Removing Yellow from Clear Plastics

[Bill in Indiana]

Hello All,

Is there a way to remove the yellow stain color from the clear
parts of my Space Odyssey Plastics? I've read a few of the older post,
some say Novus 2 others have tried Purple Power.. They were older post
though.. Any of you guys have any idea what works or a good technique?
Thanks,
Bill in Indiana

[Lloyd Olson]

A chemcial reaction in the plastic caused it. No cleaning that. LTG :)

"Bill in Indiana" <absofb...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:53b8bca2-ff56-4b40...@t9g2000vbv.googlegroups.com...

[Bill in Indiana]

On Jul 7, 6:15 pm, "Lloyd Olson" <l...@ssbilliards.com> wrote:
> A chemcial reaction in the plastic caused it. No cleaning that.  LTG :)
>

I was kinda afraid of that..I scraped a little at the edge of one
piece with an exacto and it didn't seem to be a surface krud...

Bill in Indiana

[John In WI]

CPR makes reproduction plastics for Space Mission / Odyssey

--

"A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn't will
find an excuse."

- Stephen Dooley, Jr. -

[strohz]

You can supposedly use a mixture of peroxide and oxyclean to take the
yellow out of old plastics:
http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/138244-how-to-remove-yellowing-from-an-old-atari-case/

I haven't tried it myself yet, but have a bunch I keep meaning to
test. You can also do a search on "retrobrite" and find a lot of good
information.

Anyone have any stories from trying it?

-- Ed

[Mark Clayton]

That works on ABS, but not likely to work with playfield
plastics which are usually made from butyrate. I have never
seen the yellow removed from those.

-Mark
-----
http://pinballpal.com

[pinbell]

Would flaming them remove the yellowing?

[Mark Clayton]

Yes. It will turn the yellowing into browning.

-Mark
-----
http://pinballpal.com

[Frank Furhter]

I'd had some luck with cleaning playfield plastics with Chrome Polish,
but be very careful with it on the ink side. Has made very dark yellow
to 'moderate yellow' but the yellow is likely there forever and ever :(

--
The Frankster, a playfield prankster
Once upon my crank her ballpark shrank.

[Zitt]

On Jul 7, 7:32 pm, strohz <stroh...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> You can supposedly use a mixture of peroxide and oxyclean to take the

> yellow out of old plastics:http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/138244-how-to-remove-yellowing-f...

>
> I haven't tried it myself yet, but have a bunch I keep meaning to
> test.  You can also do a search on "retrobrite" and find a lot of good
> information.
>
> Anyone have any stories from trying it?

RetroBright does NOT work on Clear Plastics.
I tried it on a spare set of Bally Star trek plastics - it did nothing
to remove the yellow... and damange the white backing layer.

[jandt...@gmail.com]

On Thursday, July 7, 2011 5:32:55 PM UTC-7, strohz wrote:
> You can supposedly use a mixture of peroxide and oxyclean to take the
> yellow out of old plastics:
> http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/138244-how-to-remove-yellowing-from-an-old-atari-case/
>
> I haven't tried it myself yet, but have a bunch I keep meaning to
> test. You can also do a search on "retrobrite" and find a lot of good
> information.
>
> Anyone have any stories from trying it?
>
> -- Ed
>

Yes Ed,
I tried it with my out door lamp post globes. The OxyClean/Peroxide mixture did nothing to remove the yellow and turned the clear plastic milky. Darn. I wish i could either remove the ugly yellow or buy new globes, but no manufacturer can be found :(

[P2K]

On Thursday, July 7, 2011 7:32:55 PM UTC-5, strohz wrote:
> You can supposedly use a mixture of peroxide and oxyclean to take the
> yellow out of old plastics:

This doesn't work on clear plastics. A weak hydrogen peroxide solution does nothing, a stronger one will remove the ink. I tried it.

But SOME other playfield playfield plastics can be brightened by this method. I tried various items such as pop bodies, lane guides, lane dividers, posts. You have to try them out. Sometimes you get a brightening (still off white but much cleaner looking), and other times you get a really nice bright white.

I tried some red posts too. Not for whitening of course but to see what happens. It did funny things to the surface of the red plastic, making a film that looked ugly but could be scraped off.

It seems the harder the plastic the whiter you can get it. They used many different types of plastic over the decades so it is impossible to tell what will react.

Overall the hydrogen peroxide/ oxy clean method at least will clean very well, sometimes yielding amazing results.

But not on the clear yellowed plastics.

Alan

[Frank Furhter]

The topic has been covered. This technique is dependent on the nature
of old computer plastics. Said is not that of pinball playfield
decorative plastics, or play field plastics. You can use Novus two both
sides with care and have results that vary in quality based on the heat
exposure, the age of plastic, and technique. Google it, or search the
RGP USENET news group r.g.p for said. Bottom line, yellow will likely
stay somewhat yellow if aged plastic is the concern, or removed mostly
and clear if it was smoke related (Novus does work well).

