Like and subscribe for more! All parts, tools and more information in the video description. If this video helped you, please support the channel by clicking "Thanks"! Thanks for watching!
Basically, you go to a beauty supply shop and ask for hydrogen peroxide cream. It's like, 40% H202, not 3% like the regular stuff in a bottle. Anyway, take the plastic apart and paint it with a thick (but even!) coat of the cream, then cover with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Place in a sunny area for up to 24 hours. Wash and check, repeating if necessary.
I used to refurb copy machines...bottle of V-40 less than $10...could do the machine panels with just a few ounces...set out in the bright Mississippi Sun. Probably only took an hour or two to get the desired results with no streaking whatsoever!!!
Superb. Outdoor UV Lux many orders of magnitude over indoor devices. Car headlamps polish out the amber as its on the surface use car paint cutting paste (tooth paste as a second choice), plus point you have super glossy finish when done.
Have you tried Brasso on car head lamps? (It's a metal polish) It works really well, a lot better then toothpaste. It can be applied every 6 months, it makes them look great! I have a video on it here: th-cam.com/video/Znm17shIbaU/w-d-xo.html I didn't get tooth paste to work so well, although it did a little.
Will try this on my skull n co transparent switch lite case. Hope it works. Thank you for a detailed and well explained video! Best one (retrobrite vid) i've seen yet
Thank you it really worked. I have old air conditioner and interior unit was really yellow, now is almost white after 24 hours. I just sprayed hydrogen peroxide on the surface and then wrapped it with transparent foil and let it be that was all. If i wanted to have it really white then i can repeat the process. UV light is not necessary for this . Thank you sir
@@TutorialGenius Also this does not seem to work for me in the least. I got a few bottles of 6%, 9% and 10% to do a test as I got these dirt cheap thinking it MIGHT work. It did not. The white stuff inn in seems to block radiation. It may work with heat as using it a hairdressers usually involves wrapping sections of hair in metal foil that both insulate and encapsulates and take heat well from either a heated hood or a hair blower. I am guessing that heat it a factor at least. I tried to smear it on as thinly as I could making it as translucent as I could while still covering the items, and left them in the sun for the whole day and there was no perceptible difference. Maybe it just works that much slower and in stead of hours/days, I need to think several days up to a week. Dunno.
Pool chemical supplies provide 30% peroxide used to put the sparkle in the water. It’s sometimes called water sparkle or crystal water chemical. It’s sold in 5 liter bottles which is enough to treat a 50 000L pool.
For even UV exposure, one possibility that came to mind was to place the container in sunlight on an electric rotating display stand. They are readily available and not expensive? BTW, thanks for sharing this. Very interesting. I have had limited success cleaning plastics with household bleach. Although it improved appearance, it was quite patchy. This H2O2 and even UV exposure method looks more promising.
In my experience with 3%, no it hasn't made anything more brittle then before. I tested this with some yellowed see-though plastic from cardboard kids toys (Like the Good Guys doll from the 80s). I can't say it made it any more brittle than before, but I used that as an example because this plastic is very thin and more fragile than a Dreamcast or a NES case for example. An oxidized piece of plastic, is in itself, more brittle (As heat for example) weakens the plastic. So it's already somewhat brittle before we begin. Perhaps people are blaming the process for an already fragile item. But, I have not tested the effects with a high strength H2O2 solution, perhaps that could yield different results as it would give off more heat (amongst other things), especially when in an enclosed area (Indoors with UV lamps.). Most videos I've seen use a 12% solution, so that could be responsible for this talk on brittleness.
peroxide does weaken plastics, just realized after I stepped on a plastic I've stepped on before only difference 3% was used recently and crumbled the plastic which before didn't budge. this does explain cracked plastics of the past 🤔 🙉
Thanks for the great video, very in-depth and useful. On a side note, I noticed the article you referred to at 11:16 had a typo - they said 265 nm was used and then referred to "256 nm" having the highest bleaching effect.
I’ve got a couple bottles of organic peroxide. I’m gonna give this a try and see if the free radicals do a little bit better job. Hopefully we don’t have any flame up issues lol
Never heard the yellowing was from oxidation...I'd always heard it was from Bromine as an additive to the plastic to make it fire retardant--but then again the oxidation could force it to appear on the surface. I refurbed many a copy machine with yellowed plastic using Volume 40+ Cream Bleach--put item panels out in the sun to "cook". Absolutely never experienced "streaking" as I used a chip brush to apply a liberal amount of the cream bleach.
You do not need UV-light. You need just energy to do the process. I retrobrightened a lot of commodore Amiga stuff using 11.9% H2O2 in a conceiled plastic container I simply put into my oven (65 to 70 °C for 3 h). Worked perfectly. Only downside: most oven at home are not big enough if you want to retrobright a computer case this way. So I have done mostly Amiga tank mice and keycaps this way. Be carefull: Prints on plastic (like the labeling of keycaps) are often done with "pad printing", covered by a transperent layer. This is destroied if exposed to H2O2 for to long. The print literally swims away, so with keycaps you might gett "letter soup". But the keycaps themself are perfectly clean afterwards... You can use dyesub transfer to reprint keycap labels afterwards by the way. Peroxide cream is an alternative if you want to retrobright thinks nor fitting into your oven. But every UV-brightening has the downside of getting the object evenly exposed. So you might better build your own 70°C oven using bricks and old heatbeds (for 3d-printers)
@@TutorialGenius Still, UV is not essential. It just allows to do the reaction at lower temperature. @65-70°C you can do totally without UV light. ABS has no problem with 70°C. Heat always come from all sides, unlike UV. So definitly the simle way to get nice results, if your object fits into a box which fits in your oven.
