Whitening yellowed plastic

digitalscream

So...I've got a really old Lace Sensor here (it's actually the one I had in my Squier Strat when I was 15), and the cover's yellowed a fair bit over time.

The cover can't be removed, so submerging it in bleach is a bit of a no-no. Any bright ideas on how to get it back to white?

Gagaryn

You could try carefully wiping with thick bleach see if it does anything. if so repeat...

ICBM

digitalscream said:

So...I've got a really old Lace Sensor here (it's actually the one I had in my Squier Strat when I was 15), and the cover's yellowed a fair bit over time.

The cover can't be removed, so submerging it in bleach is a bit of a no-no. Any bright ideas on how to get it back to white?

Paint it.



It's the only way - the plastic has chemically darkened due to light exposure so no amount of polishing or bleaching will change it back to white.

I suppose if you sanded off enough material you would get down to white plastic, but that would also lose the logo ad you would probably risk going through it anyway, they're quite thin.

vasselmeyer

Not guitar-related, but this guy restores plastics on old PCs and computers. Technique called "retrobrite". You might find some tips there:

Gagaryn

ICBM said:

digitalscream said:

So...I've got a really old Lace Sensor here (it's actually the one I had in my Squier Strat when I was 15), and the cover's yellowed a fair bit over time.

The cover can't be removed, so submerging it in bleach is a bit of a no-no. Any bright ideas on how to get it back to white?

Paint it.



It's the only way - the plastic has chemically darkened due to light exposure so no amount of polishing or bleaching will change it back to white.

I suppose if you sanded off enough material you would get down to white plastic, but that would also lose the logo ad you would probably risk going through it anyway, they're quite thin.

It's true that they have chemically darkened, but they can be chemically lightened again - bleach does work. Above video not working for me at the moment due to my location but this page has examples of plastic whitening results - using stuff to make your hair yellow, ironically. :-)

http://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/feature-learn-how-whiten-your-yellowed-plastic-gadgets

Adam_MD

@juansolo has been doing something to old consoles to get them back to the original colour hopefully he can help. 

ICBM

vasselmeyer said:

Not guitar-related, but this guy restores plastics on old PCs and computers. Technique called "retrobrite". You might find some tips there:

[Adventures in Retrobrite - New techniques for restoring yellowed plastic!]

That's very interesting. I wouldn't have expected any of that to work at all - or if it did, to also damage the plastic.

Gagaryn

ICBM said:

vasselmeyer said:

Not guitar-related, but this guy restores plastics on old PCs and computers. Technique called "retrobrite". You might find some tips there:

[Adventures in Retrobrite - New techniques for restoring yellowed plastic!]

That's very interesting. I wouldn't have expected any of that to work at all - or if it did, to also damage the plastic.

I'm sure it will cause some damage to the plastic, in the same way that the UV did. This must be the first thread about un-relicing. :-)

paulnb57

i have used T Cut with some success on scratchplates and UPVC Windows that have discoloured too.....

digitalscream

That's a great video - I'm going to try the salon developer + UV method, since it seems the least likely to damage the rest of the pickup. Wish me luck!

vasselmeyer

Before and after shots please.

juansolo

I've being doing that with old computers/consoles (another hobby) for a while now. It's the wrong time of year really to do it now (it's much more effective to leave it outside in the sun for a few hours). But it certainly works.

http://juansolo.co.uk/geekery/retrobrite.html

ICBM

juansolo said:

I've being doing that with old computers/consoles (another hobby) for a while now. It's the wrong time of year really to do it now (it's much more effective to leave it outside in the sun for a few hours). But it certainly works.

Do you notice any adverse effects on the plastic, like it becoming more brittle or 'crumbly'?

vasselmeyer

The guy in the video i posted has done this many many times, often for hours and even days at a time with no ill effects on the plastic at all.

thermionic

Reverse relicing, who would have thunk it?

CasperCaster

A mate of mine restores keyboards, where relic is definitely not the order of the day. He uses toothpaste on some parts to get them white again. I think it's basically to clean rather than undo UV damage, but it might be worth a shot - it's the Arm and Hammer bicarb type toothpaste that you need.

digitalscream

Peroxide cream just showed up...will be giving it a go later.

juansolo

ICBM said:

juansolo said:

I've being doing that with old computers/consoles (another hobby) for a while now. It's the wrong time of year really to do it now (it's much more effective to leave it outside in the sun for a few hours). But it certainly works.

Do you notice any adverse effects on the plastic, like it becoming more brittle or 'crumbly'?

Nope. The biggest thing you've got to do is be very thorough on the strip down and washing beforehand. That's how people have f**ked things up royally in the past and they end up with horrible results. Also masking badges up and what have you. I've retrobrited loads of kit now and had no issues with brittleness that wasn't already there in 30+ year old plastics.

It's a LOT of effort on old computers particularly, but it's all part of the fun.  As for effectiveness, this is a before and after on an 8-Bit Atari.

http://juansolo.mooo.com/misc/Pics/xe.jpg

ICBM

It certainly is quite remarkable! I can’t doubt the results you’ve got, even though the chemical mechanism involved and why it doesn’t seem to damage the plastic (or at least not significantly enough to tell) is still a bit baffling...

But we live and learn .

digitalscream

Jesus, you wouldn't think it'd be so hard to find a UV lamp at the weekend, would you? Literally nowhere within 50 miles seems to sell them, not even bulbs.

Found *one* guy selling a UV torch on eBay, but he's playing hard to get about me picking it up...

poopot

digitalscream said:

Jesus, you wouldn't think it'd be so hard to find a UV lamp at the weekend, would you? Literally nowhere within 50 miles seems to sell them, not even bulbs.

Found *one* guy selling a UV torch on eBay, but he's playing hard to get about me picking it up...

Go to boots and get one of their teeth whitening kits... get the one that comes with the UV light!...