Author Topic: Peroxide soak (Before and After) (Read 550 times)

Duffy · « **on:** May 16, 2019, 09:33:39 PM »

Thought I would try my hand at the peroxide treatment. I took my yellowed white 10 button 1554 and soaked it in some peroxide and warm water in the sunshine today. Started around 10:00am and finishing up at 4:30. It wasn’t too bad considering the clouds covered the sun every now and then. Had it been sunny all day it would have taken less time.

HarrySmith · « **Reply #1 on:** May 16, 2019, 10:20:24 PM »

Now that's how it is supposed to look! Great results. The other method I advanced to is using a peroxide crème formula. Being a thicker paste type it spread & stuck to the plastic better and did not evaporate.

Duffy · « **Reply #2 on:** May 17, 2019, 11:16:22 AM »

Here is the end result. It is whiter then in the pictures. The lighting in the phone room is not the best for taking pictures.

Dan/Panther · « **Reply #3 on:** May 17, 2019, 01:08:31 PM »

Will the strict peroxide soak work as well on other colors ?
D/P

Duffy · « **Reply #4 on:** May 17, 2019, 04:14:43 PM »

Quote from: Dan/Panther on May 17, 2019, 01:08:31 PM

Will the strict peroxide soak work as well on other colors ?
D/P

I'm not sure, I'll have to give it a try on an old coloured phone.

oldguy · « **Reply #5 on:** May 18, 2019, 12:08:00 AM »

Very nice finished product Duffy.

19and41 · « **Reply #6 on:** May 22, 2019, 02:59:31 PM »

Excellent work! Before finding this site, I would've sworn such discoloration was irreparable.

twocvbloke · « **Reply #7 on:** May 22, 2019, 03:48:16 PM »

Quote from: 19and41 on May 22, 2019, 02:59:31 PM

Excellent work! Before finding this site, I would've sworn such discoloration was irreparable.

The part about whitening plastics I like the much is that it stemmed from someone experimenting with whitening yellowed Commodore Amiga computers, and from there it just spread out like a wildfire of whitening of all kinds of yellowed things, it's brilliant...

FABphones · « **Reply #8 on:** May 23, 2019, 08:08:57 AM »

No denying the lightening process has brightened it beautifully. This has got me thinking of trying a couple of Peroxide experiments on coloured ABS and 'Bakelite'....

Quote from: Dan/Panther on May 17, 2019, 01:08:31 PM

Will the strict peroxide soak work as well on other colors ?
D/P

I have done a search on here and read a number of threads re this. Coloured plastic results appear to be variable.

Quote from: twocvbloke on May 22, 2019, 03:48:16 PM

The part about whitening plastics I like the much is that it stemmed from someone experimenting with whitening yellowed Commodore Amiga computers, and from there it just spread out like a wildfire of whitening of all kinds of yellowed things, it's brilliant...

I don’t know where the method originated but as that chap did it some time ago, do you know if he ever did a vid showing what it looked like, for example, 1 year on?

I’m wondering how long his bleaching process lasted before the darkening began to revert.

twocvbloke · « **Reply #9 on:** May 23, 2019, 09:08:24 AM »

The process only works on plastics with bromine based fire retardants in them, Bakelite is by nature flame retardant so shouldn't turn bromine yellow like ABS plastics have done over the years...

Quote from: FABphones on May 23, 2019, 08:08:57 AM

I don’t know where the method originated but as that chap did it some time ago, do you know if he ever did a vid showing what it looked like, for example, 1 year on?

I’m wondering how long his bleaching process lasted before the darkening began to revert.

It was in a long thread somewhere on http://eab.abime.net/ where some ex-chemists experimented with things to find the ultimate solution (which was dubbed "Retr0brite", named after a user called "Zetr0"), I think there were some followups showing the yellowing did begin to return, but since then people have used UV light protection solutions to prevent or at least reduce the chances of the yellowing returning...

FABphones · « **Reply #10 on:** May 23, 2019, 06:44:49 PM »

Quote from: twocvbloke on May 23, 2019, 09:08:24 AM

The process only works on plastics with bromine based fire retardants in them, Bakelite is by nature flame retardant so shouldn't turn bromine yellow like ABS plastics have done over the years...

Thanks. I like finding out about these kind of tidbits.

I should have more correctly said 'Urea Formaldehyde'.

I don't want to hijack this thread so here's the link to a thread I've started re Experiments with Peroxide / Bleaching:
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=22587

twocvbloke · « **Reply #11 on:** May 23, 2019, 07:43:19 PM »

Quote from: FABphones on May 23, 2019, 06:44:49 PM

Thanks. I like finding out about these kind of tidbits.

I should have more correctly said 'Urea Formaldehyde'.

Well UF is very similar properties-wise to bakelite and is also a thermo-set plastic, so it's often referred to as bakelite too, and an easy way to see if it yellows, just look at the average British wall socket, they're usually made of UF and remain white, unless they are overloaded and get hot which is when they do "yellow", but that's more scorching than anything like brominated plastics turning...

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