@@oleurgast730 Sounds like you should make your own video on it. My video is to show it can be done with 3% and the sun. Nothing more. Nothing less. Sounds like your have other plans and ideas, good stuff!
I am going to try to do some parts on my stove. Really didn't want to drag my stove outside so I did a little research on UVB and found that reptile light bulbs for aquariums transmit UVB. I also ordered 20% peroxide cream for hair. Come on Amazon! Thanks for the tips! Will let you know the results.
If you can buy hydroponic equipment in your area, they should have super h2o2 that is 30%. 1 gallon in USA is around $20. Be sure to wear protection, it will burn instantly if it comes in contact with skin.
Trop bien ca a même changer le logo Dreamcast du bleu a orange ca marche trop bien bravo cest Dylan qui ta donné l'astuce nikel ci cest certifié Dylan j'achète.
I bought a vintage 1970s/80s pair of Porche design model 5600 ski goggles that are yellowing. I'd like to restore them but want to protect the non-plastic parts if necessary. Will hydrogen peroxide harm ski goggle lens, especially the uv coating & the foam that rests against the skin while using them and the rubberized Velcro straps if the entire goggles are submerged in it? Do you use straight peroxide or dilute it with water? I may have missed that in the video.
It has potential to harm the lens, yes. It's probably a good idea to remove it, or do a spot test (Just like when dying hair) As for the comment: "Do you use straight peroxide or dilute it with water?" - You should watch the video all of the way through, I already covered this part :)
To use less hydrogen peroxide, put something solid, non floating, non reactive in the cavity beneath the item you are bleaching. Maybe after, sunscreen to protect against sunlight.
Another thing to consider is that old plastics can (slowly) degrade even if not yellowed by the sun, so a process like this is not a cure all. It won’t be any stronger, for instance, so a plastic that’s more prone to breaking after 10-20 years will still be more fragile even if you pretty it up like this. Remember to use more caution with these retro items.
Thanks for this video, especially the lesson on the different type of UV lights. Super useful. Here is a “silly” question: I saw that Philips (and other brands) are selling “Sanitizer Boxes” (hermetically sealed stainless steel boxes (super reflective) that are basically designed to disinfect everyday objects with two built-in UV-C lamps (lamp wavelength: 253.7 nm). I was wondering whether such a box could - on the basis of repeated sessions - enable a retrobright effect ? I've read here and there that for a good retrobright effect you need to combine heat + UV, and this box does both, so I was wondering. And also, I've some old walkmans to restore but not all of them are in plastic : do you think it can work on metal shell or lacquered/metallic paints ? Thanks !
I'm sure the box would work, given what I already covered in the video with regards to catalysts. For metal, I have no idea. I would guess not. I don't see why you wouldn't use some acetone or something on the metal though. That'll remove anything. There's no harm in trying if you already have the kit for other plastic objects.
@@TutorialGenius It's because I have a metal model on which a sticker "it's a sony" stayed for a long time, and when you remove it you see a difference in color (the sticker acted as a stencil), so I'd like to make this “mark” disappear (I guess that the color below the sticker is the original one). Thank you for your thoughts on the box. I might give it a try then
@@thewalkmangallery7128try looking on Google I found a wiki page oh Sony dis man it might have something in that. Just goes to show what damage the sun does. Cover up everyone that is having summer or spring, from cold Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺
I love the way he says Haych two-0! Awesome video and great tips! We have an old Genie garage door opener with a caramel colored light lens that used to be white. I'm wondering if this trick might bleach out the lens cover back to new?
I don't see why it wouldn't work! 😊 I did my garage door opener the other week, it had the same problem! Thanks for watching! Haych is nothing on how I say: butter! 😆💯
Nice to see the good old Sun is still the way to go. Have you tried fixing the overbrighted NES? I have an old Amiga mouse I managed to overbright and its now sporting some white smudges. Is there really any way to get rid of them?
Yes I tried, after a couple of goes, it cleared up a bit :) I think its of trial and error. It helps when the sun it directly above to prevent shadows and whatnot! I had some trouble doing this in the winter haha!
@@TutorialGenius I can imagine, I just managed to buy 3L of 5% peroxide and waiting for sunny days to come in a few months :) I know it needs to be moved around every hour or so, I just wondered if a botched job can still be saved somehow, to get rid of the white smudges. But I guess the only way would be to make it all white which would look bad. Probably no way to get them darken back a bit.
