I tried bleaching the plastic clip of a Penac Tomo using the hydrogen peroxide and UV light method. I use 10-volume hydrogen peroxide and placed the bottle in the sun. It worked!
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Sweeet! Does that make the plastsic more brittle? I think i heard that, but you know.. the internet.
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Do you have a before?
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I hadn’t heard that it made it more brittle, but I do know that you shouldn’t use this method if the plastic has breaks or cracks, because then the liquid can get in and accelerate the deterioration.
That was before bleaching
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That worked great! You can also use salon care 40 developer and peroxide.
Great job!
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Soaking the clip directly is pretty extreme! My brother has done a more cautious treatment for yellowed plastic on some vintage toys: a sealed clear box in direct sunlight with a 2-inch deep pool of diluted peroxide solution, and the precious item resting in the middle on top of a small raised dish. About a day or two of sunning cleared up the discoloration but it will come back after a couple of months depending on the environmental conditions.
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Exact-a-mundo!
Retrobright. I have heard about this several times on various retro-computing podcasts. This seems very similar.
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I did this today in less than 2 hours. The pen came from @TheDragonReb0rn
I used just 3% hydrogen peroxide along with UV light from my resin printer’s UV curing station.
Edit: BTW forgot to mention, thank you to Ed for hooking me up with this pen!
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this is next week’s video
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This method really opened my eyes! I never thought it could be used on plastic parts—especially since UV light itself is one of the main causes of plastic yellowing. I definitely learned something new.
The TOMBOW OLNO (SH-OL20) I have has been sitting in a cabinet for nearly 12 years. It’s one of the few soft-grip models in my collection. The grip material is TPE, which is known for easily absorbing oils from fingers. I’ve always wanted to restore its original matte white finish, but I’ve lacked both a good method and the courage to try. I do have a large UV light box, but I don’t think hydrogen peroxide treatment is viable here—I’m worried the material could degrade, becoming permanently sticky or hardened. Do you have any good ideas worth trying?
I do have some IPA on hand, but I haven’t dared to lightly spot-clean it yet. I’m concerned that this yellowing may be a through-and-through material change, from the inside out.
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As far as I can tell it’s the hydrogen peroxide thats required.