restoring discolored mattel dcuc figures

[libby 1957dog]

bought a dcuc superboy from the los box set and boy was he in a mess when he arrived

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so i fixed his hip and set to trying to restore his color ,i
ve used this successfully with super powers figure that have discoloured due to age so thought it worth a shot ,

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so into the hydrogen peroxide bath he went ,in sunlight for 5 days
fist dip
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better but thought it worth another bash ,so back in he went

he was looking like a lost cause when i removed him initially most of the figure had faded ,cape and boots went pink so was resigned to painting him ,but as he dried out over a couple of hours his colors came back ,i was shocked to say the least
straight out of the bath
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and after a couple of hours he now at least presentable

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worth the attempt i feel as i achieved what i set out to do which was to remove the staining and that worked out for me

[libby 1957dog]

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from this
to this

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[PNGwynne]

Huge improvement, thanks for sharing. Was this drugstore or cosmetic (stronger) peroxide?

[libby 1957dog]

hi scott just supermarket peroxide 6 % or 9% will do it ,the higher the % less time in the jar ,sunlight seems to speed up the process ,and causes bubbles to settle on the figure so it looks like its doing something extra lol

[PNGwynne]

Yes, I think UV of sunlight is a catalyst. Thanks! I have a Mattel Pegasus that needs brightening.

[TrekStar]

Very nice job fixing him up and explanation, it looks straight out of the package, maybe we should start calling you Dr. Mattel.

[Liu Bei]

Yes, I think UV of sunlight is a catalyst. Thanks! I have a Mattel Pegasus that needs brightening.

It is. You can actually get the same bleaching result even without the peroxide, it just takes much longer. I’ve been de-yellowing vintage video game consoles and cartridges for years. If it’s slight yellowing I just use straight sunlight. If it’s heavier I use peroxide.

[greensavage2000]

Thanks for sharing. Information like this I always treasure.

[rche]

It is. You can actually get the same bleaching result even without the peroxide, it just takes much longer. I’ve been de-yellowing vintage video game consoles and cartridges for years. If it’s slight yellowing I just use straight sunlight. If it’s heavier I use peroxide.

wow. I had been under the impression that it was UV from sunlight that was causing the yellowing in the first place.

[Liu Bei]

wow. I had been under the impression that it was UV from sunlight that was causing the yellowing in the first place.

Kind of. I'm not an expert, so I can't explain the science behind it, but essentially it's sunlight through your glass window that causes the yellowing, not direct sunlight. This is why plastics inside your house/office sitting near a window yellow, but nothing sitting outside in the sun does. Junk that just sits outside tends to get bleached, from plastics to metals to human bones.

I've been following the retrobright scene for many years now, and experimented with nearly all of the methods you've seen on YouTube. I know from experience that straight sunlight will de-yellow plastic because I've done it myself, and seen it done by others before that. It's not as fast or effective as alcohol, but it does work.

I don't know what, if any, long-term effects there are to this, so please try at your own risk.

[rche]

Interesting. It is crazy all the stuff that plastics do as they age.

[Liu Bei]

Interesting. It is crazy all the stuff that plastics do as they age.

Yes. I got started with all this due to yellowing vintage Star Wars figures, and figures turning tacky/sticky over time.

Apparently the fire retardant (bromine, I think) they used in plastic back in the day is what causes it to yellow as it is exposed to the UV light (or UV light through your window), while degrading plasticizers is what gives those old toys that gooey, slimy, tacky texture.

My personal method for deyellowing is salon care 40 (solution, not creme) plus UV lights. Artificial will do if you don’t have an area with a lot of sunlight. For the tacky feel, a good rinse with hot soapy water followed by 303 UV protectant spray will do the trick, and leave the figure with a factory shine.

This process works best on vintage electronic plastics, but also works well on white figures like Star Wars Stormtroopers. I don’t recommend it for other colors myself, as it tends to fade them.