Scared to try!

[electric al]

    I have a 554 that is discolored , and I would like to try to restore it back to its original creamy beige.

I am apprehensive to try the bleach method ,because I am afraid it will bleach the numbers on the dial .

Will it ?

[Phonesrfun]

I guess it depends on the year of the housing as to whether it is hard plastic or soft.  I have never tried bleaching on soft plastic.  Assuming it is hard plastic then you should get good results if you read all the many posts about the bleaching process.

The numbers in the dial bezel are actually injected molded into the plastic.  They are not printed numbers.  You don't need to worry about them being bleached because they are made from black plastic which I don't think will fade.  As an alternative, you could sand the dial bezel instead of bleaching it.

[Greg G.]

Are you sure it's actually beige and not badly yellowed white?  If the latter, it can be successfully bleached.  Take off one of the handset caps and look at the color inside, that's the true color.  Look through some of the threads here: http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?board=23.0

[N7LTH]

I am flat out paranoid with respect to color restoration on old plastic parts. Bleaching of any sort is liable to leach out the plasticizers and thus making the goods even more brittle.

Now if someone would invent a plastic rejuvenator that could somehow infuse new plasticizer in the goods, that would be terrific

[unbeldi]

Bleaching of any sort is liable to leach out the plasticizers and thus making the goods even more brittle.

How so?
The plasticizers aren't any more water soluble than the plastic likely. I don't know what was used back then, but I suspect most of them are some complex ester.  From experience we know that bleaching only works on an extremely thin layer at the surface. If there is something to be leached from that layer, it's probably gone after 50, 60, 70 years since manufacture.  Certainly, any chemically invasive procedure as bleaching does destroy some of the other oxidizable molecules in the plastic, and may break a few bonds of the structural chains of the polymer. It will destroy some of the pigments of color that we want to bring back. But by all experiences demonstrated, for example, here in the forum, there is very little to worry about.  Nobody has ever reported having a cracked shell because of bleaching.

Like anything, experience teaches and builds confidence. Have you tried sanding?  You will quickly learn to appreciate less arduous approaches when possible.

[LarryInMichigan]

I have had some very good results in situations like this soaking the parts in chlorine bleach and water in the warm sunlight.  This only works if the plastic has darkened.  Soft plastic tends to fade with age, so bleaching is the last thing one would want to do for that.

Larry

[unbeldi]

I have had some very good results in situations like this soaking the parts in chlorine bleach and water in the warm sunlight.  This only works if the plastic has darkened.  Soft plastic tends to fade with age, so bleaching is the last thing one would want to do for that.

Larry

Well, for soft plastics bleaching doesn't work very well, for example discolored PVC line cords required very long exposure and chlorine bleach is definitely inferior for them than the strong peroxide treatments.  Presumably the discoloration has permeated the plastic much more severely, perhaps the reason is that they contain plasticizers in a high percentage to total weight, I think, perhaps even more than 30%.

But regardless, I have found that it is not so much the type of plastic, but the type of colors that fade more than others.  The dark or deep colors, red, green, blue, brown, black rarely fade, in fact I have never seen any faded, while the pastel colors of 1958, aqua blue and rose pink, easily fade when overexposed to bleach or peroxide.   Especially pink handset cords are often faded simply from sunlight exposure, but with less exposure they typically just show discoloration.

[WEBellSystemChristian]

But regardless, I have found that it is not so much the type of plastic, but the type of colors that fade more than others.  The dark or deep colors, red, green, blue, brown, black rarely fade, in fact I have never seen any faded, while the pastel colors of 1958, aqua blue and rose pink, easily fade when overexposed to bleach or peroxide.   Especially pink handset cords are often faded simply from sunlight exposure, but with less exposure they typically just show discoloration.

I actually have a green 1500 with severe browning, and not like nicotine staining either; it has perfect coloring under the handset and inside the cradle. I also have a '70s Yellow 500 with some fading on the left side. I'm not sure about the yellow, but know green won't work in peroxide.