News:

"The phone is a remarkably complex, simple device,
and very rarely ever needs repairs, once you fix them." - Dan/Panther

Main Menu

Peroxide Treatment Detailed Instructions

Started by Dan, June 07, 2009, 05:46:08 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

benhutcherson

Quote from: JorgeAmely on June 15, 2009, 06:39:03 PM

It doesn't mention anything about light of any kind to make the reaction take place, however, the decomposition is a function of temperature. I think that means that the warmer the substance over the plastic is, the better it should work. A heat lamp or just plain old sun, should work OK.

Any chemists in the group?

Hydrogen peroxide is unstable enough that light will indeed cause it to break down.

Visible light should have some effect, but UV is even better.

Dan/Panther

Hydrogen Peroxide, will also breakdown into water, if not properly sealed in it's container.
D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

McHeath

So I finally got around to trying this formula.  I got a white 554 for Father's Day that was deeply yellowed, it looked beige or ivory.  Even the inside was not pure white anymore, only the inside of the handset was still holding the original color.  It yellowed nice and evenly, you could have hung it on the wall and people would have thought it was a nice beige phone.

Here is what I did.

I went to Sally's Beauty supply and got the 40% hydrogen peroxide in the clear mix.  Cost was $3.39.  Bought corn starch instead of arrowroot as it's dirt cheap at Wally Mart, a buck for a good sized box.  For the sodium carbonate I just used some of the Cascade dishwasher detergent, while it has some other ingredients as well, including bleach, it was cheaper to just dash out the teaspoon from the box under the sink.

So total cost is about $4.49 plus whatever a teaspoon of the Cascade works out to.  This gave me three treatments.

Used 2/3rds of a cup of the hydrogen peroxide, added two slightly heaping tablespoons of the corn starch, and heated in the microwave for about 45 seconds until it turned thick.

Added the teaspoon of Cascade, mixed it in a bowl with a spoon, let it sit for a few minutes.  It got hot, bubbled a bit, and was ready.

Used a 1.5 inch paint brush, applied a thick thick coat of the goo all over the plastics.  Did this out in the garage at the workbench as it smells bad.  Put one lamp with a 60 watt regular bulb on it and left it for 12 hours, overnight.

Soaked the parts in the sink with hot water for about 30 minutes and it came right off.

It worked, but not evenly.  It was obvious that the light made a difference, the parts more exposed to the light were whiter.

Second application, same as first but with two lamps this time, both 60 watts, and covering all the parts with light.  Left it for 9 hours.  Soaked for 30 minutes in sink and again it came out clean.

Much better results!  Almost white again, darn close.  Huge improvement. 

So it's out in the garage for a final treatment, we will have the results in the morning.

This process actually works, and works well.  The light seems to be critical, but we can substitute corn starch for the expensive arrowroot and even use ordinary Cascade for the sodium carbonate.  When it's done tomorrow I'll post some pics. 

Don't get this stuff on you, it burns a bit.  I used gloves and wore and apron and googles.  Looked like Bill Nye the Science guy, but I don't really want to lose an eye for phones.   :)


JorgeAmely

McH:

Remember that finlover uses a mylar lined fish tank plus a UV light on top to evenly distribute the light. That may save you from doing double exposure.
Jorge

Dan

McHeath, glad to see you are having great results. The cheaper ingrediants you substituted make it even more practical to use this treatment.

I do believe the light makes a big difference.
"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright

jsowers

The even fading on that 554 sounds like smoke fade to me. Smoke gets to all the crevices inside and out, where sunlight just gets to the exposed areas.

Have you tried the good old summer sun? I've always had good results with bleaching in sunlight and it's only one or two days' exposure, compared to the lifetime it took to fade it. Or is that too intense for this formula? The mylar lining sounds like a very good idea too.

Thanks for the detailed instructions. It sounds fairly easy and not too expensive. I wonder if liquid dishwasher detergent would work as well? Or did you use liquid?
Jonathan

McHeath

Well it's still not white enough.  The handset is close to perfect, and one cap is as well.  But the shell needs at least another dose, as does the other cap and the fingerwheel.  Too bad really as I thought I was ready to polish and put it on the wall.

Thinking of trying compact fluro's in the lamps instead of old time incand bulbs. 

But I will say that even though this takes some time and hassle its way better than sanding and polishing.  In my opinion that is.

Here is a pic of the whole deal in progress, and the curious crusting that develops as it dries on the phone. 

Kenny C

if i call our local beauty store what am i to ask for
In memory of
  Marie B.
1926-2010

HarrySmith

When I did the treatment I used sunlight, the UV reacts with the formula to make it work is what I was told. I was also told to wrap it to keep it moist as it stops working when dry. I got great esults in one try with a white phone.
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

Dewdrop

Harry,

What did you use to wrap the phone moist and how long in the sunlight?

Thanks
Debbie
Debbie

Dan

I agree compared to  sanding, this blows it away. It is much easier.
"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright

Jim Stettler

Ray K. uses a full liquid solution. He told me that his thought on streaking is due to an unbalanced solution.
His thought is full liquid creates a uniform "finish"
Something to think about,
Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

HarrySmith

I used shrink wrap to cover my phone after applying the paste, I would imagine Saran Wrap or something similar would work. I left it out in the South Florida sun for 6 hours, turning every hour. One person I was discussing the process with told me I was lucky to have the South Florida sun that in other parts of the country it would not be as strong. I recall reading about the full liquid process someone used but never quite figured it out or tried it. I also recall discussion that the colors after the full liquid treatment were not correct. I had great results with a white phone and a beige one that were both badly discolored. The results with a yellow handset were disastrous, it was ruined, bleached white in places.
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

Dan

The green one(moss green) that I had burnt (almost swirled) result  with the whitening process I finally got aroung to sanding, and it came back to normal. You could probably sand your yellow and it would come back.
"Imagine how weird telephones would look if our ears weren't so close to our mouths." - Steven Wright

HarrySmith

Yeah, swirled is a good description! I might try sanding it but I was thinking about creating a tie dyed phone with it! :)
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"