I bought white headphones and I noticed 1 piece of plastic had yellowed but it's not something I can take apart. So i'm really hoping this video can help me figure out how to whiten that piece without damaging the functionality of the headphones
Seems like it could become embrittled, but good idea! FYI a friend once splashed concentrated (furniture) hydrogen peroxide on his arm. It turned white instantly and he started yelping for help. Ack?!
@@TutorialGenius Why would I waste my time when you "kinda" cover it? For someone supposedly wanting to teach others you sure are a gatekeepy kunt, aren't you?
I thinking to use this method on my bearbrick, but i worry if turn back yellow or even worse after few months? Saw some comments said that will become worse after few months later
I'm not sure what these guys are doing, or what sources they are relying on, but little of these people have done the actual test themselves. Perhaps they are shoving it right back into the window, or just echoing the last person, I have no idea. Since I made the video, it has darkened a little, but not yellow nor anything close to like what it was before I started
Sadly, here in Norway, H202 is a more or less a controlled substance. You can get pretty high quality high quality tiny bottles of the stuff from the chemists but at a price. Last I checked a 100ml, a tenth of a quart, was an insane $10. The only thing I have found at a fairly reasonable price is the stuff hairdressers use for bleaching hair. The problem though is that it is a 9% sollution but mixed with some white creamy emulsion thickner and as such it does not work very good as a RetroBrite agent. Maybe someone here knows how to "clear" it? Get the pure H202 out of this cream?
It's strange they sell 9% but not 3%! People have reported good results with that creamy 9% stuff. Personally I haven't tried it, I imagine it would cause streaking.
I was wondering how to dispose of the Hydrogen Peroxide after cleaning? Is the waste full of microplastics now after cleaning, will it pollute the water system?
What about colored plastic from the late 70's early 80's. For instance I have an attack track that the blue lasers on one side change color, more of yellow blue. Will it restore back to original blue?
I use to do the sun and hydrogen peroxide routine until I found out that the sun alone did a fine job with no risk of accidental blotching that chemicals can cause.
@@TutorialGenius Sunbrighting works. My preference is not based on flawed logic, just experience. You may be able to get better, faster results, but I (and many others) prefer using just the sun.
@@networkg I actually did an experiment on Sunbrighting a long time ago. I left an item out in the sun, from dawn until dusk for almost 2 months. It cleared up some of the yellow, but didn't have much effect of anything else. It only made the item terribly brittle. It sounds good, but in practice, it doesnt work.. and the results are not good to be honest, especially for that timestamp
Actually there are all still doing great. They have been pretty much kept in a dark place, so the reaction will reverse very slowly without a catalyst 🌱☀️
@@TutorialGenius Glad to hear. I'm dealing with this issue with Hasbro products. A lot of their new Transformers figures are rapidly yellowing for some reason, and it's a huge problem currently. I'm trying to retrobright some right now to see if the yellow comes back.
I want to remove the yellowing from my plastic transparent sheet, the cream form of hydrogen peroxide makes the most sense, but how do I protect areas that I don't want the cream to touch, such as some writing on marker?
That's interesting! I'm honestly not sure! Is there a sample you can test with? Maybe an over exposed one or something? Maybe you can test with a corner
@@TutorialGenius The photos I most want to restore are 100 year old 20" by 30" portraits. I have a feeling H2O2 would be the exact opposite of what I need (it takes colour out, not put it back) so I was wondering what the opposite might be - a reducing agent? (sodium sulphite maybe?). Seems to be very little info online, the usual advice is to photoshop it and mess about with the image but digitised images are hardly the same as framed originals. Alas, can probably only experiment once...
Wait. For this Peroxide whitening, you said that you are using the Sun as a catalyst. But it sounds like you are in the U.K. But you are depending on sunlight to make it work. How is this possible?.
@@TutorialGenius You mean everyone doesn't have a LV bag? They are super cheap in Thailand. 😜 And bonus: They never yellow because they don't last that long. 😃
Im curious, would this only work on white consoles/plastics? Or would it work on things like a purple gamecube? (Would it restore its original purple color)
I covered in the video that H2O2 breaks down into water and oxygen when heat is applied, so it would be an interesting race to strengthen the purity over breaking down the H2O2. I bet it wouldn't work, or wouldn't be worth it... but in the interest of science, well that's another thing!
Very good tutorial, thank you. For just a second I thought your Dog had been attacked by a sabre toothed Tiger! The orange caught my eye, especially the way its spread out! 🤣
I've done this with a number of my items, and it always works, but some of them have yellowed again. I don't know if them yellowing a second time after I whitened them is due to light, or heat, or if it just happens that they won't stay white if they were ever yellow.
I researched cleaning the headlamps. A lot of the techniques used meant the clouding came back. I bought a kit from rainx which included a protective coating to stop this happening. Probably the same
Like and subscribe for more! All parts, tools and more information in the video description.
If this video helped you, please support the channel by clicking "Thanks"!
Thanks for watching!
Basically, you go to a beauty supply shop and ask for hydrogen peroxide cream. It's like, 40% H202, not 3% like the regular stuff in a bottle. Anyway, take the plastic apart and paint it with a thick (but even!) coat of the cream, then cover with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Place in a sunny area for up to 24 hours. Wash and check, repeating if necessary.
