A great way to restore yellowed plastic

[Aviator]

I would think for light lenses, you are better off with the solution discussed earlier. It washes off without any residue. The stuff from Lowes/Home Depot is a coating.

[ok stan]

Hi bugz42, was reading your post about removing yellowing from plastic and I would like to know if you could post or email the formula that you use to renew your bathroom sink and tub. Looks like it really does work great and I too wish not to paint my 1972 Airstream with POR. I am a new member to the forum and have found many helpful ways to help me in restoring Airstream and this would be a great way to save the original look. Thanks again for sharing another great idea. My e-mail address is everidges@gmail.com Thanks ok stan

[ALANSD]

I stumbled across this thread, and want to try it on my old light covers inside. They werre very yellow, so I painted with spray paint, which makes them look better, but when you turn the light on its yellow.
Gotta give this a shot.

[bugz42]

Wow time sure flies. I can't believe how long it has been since we did this to our trailer. We still have our Airstream although we are probably going to be parting with it this summer. In any case the plastic still looks great! I am sure you will be happy with the results.

[Cliftonmc]

Just want to add our experience with the process. It worked great. Before and after photos attached. It takes time to do it but is not too much labor.

Detailed instructions below for anyone interested. Be warned, this finish doesn’t turn out like new or as if professionally painted, but really does brighten up old plastic, and preserves original printed patterns like the crosshatch.

FYI for the bath: replacement trim came from Out of Doors Mart and sink knobs were replaced with new.

RETR0BRIGHT INSTRUCTIONS✨

Supplies:
- Super Star Hair Developer Volume 50 (hydrogen peroxide cream- Volume 40 also works)
- 11 watt LED black lights for interior work (or can use bright sunlight— see retr0bright.com for history of this technique and other process ideas)
- Light mount or tripod
- Tin foil, mylar blankets, photography light reflector or other reflective material
- Paint brush

Instructions:
1. Slather developer cream onto surface with paint brush, first thing in the morning
2. Shine the blacklight on the surface, using reflective material to reflect light towards the surface
3. Watch and wait— monitor color progression. Re-apply/ top off cream every 90 min-2 hours and move cream around to ensure no overdeveloped areas
4. Reapply before nighttime— expect around 24 hours of developing, total
5. Go to sleep
6. Wake up— wash with water and a rag when done
*wear rubber gloves!

[SlvrTwinkie]

Originally Posted by ALANSD

I stumbled across this thread, and want to try it on my old light covers inside. They werre very yellow, so I painted with spray paint, which makes them look better, but when you turn the light on its yellow.
Gotta give this a shot.

Did you ever try this goop on your light covers? If so, how did they turn out? Mine, like just about everyone else's, are yellowed and would like not to have to buy new ones if possible. Painted all the other plastics inside do to changing the color of the inside last year. If I can spend $14-15 to make this stuff to get rid of the yellowing, it would be a whole lot better then spending a minimum of $14 each for new light covers. 4 over head lights, 2 vanity lights , and the light above the galley sink all need this if it works or be replaced if they can be found.

[Cliftonmc]

I’ve seen a photo of someone doing their light cover and it turned out well, but haven’t done ours yet. I’ll do one of ours today and post some photos.

[2002sheds]

Hi,
I first read about this technique on a different site when I was trying to restore an old Coleman cooler. That recipe involved just Hydrogen Peroxide (purchased at Sally Beauty, the highest concentration available at retail at that time), OxyClean (or oxygen cleaner) and sunlight. Super simple, super effective.

Apparently, the plastic yellows because of flame retardant (Bromine?) that has been added to plastic for many years. The additive migrates to the surface and the result makes the plastic look more yellow.

I mention this because, at least in my case the plastic did yellow again. Not a big deal, because I just re-applied the goop :-)

Definitely a great way to restore old plastics !


Thanks,
David

[Cliftonmc]

Here is the light cover I did with the process. Turned out visually lighter. The light coming through the shade is a little lighter, but we are using 2700k leds so the light is yellowish on purpose. Not a huge difference but I also don't have a new one to compare it to. Hope this helps.