--
The Frankster, a playfield prankster
Once upon my crank her ballpark shrank.

http://PinWiki.com, Prep-H 4 pinballers.
CARGPB #42 (Free to join, sign up now!)
Dangling Team-EM Member (debauchery go-go gadget)

[xoxo...@gmail.com]

I would think that if its chemical that is in the plastic itself. And its deteriorating without anything like UV or smoke causing this. I read something the other day about a chemical called Bromine. Its used during the plastic process. Here READ--->>> http://www.exisle.net/mb/index.php?/topic/59657-de-yellowing-plastic-the-stain-isnt-permanent-after-all/

[Frank Furhter]

Much of the yellow is often age and smoke/dust/garbage. Like discussed
in many threads many years ago, it is part of the magic of the game,
there is little other than Novus 2 to use, and pay attention when
applying and letting dry, and wiping off. Use lots of pure cotton
tshirts, and enjoy the games 'yellow', its what makes it unique.

If you want fucking new shit, buy new shit.

--
The Frankster, a playfield prankster
Once upon my crank her ballpark shrank.
http://PinWiki.com, Prep-H 4 pinballers.
CARGPB #42 (Free to join, sign up now!)

Dangling Team-EM Member (debauchery a-go-go)
Rule #1 of RGP, there are no rules or rulers.

[richh...@gmail.com]

A couple of days ago a guy stopped me at a car parts place and said he would clean the clear parking light lens on my 2001 Chevy Van for $15. Well he caught me at the right time. I was about to buy a new lens for $45. I figured he would have to take A half hr. to do it. He brought out a spray bottle and sprayed the lens.(you could not see through the lens it was that bad). he wiped the lens a few times and the plastic was clear. he then took a second product in a pressurised can and spread it on and wiped It off. The lens looks new. He would not tell me what the liquid were. I'm guessing some kind of acid first then spray on a nutralizer. Any guesses?

[John Robertson]

On 2018/04/23 9:58 PM, richh...@gmail.com wrote:
> A couple of days ago a guy stopped me at a car parts place and said he would clean the clear parking light lens on my 2001 Chevy Van for $15. Well he caught me at the right time. I was about to buy a new lens for $45. I figured he would have to take A half hr. to do it. He brought out a spray bottle and sprayed the lens.(you could not see through the lens it was that bad). he wiped the lens a few times and the plastic was clear. he then took a second product in a pressurised can and spread it on and wiped It off. The lens looks new. He would not tell me what the liquid were. I'm guessing some kind of acid first then spray on a nutralizer. Any guesses?
>

Probably the stuff used to restore older plastic computer cases that
have yellowed with age (Bromine related).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retr0bright

Then some simple neutralizer wash. Like H2O.

I'll have to try it on my 1996 Mercury soccer-dad van plastics, they
have frosted up. Can't hurt...

John :-#)#

--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd.
MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
(604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

[Frank Furhter]

John Robertson wrote:
> On 2018/04/23 9:58 PM, richh...@gmail.com wrote:
>> A couple of days ago a guy stopped me at a car parts place and said he
>> would clean the clear parking light lens on my 2001 Chevy Van for $15.
>> Well he caught me at the right time. I was about to buy a new lens for
>> $45. I figured he would have to take A half hr. to do it. He brought
>> out a spray bottle and sprayed the lens.(you could not see through the
>> lens it was that bad). he wiped the lens a few times and the plastic
>> was clear. he then took a second product in a pressurised can and
>> spread it on and wiped It off. The lens looks new. He would not tell
>> me what the liquid were. I'm guessing some kind of acid first then
>> spray on a nutralizer. Any guesses?
>>
>
> Probably the stuff used to restore older plastic computer cases that
> have yellowed with age (Bromine related).
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retr0bright
>
> Then some simple neutralizer wash. Like H2O.
>
> I'll have to try it on my 1996 Mercury soccer-dad van plastics, they
> have frosted up. Can't hurt...
>
> John :-#)#
>

Type of poly matters, and honestly not worth your time.
By NOS or just live with it.

[Joe]

>A couple of days ago a guy stopped me at a car parts place and said he would clean the clear parking light lens on my 2001 Chevy Van for $15. Well he caught me at the right time. I was about to buy a new lens for $45. I figured he would have to take A half hr. to do it. He brought out a spray bottle and sprayed the lens.(you could not see through the lens it was that bad). he wiped the lens a few times and the plastic was clear. he then took a second product in a pressurised can and spread it on and wiped It off. The lens looks new. He would not tell me what the liquid were. I'm guessing some kind of acid first then spray on a nutralizer. Any guesses?

A fluid popular with parking lot commandos is removing the crud with
Windex and then spraying on a bug repellent with deet. Because it
temporarily fills in the scratches it quickly makes the lens look
clear so the guy can collect, but it lasts only a week or two because
the lens surface has not actually been polished smooth. To smooth the
surface of the lens so the clearness will last, it needs to be
polished using a gentle polishing compound. CIF or other cream
cleanser if pretty quick and works great. It's also a good idea to use
some tape to protect the adjacent paint.

[Riles]

https://www.harborfreight.com/deluxe-lens-renewal-system-62663.html