It's open if you have a bit more $$$... But it's more harsh and can leaves streaks
Accept cream is a pain in the butt cuz it doesn't un yellow it evenly so you have to do the whole process a few times.
He's referring to vol 40 and the max you can get is 12% not 40.
12% is aprox. 40 vol.
10vol. Aprox. 3%
U multip. % By 3 = vol.
I used to refurb copy machines...bottle of V-40 less than $10...could do the machine panels with just a few ounces...set out in the bright Mississippi Sun. Probably only took an hour or two to get the desired results with no streaking whatsoever!!!
Ok, this is the video needed. Answers all the questions about how to actually make this work.
Great to hear!
Great review with lots of detail, thanks for putting in the time to do this.
My pleasure! :) Thanks for the kind comments!
Thank you for this detailed video on removing yellowed plastic. Best I've seen to date!
You're very welcome!
Superb. Outdoor UV Lux many orders of magnitude over indoor devices. Car headlamps polish out the amber as its on the surface use car paint cutting paste (tooth paste as a second choice), plus point you have super glossy finish when done.
Have you tried Brasso on car head lamps? (It's a metal polish) It works really well, a lot better then toothpaste. It can be applied every 6 months, it makes them look great!
I have a video on it here: th-cam.com/video/Znm17shIbaU/w-d-xo.html
I didn't get tooth paste to work so well, although it did a little.
Will try this on my skull n co transparent switch lite case. Hope it works. Thank you for a detailed and well explained video! Best one (retrobrite vid) i've seen yet
Great! I hope it works out! :)
Thank you it really worked. I have old air conditioner and interior unit was really yellow, now is almost white after 24 hours. I just sprayed hydrogen peroxide on the surface and then wrapped it with transparent foil and let it be that was all. If i wanted to have it really white then i can repeat the process. UV light is not necessary for this . Thank you sir
Great to hear.
As I already mentioned in the video, it's a catalyst
Use hair dresser peroxide instead. It’s a paste and doesn’t need to be submerged, just wrapped in cling film and left in the sun.
That paste kinda leaves smearing marks, its not too great to be honest. It's also more expensive
@@TutorialGenius Also this does not seem to work for me in the least. I got a few bottles of 6%, 9% and 10% to do a test as I got these dirt cheap thinking it MIGHT work. It did not. The white stuff inn in seems to block radiation. It may work with heat as using it a hairdressers usually involves wrapping sections of hair in metal foil that both insulate and encapsulates and take heat well from either a heated hood or a hair blower. I am guessing that heat it a factor at least.
I tried to smear it on as thinly as I could making it as translucent as I could while still covering the items, and left them in the sun for the whole day and there was no perceptible difference. Maybe it just works that much slower and in stead of hours/days, I need to think several days up to a week. Dunno.
I thought it was difficult to remove yellowing but your video debunked that. Thank you for making such a great video!
You're welcome!! Thanks for watching! :)
Pool chemical supplies provide 30% peroxide used to put the sparkle in the water. It’s sometimes called water sparkle or crystal water chemical. It’s sold in 5 liter bottles which is enough to treat a 50 000L pool.
They sure do! I have some
would pool shock do the job? I have a few bags of pool shock on hand. Thanks
@@adtran00 hi. I doubt that it would because pool shock is usually a concentrated chlorine; that’s what it is in South Africa.
@@TutorialGeniusdoes the pool version being higher concentration work faster or anything like that?
For even UV exposure, one possibility that came to mind was to place the container in sunlight on an electric rotating display stand. They are readily available and not expensive? BTW, thanks for sharing this. Very interesting. I have had limited success cleaning plastics with household bleach. Although it improved appearance, it was quite patchy. This H2O2 and even UV exposure method looks more promising.
Great tip! If you have access to one, why not! :)
Thanks for sharing your experiments and expertise. Do you know if this process will make the plastic more brittle than before? Thanks.
In my experience with 3%, no it hasn't made anything more brittle then before. I tested this with some yellowed see-though plastic from cardboard kids toys (Like the Good Guys doll from the 80s). I can't say it made it any more brittle than before, but I used that as an example because this plastic is very thin and more fragile than a Dreamcast or a NES case for example.
An oxidized piece of plastic, is in itself, more brittle (As heat for example) weakens the plastic. So it's already somewhat brittle before we begin. Perhaps people are blaming the process for an already fragile item.
But, I have not tested the effects with a high strength H2O2 solution, perhaps that could yield different results as it would give off more heat (amongst other things), especially when in an enclosed area (Indoors with UV lamps.). Most videos I've seen use a 12% solution, so that could be responsible for this talk on brittleness.
Thank you@@TutorialGenius
peroxide does weaken plastics, just realized after I stepped on a plastic I've stepped on before only difference 3% was used recently and crumbled the plastic which before didn't budge. this does explain cracked plastics of the past 🤔 🙉
Thanks for the great video, very in-depth and useful. On a side note, I noticed the article you referred to at 11:16 had a typo - they said 265 nm was used and then referred to "256 nm" having the highest bleaching effect.
I’ve got a couple bottles of organic peroxide. I’m gonna give this a try and see if the free radicals do a little bit better job. Hopefully we don’t have any flame up issues lol
You answered several questions in my mind, thanks!
My pleasure!
Never heard the yellowing was from oxidation...I'd always heard it was from Bromine as an additive to the plastic to make it fire retardant--but then again the oxidation could force it to appear on the surface. I refurbed many a copy machine with yellowed plastic using Volume 40+ Cream Bleach--put item panels out in the sun to "cook". Absolutely never experienced "streaking" as I used a chip brush to apply a liberal amount of the cream bleach.
I'm not sure that method works great for big industrial parts like copy machines
Bromine is also an oxidizer
You do not need UV-light. You need just energy to do the process. I retrobrightened a lot of commodore Amiga stuff using 11.9% H2O2 in a conceiled plastic container I simply put into my oven (65 to 70 °C for 3 h). Worked perfectly. Only downside: most oven at home are not big enough if you want to retrobright a computer case this way. So I have done mostly Amiga tank mice and keycaps this way.
Be carefull: Prints on plastic (like the labeling of keycaps) are often done with "pad printing", covered by a transperent layer. This is destroied if exposed to H2O2 for to long. The print literally swims away, so with keycaps you might gett "letter soup". But the keycaps themself are perfectly clean afterwards...
You can use dyesub transfer to reprint keycap labels afterwards by the way.
Peroxide cream is an alternative if you want to retrobright thinks nor fitting into your oven. But every UV-brightening has the downside of getting the object evenly exposed. So you might better build your own 70°C oven using bricks and old heatbeds (for 3d-printers)
A UV source is a catalyst, like I covered in the video in a lot of detail
Heat was already mentioned in his video
@@TutorialGenius Still, UV is not essential. It just allows to do the reaction at lower temperature.
@65-70°C you can do totally without UV light. ABS has no problem with 70°C.
Heat always come from all sides, unlike UV. So definitly the simle way to get nice results, if your object fits into a box which fits in your oven.
@@oleurgast730 Sounds like you should make your own video on it. My video is to show it can be done with 3% and the sun. Nothing more. Nothing less. Sounds like your have other plans and ideas, good stuff!
@@oleurgast730 It's a catalyst, just like a explained in the video. Again, not the point of this video.
To avoid hot spots, use a small aquriun bubbler to act as a stirring device for fluid volume. Carter Canada
That's super interesting! Hadn't considered that! Thank you
I am going to try to do some parts on my stove. Really didn't want to drag my stove outside so I did a little research on UVB and found that reptile light bulbs for aquariums transmit UVB. I also ordered 20% peroxide cream for hair. Come on Amazon! Thanks for the tips! Will let you know the results.
That's great, good luck!
Great information right to the point.Direct simple to understand thank you for your good work and lesson
Glad you enjoyed!
If you can buy hydroponic equipment in your area, they should have super h2o2 that is 30%. 1 gallon in USA is around $20. Be sure to wear protection, it will burn instantly if it comes in contact with skin.
Yes they do! In fact, I have some already! I was curious about a demonstration with 3%
Home depotvcarries it
Does this process also solve the problem with some plastics that tend to become sticky after some years?
I don't think so sadly! There are some home remedies to fix that, but I haven't personally tried.
There are lots of vids on the net to help you with that. Easy fix.
I’ve seen videos using acetone or rubbing alcohol
Trop bien ca a même changer le logo Dreamcast du bleu a orange ca marche trop bien bravo cest Dylan qui ta donné l'astuce nikel ci cest certifié Dylan j'achète.
hahaha!
I bought a vintage 1970s/80s pair of Porche design model 5600 ski goggles that are yellowing. I'd like to restore them but want to protect the non-plastic parts if necessary. Will hydrogen peroxide harm ski goggle lens, especially the uv coating & the foam that rests against the skin while using them and the rubberized Velcro straps if the entire goggles are submerged in it? Do you use straight peroxide or dilute it with water? I may have missed that in the video.
It has potential to harm the lens, yes. It's probably a good idea to remove it, or do a spot test (Just like when dying hair)
As for the comment: "Do you use straight peroxide or dilute it with water?" - You should watch the video all of the way through, I already covered this part :)
Very well put together. Thanks for your work. 👍
Thank you for the kind comments! :)
Hello do you also know how I get yellowed polycarbonate sheets beautiful??🙏🙏
Probably!
Excellent video! Very informative and helpful.
Weenie looked adorable. :(
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Weenie's living it up in the clouds somewhere! I'm sure she's peeing on the floor there too! lol
@@TutorialGenius ❤🐕
To use less hydrogen peroxide, put something solid, non floating, non reactive in the cavity beneath the item you are bleaching. Maybe after, sunscreen to protect against sunlight.
Another thing to consider is that old plastics can (slowly) degrade even if not yellowed by the sun, so a process like this is not a cure all. It won’t be any stronger, for instance, so a plastic that’s more prone to breaking after 10-20 years will still be more fragile even if you pretty it up like this. Remember to use more caution with these retro items.
It's not going to make plastic stronger, that would be unrealistic. I don't think many people should or would think it does.
Thanks for this video, especially the lesson on the different type of UV lights. Super useful. Here is a “silly” question: I saw that Philips (and other brands) are selling “Sanitizer Boxes” (hermetically sealed stainless steel boxes (super reflective) that are basically designed to disinfect everyday objects with two built-in UV-C lamps (lamp wavelength: 253.7 nm). I was wondering whether such a box could - on the basis of repeated sessions - enable a retrobright effect ? I've read here and there that for a good retrobright effect you need to combine heat + UV, and this box does both, so I was wondering.
And also, I've some old walkmans to restore but not all of them are in plastic : do you think it can work on metal shell or lacquered/metallic paints ?
Thanks !
I'm sure the box would work, given what I already covered in the video with regards to catalysts.
For metal, I have no idea. I would guess not. I don't see why you wouldn't use some acetone or something on the metal though. That'll remove anything. There's no harm in trying if you already have the kit for other plastic objects.
@@TutorialGenius It's because I have a metal model on which a sticker "it's a sony" stayed for a long time, and when you remove it you see a difference in color (the sticker acted as a stencil), so I'd like to make this “mark” disappear (I guess that the color below the sticker is the original one). Thank you for your thoughts on the box. I might give it a try then
@@thewalkmangallery7128 Let us know how it goes! 😊
@@thewalkmangallery7128try looking on Google I found a wiki page oh Sony dis man it might have something in that. Just goes to show what damage the sun does. Cover up everyone that is having summer or spring, from cold Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺
Office fluorescent lights can cause plastics to turn yellow, too.
I love the way he says Haych two-0! Awesome video and great tips!
We have an old Genie garage door opener with a caramel colored light lens that used to be white. I'm wondering if this trick might bleach out the lens cover back to new?
I don't see why it wouldn't work! 😊 I did my garage door opener the other week, it had the same problem!
Thanks for watching!
Haych is nothing on how I say: butter! 😆💯
@TutorialGenius Awesome! Thanks for sharing! 😃
@2:20 acrylonitrile => aa krill oh nigh trial ☺
A self sealing bag (Ziploc) or some such is handy and may help conserve H2O2
I mentioned in the video already: but that's why the bottle is brown
H202 can be purchased from Ebay up to 11.95% without any licence.
I assume other online shops sell it, too.
Tbanks for uploading.
I think you can buy 20% on amazon too. I prefer 3% because its easy on the plastics
Did you use it on your dog as he looked nice and white. Great video.
Nice eye! Yes I did! 😆 3% and 4 hours, she's looking like a polar bear.
Thanks so much! 😊
I use purple shampoo on my white dog is that the same concept as this?
interesting concept thanks for posting
You bet!
Thank you very much for your valuable video. Fantastic research...
Thank you so much :)
How long I keep it in the sun?
Depends! See how you get on! You can see it slowly restore
Nice to see the good old Sun is still the way to go. Have you tried fixing the overbrighted NES? I have an old Amiga mouse I managed to overbright and its now sporting some white smudges. Is there really any way to get rid of them?
Yes I tried, after a couple of goes, it cleared up a bit :)
I think its of trial and error. It helps when the sun it directly above to prevent shadows and whatnot! I had some trouble doing this in the winter haha!
@@TutorialGenius I can imagine, I just managed to buy 3L of 5% peroxide and waiting for sunny days to come in a few months :) I know it needs to be moved around every hour or so, I just wondered if a botched job can still be saved somehow, to get rid of the white smudges. But I guess the only way would be to make it all white which would look bad. Probably no way to get them darken back a bit.
Does it work after that ? How long do you need to wait for it to be fully dry and use it again ?
Yup, it still works. It's only the plastic
I bought white headphones and I noticed 1 piece of plastic had yellowed but it's not something I can take apart. So i'm really hoping this video can help me figure out how to whiten that piece without damaging the functionality of the headphones
At 0:02 left Dreamcast European PAL 230V AC , right Dreamcast American/Japanese NTSC 110V AC
Seems like it could become embrittled, but good idea! FYI a friend once splashed concentrated (furniture) hydrogen peroxide on his arm.
It turned white instantly and he started yelping for help. Ack?!
Yup, it's unpleasant but not terribly dangerous. You wont have that with 3% though
Cute dog! Great video!
Thank you! 😊🐕
Can the peroxide be used multiple times or just once?
I kinda covered this in the video already! That's why the video is so long haha!
@@TutorialGenius I'm sorry, but my english is not that good. I'll watch again with subtitles now 😅
@@TutorialGeniusthis is a shitty non-answer
@@DrBagPhD Well Dr. PhD, you know everything, so explain :)
The answer is in the video. Watch the video, find the answers 🤷♂️
@@TutorialGenius Why would I waste my time when you "kinda" cover it? For someone supposedly wanting to teach others you sure are a gatekeepy kunt, aren't you?
would pool shock do the job? I have a few bags of pool shock on hand. Thanks
Oxyclean works!
You mentioned that you might be able to fix the staining on the NES casing. Can I ask how, as I've given myself that very problem?
I never ended up trying! I ended up selling the console and the new owner didn't mind it too much!