[Cliftonmc]

Originally Posted by 2002sheds

Hi,

I first read about this technique on a different site when I was trying to restore an old Coleman cooler. That recipe involved just Hydrogen Peroxide (purchased at Sally Beauty, the highest concentration available at retail at that time), OxyClean (or oxygen cleaner) and sunlight. Super simple, super effective.



Apparently, the plastic yellows because of flame retardant (Bromine?) that has been added to plastic for many years. The additive migrates to the surface and the result makes the plastic look more yellow.



I mention this because, at least in my case the plastic did yellow again. Not a big deal, because I just re-applied the goop :-)



Definitely a great way to restore old plastics !





Thanks,

David

Hi David,

How long did it take to yellow again? Did you try any polishes to try and protect the restored finish?

Thanks!

[tallytwo1994]

Originally Posted by Cliftonmc

Just want to add our experience with the process. It worked great. Before and after photos attached. It takes time to do it but is not too much labor.

Detailed instructions below for anyone interested. Be warned, this finish doesn’t turn out like new or as if professionally painted, but really does brighten up old plastic, and preserves original printed patterns like the crosshatch.

FYI for the bath: replacement trim came from Out of Doors Mart and sink knobs were replaced with new.

RETR0BRIGHT INSTRUCTIONS✨

Supplies:
- Super Star Hair Developer Volume 50 (hydrogen peroxide cream- Volume 40 also works)
- 11 watt LED black lights for interior work (or can use bright sunlight— see retr0bright.com for history of this technique and other process ideas)
- Light mount or tripod
- Tin foil, mylar blankets, photography light reflector or other reflective material
- Paint brush

Instructions:
1. Slather developer cream onto surface with paint brush, first thing in the morning
2. Shine the blacklight on the surface, using reflective material to reflect light towards the surface
3. Watch and wait— monitor color progression. Re-apply/ top off cream every 90 min-2 hours and move cream around to ensure no overdeveloped areas
4. Reapply before nighttime— expect around 24 hours of developing, total
5. Go to sleep
6. Wake up— wash with water and a rag when done
*wear rubber gloves!

This has turned out very nice. Good work.
Carol

[SlvrTwinkie]

Originally Posted by Cliftonmc

Here is the light cover I did with the process. Turned out visually lighter. The light coming through the shade is a little lighter, but we are using 2700k leds so the light is yellowish on purpose. Not a huge difference but I also don't have a new one to compare it to. Hope this helps.

Thank you for the pics, the one on the right looks good compared to the one on the left. My vanity lights look about as yellow, if not more yellow, as the one on the left. Will have to get the stuff to make this goop and do ours. I will also do our overhead shades cause they are more yellowed than the vanity lights, IMO.

Now when you did that shade, did you apply to both sides or just the outside of it? I'm thinking both sides might give better results.

[Cliftonmc]

Originally Posted by SlvrTwinkie

Thank you for the pics, the one on the right looks good compared to the one on the left. My vanity lights look about as yellow, if not more yellow, as the one on the left. Will have to get the stuff to make this goop and do ours. I will also do our overhead shades cause they are more yellowed than the vanity lights, IMO.



Now when you did that shade, did you apply to both sides or just the outside of it? I'm thinking both sides might give better results.

When I did the light shade I ended up doing both sides for that reason. And had each side facing our black light for 24hr. So 48hrs total for that little shade.

If you have ample sunlight it may work better outside (I live in Portland so have been doing it with weaker black lights inside). Sunlight should work quicker because the heat also helps. You’ll just want to keep an eye on it. I’ve heard more like 2 hrs as opposed to 24.

For the goop we skipped the oxiclean etc and just used the hyrdogen peroxide cream straight. It may work better or faster with the oxiclean but we’ve been impressed with the results regardless.

