Whitening plastic

[blanka]

Hi all,
I just discovered how easy it is to clean yellowed games.
Retrobright the original formula is kind of deprecated, you're better off with ready to use stuff for hair salons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMafxGEvQok
Here I clean 2 Bandai Solar Power games.
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Making the book on handheld games: www.2kboffun.com

[TokyoBatman]

Hello blanka,

Thanks for the video. This is definitely a quick way to brighten the white.

Also, there is a new, counterintuitive method that was recently discovered. I guess it's called sunbrightening. In this process, you only use the sun. No need for chemicals.
It takes a few days longer, but I guess it depends on how strong the sun is.

Mymatevince confirmed the process working. Here is a link to his video and a link to the source video explaining the scientific reasoning on why it works.

My Mate Vince video- https://youtu.be/mGb-4wFg6Qc

Source video - https://youtu.be/8P1OVj0IcqY

[blanka]

Yes, but it is no alternative. It takes horribly long, and then still it is nowhere near perfect. I like the salon cream very well.
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Making the book on handheld games: www.2kboffun.com

[TokyoBatman]

Blanka,

Yeah the bleaching is definitely fast. I'm sure a lot of people prefer the speed.

As for SunBrightening, I found it interesting that the sun causes the yellowing and the sun is the solution for whitening.

If you have a week and intense sun... There are some benefits.

SunBrightening brings the item back to its original color.
(Depending on what you use and how strong the solution is... bleaching can leave you with a wide range of colors. For example, if it was originally cream color, bleaching can make it bright white)

SunBrightening doesn't make the plastic brittle and weak. Less than bleaching. (This is important because this process needs to be repeated to keep the item white. Eventually the item reyellows. The more you bleach, the more damage you do to the plastic over time.)

From the source video and in the comments section, it seems that reyellowing may happen if you SunBrighten. It's not really clear, but people are saying there are things you can do to lessen the reyellowing.

[blanka]

The main ingredient in the process is the UV light. UV-light is highly capable of damaging polymers. So I doubt wheter 3 days in the sun is the better idea than using peroxide with 1 hour of sun. It will destroy a lot of the plastic as well. Look at garden chairs. Not funny.
And for the colour: peroxide is not bleaching, it's only reoxidating the bromine. Peroxide falls apart in water and oxygen very fast: two harmless molecules, so there won't be any residue. And you won't make a C64 white with it, don't worry!
_________________
Making the book on handheld games: www.2kboffun.com

[TokyoBatman]

Hello blanka,

I agree that anything is better than having yellowed plastic. Those old plastic chairs do get brittle after being in the sun. I've noticed that after several years.

In the source video of Retro Recipes. An interesting part starts at the 17 minute mark. He explains how the Peroxide can get in the tiny cracks and crevices of plastic, which has a more damaging effect than the sun.

He also sited Dr James Pickett PhD, plastics scientist for GE for 30 yrs, who worked with him on the video & literally wrote the book on polymer yellowing. He also co-invented a headlight deyellowing technology used in many modern cars, possibly yours.

Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P1OVj0IcqY



As for the different colors that Retrobriting gives you. The 8-bit Guy does a really nice job at comparing 9 different types and highlights all of the differences. He uses gray computer keys.

Here is the video for that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZYbchvSUDY


Additionally, in the video on retro recipes. He mentions that him and Dr. Pickett when using SunBrightening, concluded that reyellowing is a slower process.

He also says that the more you sunbrighten, reyellowing gets less and less.

And to add to that you can greatly reduce and stop reyellowing by using LED lights in your home. Blue light is important. You can also help stop the process by wiping the plastic with a UV protecting wet wipe.

All very interesting stuff and worth trying

[blanka]

I read the report by Pickett, and it is weird for the Youtuber to cite it just like that. It's from 2004, and at that time it appeared to be really hard to get an image of included bromine. The plastics in the research are mainly rubbery plastics, like old lastex cloth and the stuff they make translucent bumpers for your phone from.
The key in the research is PLASTIC THAT YELLOWS IN THE DARK.

That is NOT what we have in our collections. Plastic in the dark stays perfectly white.
Also I have more than one piece of evidence where you can compare bromated parts with non bromated. For example two macmini's. One from 2005, one from 2009. Apple stopped using bromine in 2008. Guess what: the 2009 is Snowwhite, the 2005 is cream cheese.
I read another research paper from 2017 on someone researching bromine in plastics. Thanks to some modern advances X-ray and advanced mass spectrometry they can tell which ingredients plastics have.
We are halfway at most in getting things clear regarding yellowing plastics.
_________________
Making the book on handheld games: www.2kboffun.com

[TokyoBatman]

Hey blanka,

Yeah, I wasn't so clear on that.

Actually, Dr James Pickett PhD worked with the YouTuber directly to make the video for the science behind SunBrightening, 2019.

I think he cited the article to show that Dr. James Pickett PhD has been working in this area for years. He did mention that his past work is not related to what they are doing now.

I think the major takeaways from the SunBrightening discovery are:

1. Sun alone can turn yellowed plastic back to its original color.
2. Sun does less damage to the plastic than peroxide.
3. Reyellowing happens at a slower rate than peroxide.
4. You get the original color with SunBrightening. Different types and strengths of retrobriting can lead to a wide range of colors.
5. SunBrightening may be the best option for purists that want to keep everything natural/safe.

I totally see where you are coming from though. There sure is a lot to be learned.

If it's not a game you owned since a kid, super expensive, ect. The easiest and fastest option is retrobriting. And just retrobrite again every year or so. It is a quick and simple process, as you highlighted in the video.

I don't own any yellowed games, but I like how your Bandai Solar games turned out. I don't have much time so that would be the option for me. I'm also not so picky about color. I actually like a bright white.

All this being said, it's good to have options. I look forward to hearing new discoveries in this area. I find it interesting.

[mndn]

Very interesting topic. I always wanted to retrobrite something myself, like a couple of NES, but I've never tried this in person. I have all the ingredients readay.
I really like the 8-Bit Guy's video about this because he is taking an almost scientific approach to this and he is trying out all the different methods in person.

I wonder if I can brighten little yellowed a flip top tabletop (Bandai) - has anyone had any experience with this?

[mndn]

It is hard to see in the photo, but the body is yellow (not too bad yet), only the top part with the characters on it is still nice and white.

[blanka]

The buttons also suffer from yellowing. The blue is no longer blue.
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Making the book on handheld games: www.2kboffun.com