Retro-brite on blue?

[ESalter]

Hey Everyone-

I'm considering trying Retro-brite to reverse some discoloring on a 60s WE light blue Trimline I recently acquired.  Has anyone ever tried it on light blue, and if so, what were the results?  Any info or pointers from anyone that's done this before would be extremely helpful.

Thanks-
---Eric

[Phonesrfun]

Hey Everyone-

I'm considering trying Retro-brite to reverse some discoloring on a 60s WE light blue Trimline I recently acquired.  Has anyone ever tried it on light blue, and if so, what were the results?  Any info or pointers from anyone that's done this before would be extremely helpful.

Thanks-
---Eric

I have, and the result was a disaster.  It bleached the coloring right out and made it blotchy.  I believe some othere here, that perhaps know how to do it better have been successful, but the instructions for Retr0brite as written, are best to be done on white or light beige.

[KeithB]

If any color would respond well to Retr0bright treatment, it should definitely be light blue.  I'd suggest using the "10" level peroxide from a beauty supply with glycerin and xanthan gum.  The reason to use the beauty supply product is because it is stabilized with other ingredients, precisely to prevent rapid and uneven results when treating hair.  Using the "10" will be slow, but with colors that's precisely what you want, a slow, steady process.  The glycerin and xanthan gum will help the peroxide mixture stay moist against the plastic.  Without these ingredients, dry spots could form, accelerating the bleaching wherever it dries out.

[ESalter]

Thanks for the info guys.  I'll give it a try on a junk shell first to see how it works.  I'll try it like you said with 10 volume H2O2 (3%) and see what results I get.  Any idea if sunlight vs. a blacklight makes a difference?

---Eric

[bingster]

Before you go through this effort, have you tried a soak in a chlorine bleach/water mix?  That can often make a big difference.  And it's easier to get that out of the way before moving on to a more complex treatment.

[KeithB]

If you have clear bright sunlight for four to six hours, that works very well.  Otherwise, purchase a UV light, either fluorescent or incandescent.  I have too many trees around my house, and with shorter days I rarely get enough continuous sunlight.

[KeithB]

Before you go through this effort, have you tried a soak in a chlorine bleach/water mix?  That can often make a big difference.  And it's easier to get that out of the way before moving on to a more complex treatmnent.

Darrin, the problem with chlorine bleach is it leaves the plastic in a more brittle state than before.  <The Retr0bright wiki> discusses the chemical reasons why peroxide/oxygen is a far better treatment.

[HarrySmith]

Another tip to keeping the mixture moist is to wrap the part in plastic wrap, such as Saran Wrap. I used shrink wrap I have for packaging.

[Dan]

I had a disaster with the peroxide on a moss green that was yellowed. I would think blue would be bad. The only way I can see getting nlue is sanding. Finlover had a gorgeous blue go for big bucks. I believed he sanded his.

[HarrySmith]

When I asked Greg about that phone and he told me he did both, sanding and retrobrite. Maybe he will chime in here. I have a Blue 500 I am in the process of sanding. Like a lot of my projects it is on the back burner now with the truck here.

[Greg G.]

I've never tried it, but have a phone or two that could use it.  From what I've gathered reading all the discussions and results, the treatment is pretty much reserved for white phones, it just won't work on colored phones.

[Phoniac]

Just my two cents, cause I'm no expert but, I would definitely SAND a colored phone after hearing how many get blotches instead of a even color. And I expect that is caused by the drying out of the plastic which makes it porse and uneven.
Not ever doing it before I reckon I'd start out with a grit that cuts well but not to aggressive to scratch deeply and then go to 6 - 800 wet sand and finish with about a 2000 grit wet and then to the buffer.
Does that sound right to you all?

[HarrySmith]

From what I have heard since this discussion started the blotchy affect is from uneven mixing and application of the paste and/or uneven exposure to the UV source. I have no idea how to make those things even to achieve desired results. One person has used a totally liquid mixture instead of the paste and achieved very nice results. I cannot remember who that was or where I saw his post.

[ESalter]

Since I started this thread I decided not to try it on blue.  However, I have a white ten button touchtone 2 line Princess that's pretty faded, one of these days I'm going to give it a try on that.  When I do I'm going to document/photograph my setup very well.
--Eric

[Jim Stettler]

From what I have heard since this discussion started the blotchy affect is from uneven mixing and application of the paste and/or uneven exposure to the UV source. I have no idea how to make those things even to achieve desired results. One person has used a totally liquid mixture instead of the paste and achieved very nice results. I cannot remember who that was or where I saw his post.

Ray K. told me he uses a liquid vs paste process for retro brite. He felt that the liquid helps keep the color from splotching. Last may he had a pair of pink teletrainer 500's that he was planning on treating. I never heard how they turned out.
Jim