[ITSNO60]

Bringing this thread back to the top in hopes some of you are still around. My 2011 was stored in the Arizona sun before I bought it and the plastics near the ceiling are quite yellowed. I tried the cream H2O2 (40V) and sunlight on some parts for the satellite dish with good results (see pic). That was 2 days of treatment with about 6 hours each day, the second day I mixed in a sprinkle of Oxy Clean. I am very pleased with the outcome. So after I finish that the big issue is the shower. I have ordered a 300 watt UV bulb but I am wondering how I am going to make the solution stay put on the walls for hours. Also thinking I will use either tape and saran wrap or press a piece of plexiglass against the solution. I know there are ways to mix the solution for more consistency and that is my question, what have some of you used to keep it in place? The shower is mostly yellowed at the top where the heat got to it (see pic). (sorry pic is sideways)

[Cliftonmc]

Hi Brian!

For the shower and the bigger panels I tried using the plastic wrap but it was ultimately too messy and provided blotchy results. The purpose of the plastic wrap is just to keep the solution from drying out so I decided it was easier and more consistent to just go in and quickly spread and reapply a little cream every 90 min to 2 hours. It took a bit of work and I would start in the morning and go to the evening. By the evening the worst of the yellowing was gone and I'd do one more coat and leave it overnight. The next morning I'd wash it all down and do another panel. Good luck with it. Ours still looks great and was worth the effort.

[ITSNO60]

Originally Posted by Cliftonmc

Hi Brian!

For the shower and the bigger panels I tried using the plastic wrap but it was ultimately too messy and provided blotchy results. The purpose of the plastic wrap is just to keep the solution from drying out so I decided it was easier and more consistent to just go in and quickly spread and reapply a little cream every 90 min to 2 hours. It took a bit of work and I would start in the morning and go to the evening. By the evening the worst of the yellowing was gone and I'd do one more coat and leave it overnight. The next morning I'd wash it all down and do another panel. Good luck with it. Ours still looks great and was worth the effort.

Thanks! I will try that. Looking back at your posts it seem you just used the ready made cream without mixing in the other ingredients like oxy or thickeners? I hope I didn't go overboard by ordering a 300 watt UV light.

[ITSNO60]

More patients into the OR today, (the 300 watt lamp arrived) trying a little experiment, used straight cream on 1/2 and added Oxy to the other 1/2 to see if any difference.

[Cliftonmc]

I didn't use the oxyclean or thickeners. In digging through all the computer forums on it, folks said it seemed to not really make a difference. I was happy with the results from the straight cream. I used Super Star Hair Developer Volume 50 from Amazon. I'll be curious to see the results of your experiment!

I would assume the stronger the light the better and heat also helps. Which reminds me a did run a space heater when I was doing it. I went with weaker bulbs (2 - 11watt) because they worked with the photography light tent thing I already had so it made it easier to direct the light in all the nooks and crannies.

[ITSNO60]

Thanks Cliftonmc, I started on the shower this AM. The Oxy made no difference whatsoever, you cannot tell which 1/2 had it and which 1/2 did not (see pics). So I am just using the solution straight from the jug. The satellite parts came out very nice, they are not actually as white as original but have a slight almond or cream tint that blends in with the cream colored headliner. You can see from the pic that has the signal strength wall plate in it how yellow it was before treatment. That will be next to go under the light (or sun). It appears that the light works just as well as the sun, cannot tell any difference. At least I can put my small parts out in the sun while the light is in use for the shower.

[ITSNO60]

Finished the shower today, two days in a row, 8 hours each day, re-applied the cream every 1.5 hours and kept it very warm with a heater. The plastic plumbing cover I did on the roof. The first day it was slightly blotchy but 8 more hours today and it is like new. Conclusions: 1. The other ingredients that the computer guys use did not make any difference, just straight vol-40 did great. 2. Heat helps 3. Patience helps. I have a big project in the garage right now so this was no problem, just keep after it every 1.5 hours back and forth then the cleanup, it really wasn't much work at all. The results are about 90% on the shower but you have to look for it now instead of it jumping out at you. The results on the plumbing cover and the shelf bar are very nearly 100%
See before & after pics: