Whitening Abs Plastic, Cheap home-made recipe

[TK3015]

The below is TK4611 original post about how he has made his armour white again using a DIY concoction.

I don't know where to get the ingredients in SG though.

WARNING: use gloves & eye goggles and only use in a well ventilated area.

Hey guys,

My old RT bucket had severe yellowing from exposure to sunlight.
I had three options;

1: Replace it with a new one.
2: Paint it.
3: Find some way to reverse the yellowing.

Option 1 was something that I was looking at for a long time but I found that getting hold of a good MR LE or EFX bucket is extremely difficult and pricey.
Option 2 was looking like my next best option - but the paint-matching/priming and masking was something that I didn't really want to stuff around with.
So - Option 3...

Yellowing of plastic is caused by prolonged exposure to sunlight, the UV reacts chemically with the materials in the plastic and can not be removed with any commercially available product.
I did a bit of Google research before coming upon this site http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/Summary.
Developed by computer boffins & chemical engineers who were trying to find a way to whiten retro PC cases, monitors & keyboards, it uses simple, easy to find ingredients to reverse the yellowing process in plastics, particularly ABS.
It won't fade or lift stickers or decals and it doesn't adversely affect the surface area of the plastic by corrosion.

Note that I used Sard Oxy-plus as a substitute for the 'Oxy' Laundry Booster. The peroxide was 'Hi Lift' Creme Peroxide.

Costs & sources were;

Hi-Lift Peroxide (one litre from Hairdresser supplies shop) - $10.00
Sard Oxy Plus (1kg From Coles) - $5.95
Glycerine (100 ml Chemists Warehouse) $5.50
Xantham Gum (From Health Food Shop) $5.50

I am happy to say that I have tried it and it works - in just a few hours my bucket is now as shiny white as the day it was assembled.
I kinda wish that I had taken some before and after pics, but I'll have a look at the rest of my armour and see if there's anything else which has been affected.

So, if you have anything plastic that has been yellowed or faded by the sun, I can recommend giving this a try.

Cheers,

b [/url]

[GetzJedi]

Option 4 - Be a Sandtrooper

[mosske]

Thanks Mat...this is something us veterans have been waiting for! An alternative to going sand!

[erase]

Good! Good!! Good!!!

Welcome to join us...to become a dirty trooper...

[GetzJedi]

Where to get these in Singapore???

Hi-Lift Peroxide (one litre from Hairdresser supplies shop)
Sard Oxy Plus (1kg From Coles)
Glycerine (100 ml Chemists Warehouse)
Xantham Gum (From Health Food Shop)

[Sev-like]

Where to get these in Singapore???

Hi-Lift Peroxide (one litre from Hairdresser supplies shop)
Sard Oxy Plus (1kg From Coles)
Glycerine (100 ml Chemists Warehouse)
Xantham Gum (From Health Food Shop)

You might wanna try get hydrogen peroxide from pharmacies. I'm not sure about the concentration needed though, I think you can only buy up to a certain concentration ('cuz I think you can make a bomb with it, I'm not clear about those details). 12% if I'm not wrong.

Sard Oxy plus is a strong alkali (pH=9.0 -11.0). Sodium carbonate accounts for 10-30% of it, so I'm guessing it is the active ingredient. Any detergent containing that should work. It's not bleach.

Xantham gum is a food additive. Try asking shops which sells food products for health-consicous people. Besides, it is used as a thickener for this purpose. So I'm guessing corn flour might work too.

Glycerine (Glycerin or glycerol) is another thickener. It is sold as a food additive. Not to be confused with gelatin.

[GetzJedi]

http://www.howtocleanstuff.net/kitchen- ... d-plastic/

http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/Retr0Bright+Gel