@@TutorialGenius Ah, OK. Did you have any thoughts about how you'd have done it?
I thinking to use this method on my bearbrick, but i worry if turn back yellow or even worse after few months? Saw some comments said that will become worse after few months later
I'm not sure what these guys are doing, or what sources they are relying on, but little of these people have done the actual test themselves. Perhaps they are shoving it right back into the window, or just echoing the last person, I have no idea.
Since I made the video, it has darkened a little, but not yellow nor anything close to like what it was before I started
Your voice is so realaxing
I thought I had heard everything life, but this is a first! 😆😊❤️ Thank you!
SEGA DREAMCAST FOR LIFE.
The amount of hours I put into that console that i'll never get back, but it was worth it!💯💯💯
Sadly, here in Norway, H202 is a more or less a controlled substance. You can get pretty high quality high quality tiny bottles of the stuff from the chemists but at a price. Last I checked a 100ml, a tenth of a quart, was an insane $10. The only thing I have found at a fairly reasonable price is the stuff hairdressers use for bleaching hair. The problem though is that it is a 9% sollution but mixed with some white creamy emulsion thickner and as such it does not work very good as a RetroBrite agent.
Maybe someone here knows how to "clear" it? Get the pure H202 out of this cream?
It's strange they sell 9% but not 3%!
People have reported good results with that creamy 9% stuff. Personally I haven't tried it, I imagine it would cause streaking.
I have an action figure with sun damage. If I follow this procedure, will it bleech the non-white colors on the figure?
Give it a try, let us know how it goes
I was wondering how to dispose of the Hydrogen Peroxide after cleaning? Is the waste full of microplastics now after cleaning, will it pollute the water system?
It depends on your country and area. You should contact your local recycling center or trash collection on that
@@TutorialGenius But is the peroxide after using it full of microplastics now? I don't really understand the chemical reaction taking place.
Is that water and 3% hydrogen peroxide or is that just 3% hydrogen peroxide out of the bottle?
Just 3%! :)
@@TutorialGenius 👍
Would like to point out that the retrobriting works best when the plastics are actually CLEANED before being retrobrited...
Yup, clean them well! Stickers/dirt and all
What about colored plastic from the late 70's early 80's. For instance I have an attack track that the blue lasers on one side change color, more of yellow blue. Will it restore back to original blue?
Personally: I'd give it a go. Partly because I think it would work, and also partly because it's only $40 on ebay haha
Did the logo on the Dreamcast top get discolored?
No it didn't! :)
Interesting tip. Thanks!
You bet!
Thanks you for this video.
You bet!
I use to do the sun and hydrogen peroxide routine until I found out that the sun alone did a fine job with no risk of accidental blotching that chemicals can cause.
This logic is very flawed for reasons I already discussed in the video already lol
@@TutorialGenius Sunbrighting works. My preference is not based on flawed logic, just experience. You may be able to get better, faster results, but I (and many others) prefer using just the sun.
@@networkg I actually did an experiment on Sunbrighting a long time ago. I left an item out in the sun, from dawn until dusk for almost 2 months. It cleared up some of the yellow, but didn't have much effect of anything else. It only made the item terribly brittle. It sounds good, but in practice, it doesnt work.. and the results are not good to be honest, especially for that timestamp
@@TutorialGenius My results are different. Anywhere from 3 to 7 days showed excellent results. Perhaps I am closer to the equator.
Awesome video bro.
👍
You're welcome!
Does this process make the plastic more brittle?
With just 3%, no chance!
Awesome vid brother!!
Thanks for the visit! :)
I seen someone do this to a vent plastic vent from a restroom.
Can we get an update? Did any of the items start to re yellow faster?
Actually there are all still doing great. They have been pretty much kept in a dark place, so the reaction will reverse very slowly without a catalyst 🌱☀️
@@TutorialGenius Glad to hear. I'm dealing with this issue with Hasbro products. A lot of their new Transformers figures are rapidly yellowing for some reason, and it's a huge problem currently. I'm trying to retrobright some right now to see if the yellow comes back.
How old was Weenie when this was recorded? 😢 he looked happy out there observing your work ❤ sad to hear that he passed away.
Around 13 years old. She was in a lot of pain, so I'm sure she's happy now ❤️🥹
Will putting these gadgets affect the electric parts?
Yes, I'm sure it would affect them
Can you treat plastic by wiping the plastic with a Hydrogen Peroxide soaked rag instead of soaking it in a tub?
How will the catalyst (sun) access to component if it's covered in a rag?
Does it restore the flexibility of old plastic ?
Probably not
Have you tried the no contact vapor method?
I haven't, but if you have the $$$ for the food grade H2O2 and large clear container, I'd probably go for it! Looks like a good method to use also!
@@TutorialGenius it's only like 14$ for some food grade 12% on Amazon so I'll def try it
Godspeed!@@casualtrips9571
@@TutorialGenius❤
There's something called kitchen grade peroxide which is more concentrated than 3 percent.
There sure is
I actually tried this before. Had to remove the yellow but instead removed the plastic.😆🙂
Ouch!!
Will this work on foggy headlights?
