Rewhitening yellowed plastic

[jumartoo]

Has anyone successfully turned yellow plastic (in our case the shower compartment in our Hymer) back to white? If so, what did you use?

I've tried baking powder (took an age to clean up the white powder afterwards) and dishwasher tabs. No effect at all.

I've Googled various brands of cleaners, but I'd like a recommendation if possible.

TIA xxx

 

[TCG]

I use this on the outside BBQ, shower points they were very yellow and a good clean with this brought them white again

 

[Two on Tour]

Loads of videos on YouTube.

 

[Guigsy]

You can use heavy chemicals like bleach or peroxide. These may make the plastic brittle over time.

You can sand off the surface... lots of work.

Or you can overpaint and reseal.

 

[jumartoo]

Loads of videos on YouTube.

Yes, the baking powder and dishwasher tabs are two of them.

I'm a bit scared of using bleach or peroxide.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Steve and Denise]

My wife used Neutradol on our speckled Carthago sink and stripped off the coating fortunately it was our previous van.

 

[shrek snr]

Try 1/2 cup of white vinegar 2 cups of warm water squirt of washing up liquid and a sponge, try on a small area first. Wash of and dry afterwards.

 

[Jenben]

After a leaking bottle of Avon skin so soft ruined Granjan Motorhome bathroom sink I have been scared of using anything .


Will go and ask the ladies on the WI Facebook group as they are the font of all knowledge .

 

[Granjan]

Yes I cost us nearly £300 to get it repaired.

 

[Gromett]

Search for retrobright on youtube. Not usually done on shower trays but may work???

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[jumartoo]

After a leaking bottle of Avon skin so soft ruined Granjan Motorhome bathroom sink I have been scared of using anything .


Will go and ask the ladies on the WI Facebook group as they are the font of all knowledge .

We had similar in our last van when a bottle of suncream leaked and melted the plastic.

Just what do we put on our skin?

And thanks, Carolyn.

 

[jumartoo]

Try 1/2 cup of white vinegar 2 cups of warm water squirt of washing up liquid and a sponge, try on a small area first. Wash of and dry afterwards.

That'll be my next try

I have the vinegar from trying to clean our apartment toilet .

 

[TheBig1]

It is not normally a stain, but the chemicals in the surface of the plastic breaking down. I have seen them so bad that the sink broke up into flakes like old fashioned soap powder or small plastic corn flakes. They use ultra thin plastic to save weight and use a heat based mould to shape flat sheets. So they distort with heat too. Really not fit for purpose

 

[PaddyM]

How about yellowing external locker doors and frames ? Any top tips for these ? Cheers .

 

[Cliffdale]

I use Chine shine on my boats. It removes yellowing above and below the water line. There are no ingredients on the bottle but I suspect its oxalic acid based.
Some people have made their own solution by mixing oxalic acid in wall paper paste and painting it on stained areas.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Jenben]

From the WI Judith

If it's a small area, you can address plastic yellowing with a peroxide-based acne cream like Oxy 10 (a common approach in the world of vintage doll collecting!).

 

[jumartoo]

From the WI Judith

If it's a small area, you can address plastic yellowing with a peroxide-based acne cream like Oxy 10 (a common approach in the world of vintage doll collecting!).

Thanks Carolyn, but it's the shower tray, and other flat surfaces and also a corner pedestal area where the shower head comes up from.

I think I'd need a lot of tubes

Going to try vinegar next.

 

[Kev and Christa]

Try "Traffic Film Remover"on internal and external plastics we've had some good results. Check out Amazon it comes in 1ltr bottles with spray attachment.

 

[Shrimp]

Ours is yellowing but as it’s all a plastic I’m inclined to leave it alone.
A lot of cleaning solutions are too strong, Zoflora (I know it’s not a cleaner but) will attack plastic.
I found this a while ago, I’ve not tried it yet.

To clean plastic sink
1 Spray the entire sink with a white vinegar and water mixture. Combine 1/4 cup of vinegar for every cup of water used in a spray bottle, and use a soft-bristle brush to gently scrub the sink. White vinegar will also disinfect the sink. Add baking soda to the mix for extra-tough stains, as the baking soda with vinegar will create a fizzy cleaning solution. Create a baking soda paste if desired for additional cleaning by combining three parts baking soda with one part water.

2 Rinse the sink with water and plug the drain. Squirt liquid dish soap into the sink -- use one to three squirts depending on the sink's size -- and fill the sink with hot water. Allow the soapy water to sit in the sink for a half hour to an hour to give the sink a nice, thorough cleaning.

3 Drain the sink. Go over it again if necessary with either soap or white vinegar to remove any persistent stains.

4 Polish the sink's faucet with a microfiber cloth.
Things You Will Need

• White vinegar
• Spray bottle
• Soft-bristle brush
• Baking soda
• Liquid dish soap
• Microfiber cloth

Tip

• Squeeze fresh lemon juice onto stubborn stains and use a scrub brush to work the juice into the stain. The juice will bleach the stains and also work as a disinfectant.
• Avoid hard-bristle brushes that can potentially scratch the sink surface.

Good luck.

 

[EuroTrotters]

What’s wrong with yellow ?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[AndyPK]

What’s wrong with yellow ?

Are you taking the p***…..?

 

[Landy Andy]

What’s wrong with yellow ?

It wouldn’t be too bad if they all went the same yellow, but they don’t. They are all different shades.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Are you taking the p***…..?

Can it be removed and re-coated or painted then ?

 

[Jenben]

Thanks Carolyn, but it's the shower tray, and other flat surfaces and also a corner pedestal area where the shower head comes up from.

I think I'd need a lot of tubes

Going to try vinegar next.

To be fair some of them did say it is uv light damage and you can’t do much about it .

A Motorhome friend told me they saw an old van still with an immaculately white bathroom and the owners told them they had always kept the roof blind closed to protect it.

 

[Landy Andy]

It’s the sun light that does it. We now keep our blinds shut. Our shower tray went horrible with the sun yellow, so i had it speed coated

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[pjay]

Had the same on our old hymer, tried them all but no joy, in the end we got it speedcoated, along with the front windscreen pillars which had gone the same way.

Pete

 

[Landy Andy]

along with the front windscreen pillars

You had them speed coated? External?

 

[pjay]

Oops, not the pillars but the side window surrounds....

 

[jumartoo]

To be fair some of them did say it is uv light damage and you can’t do much about it .

A Motorhome friend told me they saw an old van still with an immaculately white bathroom and the owners told them they had always kept the roof blind closed to protect it.

We only have a rooflight in the bathroom for ventilation (no clear plastic) and it's not over the shower side.

I don't know how it's got so yellow.

 

[PG’s trips]

Yep my hymer shower walls have turned yellow due to uv light from the vent above and on a fairly new van. Keep shower blind shut always now. Don’t thinks it’s that bad to live with as the fold back shower doors keep it well hidden.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}