severe skin damage if you're not careful, though, so I'd suggest a weighted container, good ventilation, etc.

Post by **Clay** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:19 pm

Originally posted by Denyer
Probably sold under a different name wherever you are, but I'm fairly sure Perhydrol is 35% concentration hydrogen peroxide -- much stronger than the stuff you get in hair dye, but not strong enough to be really corrosive or used as an industrial propellent. It can destroy mucous membranes and do quite severe skin damage if you're not careful, though, so I'd suggest a weighted container, good ventilation, etc.

Makes sense. Assuming the yellowing is caused by something organic, the hydrogen peroxide would strip it out as opposed to something like bleach, which could really mess up everything.

slartibartfast · Post by **slartibartfast** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:29 pm

Actually, the guy says that he uses both... hang on, I'll translate the article...

RUNAMOK · Post by **RUNAMOK** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 5:01 pm

hmm....a cure for yellowing, this could defenetly be interesting.

Does anyone know if it also works on LEGO pices? I have some pices where I almost can't see if they are surposed to be white or tan.

BTW, does anybody know what is does to paint? It would not be good if you try it on something that has a special print on, and it then removes both paint and yellow.

Post by **Denyer** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 5:55 pm

Originally posted by slartibartfast
hang on, I'll translate the article...

Does it mention diluting / adding anything to the Perhydrol product?

"For our use, we'll employ a solution of oxygen at 35% in the form of a product called Perhydrol () which is used to bleach paper and generally in the chemical industry."

"The object you want to bleach as new is simply immersed in the solution in a suitable container of plastic or glass." (the bit after this I'm hazier on -- weighting the figure, leaving it for a few days or even weeks before removal, then because of the effect of the product use a paste-based polish to bring it to a shine)

It doesn't seem to have affected the black on the Stormtrooper figure, but it'd be advisable to test this on a small area or disposable piece of similar vintage to the one you want to do before really having a go.

slartibartfast · Post by **slartibartfast** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 6:03 pm

nope, the guy used the perhydrol neat apparently.

Here's what I got (it got a bit ad libbed) :

Yellowing caused by age is quite simply the action of bacteria and sunlight. The solution is so simple that it borders on the insubordinate, ordinary bleach or concentrated hydrogen peroxide will do the trick. Here the dude used 35% proof perhydrol (yeh, that's hydrogen peroxide) this is the stuff they use to bleach paper. Use gloves if you can, and at least use pliers/tweezers/chop sticks to manipulate the pieces you're cleaning, otherwise it will give you some pretty chemical burns to show off to your mates.

Perhydrol won't attack what you're cleaning, so you're safe using a plastic tub as a container. Bung whatever you want to clean in it. Hold it down with a stone or something if it floats, and then put the lid on and leave it be for a few days, or even a few weeks... the yellow will fade out to an almost perfect white. The dude says that he did a second bath in bleach for even better results (by the way, always use cold water to dilute bleach, hot water kills the active ingredient).

Once that's done, rince your piece under cold water and dry it off, and then do the same with the plastic you were cleaning [/finbarr saunders]. This is strong stuff we've been using, and the plastic will be somewhat dulled and look a bit mucky. Break out the scratch polish et voilà !

by the way, the ordinary hydrogen peroxide you can buy over the counter at the chemists really is amazing stuff, especially for getting blood out of clothes... but I'll say no more for fear of being labeled a sexist pig.

edit :

Originally posted by Denyer
It doesn't seem to have affected the black on the Stormtrooper figure, but it'd be advisable to test this on a small area or disposable piece of similar vintage to the one you want to do before really having a go.

yea, test it first if you're uncertain. It'll eat fabric after long exposure for exemple. but you should be alright for most plastics, metal, and ceramics. I reckon LEGO would be fine, as for paint and print there are so many different types of ink and coloring agents out there that some would probably fare better than others. But You're better off asking someone who isn't guessing

Post by **Denyer** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 6:23 pm

Originally posted by slartibartfast
put the lid on and leave it be

Yeah, it's illustrated but that bit's definitely worth emphasising as it's easy to forget stuff like that whilst working through.

Cheers.

slartibartfast · Post by **slartibartfast** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 6:40 pm

glad to help. Goes without saying that this isn't the kind of stuff you'd want to let your cat/baby/mother-in-law anywhere near. keep it secret, keep it safe.

it's just worth adding that it won't get your old toys sparkling clean. the guy says that it should end up almost white, so I don't suppose leaving it for that extra week will change anything.

Right, okay... I'm gonna stop pretending I've become an instant expert in these matters. I'd be interested in the results if anyone tries it out though.

RUNAMOK · Post by **RUNAMOK** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 6:45 pm

Well, it could be worth a try on some of my most discolored bricks, they are pretty common and could be a good test, but I'll better leave the old police and ambulance bricks out of it, just to make sure(the prints are not in a good shape, they are not too badly yellowed, and i still use them)

Ackula · Post by **Ackula** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:58 am

I have a ton of vintage Star Wars figures my wife and I found in her parents attic that were left by an ex-boyfriend of hers from back when they were in school. The thing is this idiot put some sort of red marker/paint ALL over his otherwise minty figures to simulate blood..I assume. I wonder if this would remove that as well? I'd love to sell the whole lot of figures but in their current shape they are pretty worthless

Post by **Denyer** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 11:11 am

If it's just marker, try furniture polish and firm polishing with a smooth cloth.

Nevermore · Post by **Nevermore** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 12:26 pm

http://www.thetf.net/forum_posts-TID-13204-PN-1.htm

Not something you'd want to try with valuable vintage figures, though - might cause an irreversible chemical reaction:
http://threads.rebelscum.com/showflat.p ... er=3517792

secretcode · Post by **secretcode** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 3:05 pm

Yeah, this has been discussed plenty of times on a site I dare not mention on forum (PM, sure) and apparently after a few months it begins to eat away at the figure, corroding the plastic away.

Post by **Clay** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 3:38 pm

Seems like something to try on a figure that's already broken, and then let it set aside for a year or two to see what the long term effects are.

At rate I've been meddling with toys lately, that time frame is entirely feasible.

RUNAMOK · Post by **RUNAMOK** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 5:03 pm

Rather interesting to see what it all works on, but not exactly something new.
http://www.tfarchive.com/community/show ... hp?t=38279 we had this some time ago.

BTW, maybe there should be a warning about the first link being extremely picture heavy, at least my own virtual memory couldn't handle it.

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[Restoring yellowed white plastic]

[Restoring yellowed white plastic]

A cure for plastic yellowing?