Yes! But.... Brasso works better and its easier! I have a video on that already
Don't know where you live but in the UK you can easy get 12% hydrogen peroxide on eBay or Amazon.
Yes you can. It's harder on the plastic and it's more expensive, but yes, its an option
Can this cure those hobby toy white metal surface too?
Give it a try!
I’m not sure if I can do this right away, but at some point I’m gonna have to do this to my Dreamcast. Poor thing looks like it’s been peed on ;-;
haha!
Good stuff.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I want to remove the yellowing from my plastic transparent sheet, the cream form of hydrogen peroxide makes the most sense, but how do I protect areas that I don't want the cream to touch, such as some writing on marker?
I'm sure you can get creative with some tape/cling film or what not :)
@@TutorialGenius I have a 3M yellow masking tape, will that work? And does the color of the tape matters?
How about using a sun lamp?
If the lamp has the same qualities as whats mentioned in the video with regards to a uv catalyst, i dont see why not
How about the orangey stain in a white plastic bowl? Any advice please.
I bet it would work no problem
I think I've seen videos about cleaning carrot/tomato stained plastic blenders and bowls by soaking them in vegetable oil....
Would a full spectrum LED grow light suffice?
Depends on the wavelength! I put a chart in the video :)
How about one on restoring colour to fading photographs?
That's interesting! I'm honestly not sure! Is there a sample you can test with? Maybe an over exposed one or something? Maybe you can test with a corner
@@TutorialGenius The photos I most want to restore are 100 year old 20" by 30" portraits. I have a feeling H2O2 would be the exact opposite of what I need (it takes colour out, not put it back) so I was wondering what the opposite might be - a reducing agent? (sodium sulphite maybe?). Seems to be very little info online, the usual advice is to photoshop it and mess about with the image but digitised images are hardly the same as framed originals. Alas, can probably only experiment once...
Any antimicrobial lights put out uv-c.
That's not true.
ActiveCLEAN antimicrobial light for one..
Wait. For this Peroxide whitening, you said that you are using the Sun as a catalyst. But it sounds like you are in the U.K. But you are depending on sunlight to make it work. How is this possible?.
I'm not in the UK lol 23:30 is the give away :)
14:52 is the UK
Can i use this on louis vuitton pvc canvas used for their bags?
What makes you think I know anything about louis vuitton bags based on a Dreamcast video!? 😆
Try it, be a pioneer, it's fun
@@TutorialGenius😂
@@TutorialGenius You mean everyone doesn't have a LV bag? They are super cheap in Thailand. 😜 And bonus: They never yellow because they don't last that long. 😃
@@jfiosi haha! 😆 I'm currently in Vietnam and I'm seeing LV everywhere here too!!
Im curious, would this only work on white consoles/plastics? Or would it work on things like a purple gamecube? (Would it restore its original purple color)
I'm not sure, give it a go!
Did it work to restore a colored plastic? (Your purple GameCube)
@@stephenwhite5444 I don't have a gamecube haha but I was curious in case I ever got one (I'm still curious)
What I wonder, suppose you can only obtain 2%, can you boil it so that some of it evaporates and you are left with a higher percentage?
I covered in the video that H2O2 breaks down into water and oxygen when heat is applied, so it would be an interesting race to strengthen the purity over breaking down the H2O2. I bet it wouldn't work, or wouldn't be worth it... but in the interest of science, well that's another thing!
@@TutorialGenius Thanks for your explanation, then I will NOT try it.
Very good tutorial, thank you.
For just a second I thought your Dog had been attacked by a sabre toothed Tiger! The orange caught my eye, especially the way its spread out! 🤣
haha! 😆😆👏
Thanks for the watching! :)
How about yellowing of garments and bedspread?
I probably would buy new bedspread, unless it has a special significance! 😆
No idea, try it!
What about Sodium percarbonate?
The laundry activator? (Oxyclean)... I think it would work just fine.!
I've done this with a number of my items, and it always works, but some of them have yellowed again. I don't know if them yellowing a second time after I whitened them is due to light, or heat, or if it just happens that they won't stay white if they were ever yellow.
I researched cleaning the headlamps. A lot of the techniques used meant the clouding came back. I bought a kit from rainx which included a protective coating to stop this happening. Probably the same
Much ado about Nothing?
Why to remove that nostalgic,s charming, ole pleasant yellow tone in first place?
Let me be that I am, and seek not to alter me
How can i contact you Sir please? I need your help
You just did! :)
In 2015 I purchased a gallon of 35% hydrogen Peroxide on Amazon. The greatest concentration I can find now is 12%.
I noticed a similar thing too! I wonder if the regulations have been tightened recently. I have no idea
I'm searching for a hydrogen peroxide and from what I see the 12% solution is not more expensive at all than the 3% solution (weird)
Maybe use a clear glass baking dish
If you have one big enough and it's oven proof, I don't see why not. Definitely will be way more expensive
Hairdressing use peroxide max is usually 12%, max 18%. NOT 40 %
Sorry? Timestamp?
Rent a few hours at a tanning bed salon?
That would probably work great to be honest, great even coverage!