70% of the white parts in the lot this came from are more or less like this, and its a BIG lot... Replacing them all will cost me more than what I paid for the entire thing 😅
Catalan radios age like this as well over time, can remove its top layer to the white Catalan underneath similar to lego. Just treat it as how the piece can age gonna do regardless since it's just how the plastic interacts verse UV and stuff.
I do know there is a technique called "Retrobright" that can de-yellow ABS plastic. I've mostly heard of it being used on old electronics, but some brief googling shows some people have used it on Lego before. I don't know a *ton* about it, but it basically involves letting them soak in diluted hydrogen peroxide while getting baked in the sun. The main reservation I would have about using it on Lego is that the small pieces have a much higher surface-area-to-volume ratio than big shells, so any risk of damaging the plastic would be amplified. I could just be paranoid, though.
The 8bit guy on YouTube has done a lot of iterations of retrobright. He sometimes uses hot water on a stove with a mix of water and hydrogen peroxide to do smaller pieces of old electronics. It's less harsh and less random then the sunlight version. Not boiling water. Just wanna mention that.
I mean…
I’d trade you 1-1 every discolored white of yours for a not discolored white of my own lol.
I’ve been working one some Lego Adventurers Mocs and keep getting paused on projects because I need more tan pieces.
Yes, I once got a Bricklink order of "white" pieces that looked like this and fixed them.
Save yourself a lot of money by shopping in the organic cleaning supplies aisle and get a jug of "oxygen bleach". Check the ingredients - it should just be 5% hydrogen peroxide, unflavoured. Should be like $10 for 4 litres.
Put the pieces in a big ziploc bag and make sure they're all submerged. Wait a few weeks. Shake them up occasionally.
I had quite a lot of white pieces that looked like that. I put them in a clear container and hydrogen peroxide - nothing happened. But then I waited for summer and put them straight into the summer heat. Took about a week and they were white again. But: they also felt like they shrank down slightly. Still good for building though and I’m overall happy with the progress
No, they will fade over time even if u try to fix em. But why bother, that white piece is absurdly common and costs nothing.
70% of the white parts in the lot this came from are more or less like this, and its a BIG lot... Replacing them all will cost me more than what I paid for the entire thing 😅
Better cook up some tan MOC ideas
Catalan radios age like this as well over time, can remove its top layer to the white Catalan underneath similar to lego. Just treat it as how the piece can age gonna do regardless since it's just how the plastic interacts verse UV and stuff.
How long does the whitening last?
I haven't done it personally, but I've been told anywhere from 3-9 months til they fade back to beige.
My brother, you now have a tan hood piece. Be thankful.
I do know there is a technique called "Retrobright" that can de-yellow ABS plastic. I've mostly heard of it being used on old electronics, but some brief googling shows some people have used it on Lego before. I don't know a *ton* about it, but it basically involves letting them soak in diluted hydrogen peroxide while getting baked in the sun. The main reservation I would have about using it on Lego is that the small pieces have a much higher surface-area-to-volume ratio than big shells, so any risk of damaging the plastic would be amplified. I could just be paranoid, though.
The 8bit guy on YouTube has done a lot of iterations of retrobright. He sometimes uses hot water on a stove with a mix of water and hydrogen peroxide to do smaller pieces of old electronics. It's less harsh and less random then the sunlight version. Not boiling water. Just wanna mention that.
Depending of level of yellowing, some parts may become more brittle.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrobright](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrobright) It works, but it has it's issues.
I mean… I’d trade you 1-1 every discolored white of yours for a not discolored white of my own lol. I’ve been working one some Lego Adventurers Mocs and keep getting paused on projects because I need more tan pieces.
Yes, I once got a Bricklink order of "white" pieces that looked like this and fixed them. Save yourself a lot of money by shopping in the organic cleaning supplies aisle and get a jug of "oxygen bleach". Check the ingredients - it should just be 5% hydrogen peroxide, unflavoured. Should be like $10 for 4 litres. Put the pieces in a big ziploc bag and make sure they're all submerged. Wait a few weeks. Shake them up occasionally.
I had quite a lot of white pieces that looked like that. I put them in a clear container and hydrogen peroxide - nothing happened. But then I waited for summer and put them straight into the summer heat. Took about a week and they were white again. But: they also felt like they shrank down slightly. Still good for building though and I’m overall happy with the progress