Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

Seibertron wrote:

robofreak wrote:

Amelie wrote:It seems unlikely that we could allow something to sink into the plastic in the case of GPS - don't forget the breakdown is caused by the metallic flecks breaking the plastic apart.

But... I think we could coat the plastic, maybe in a layer of resin\varnish to help hold the plastic together. Although even if that did work, you'd still be left with the issue that the new layer has left the toy rather still\unable to transform fully.

How about we just recast all the GPS affected parts and use a plastic that isn't as weak for the new batch?

That way, we can just replace all the parts.

I keep hoping a 3rd party company does this.

robofreak wrote:

Seibertron wrote:

robofreak wrote:

Amelie wrote:It seems unlikely that we could allow something to sink into the plastic in the case of GPS - don't forget the breakdown is caused by the metallic flecks breaking the plastic apart.

But... I think we could coat the plastic, maybe in a layer of resin\varnish to help hold the plastic together. Although even if that did work, you'd still be left with the issue that the new layer has left the toy rather still\unable to transform fully.

How about we just recast all the GPS affected parts and use a plastic that isn't as weak for the new batch?

That way, we can just replace all the parts.

I keep hoping a 3rd party company does this.

Give me a year, and I'll start pounding away at it. I've got some friends in injection molding and what I have been thinking about doing is creating a master set that can be bought that would have all the parts you would need to replace the plastic on a GPS figure. I should be able to find a completely new gold plastic that shouldn't have the breakdown issues.

Seibertron wrote:I'd rather find a different solution. Coating the plastic seems like painting yellowed plastic.

What if it has something to do with the metallic flakes as well as the yellowing issue which is caused by the fire retardant breaking down in the ABS plastic? It would make sense that after X amount of time that both gold plastic and other colored plastic both suffer from the fire retardant breaking down. The gold plastic, due to its makeup, reacts differently by becoming fragile due to the metal flakes. No one bought a gold plastic figure off the shelf and had it break the moment they got home from the store. It always happens a few years later.

Seibertron wrote:Has anyone tried putting a coating of vaseline over a sticker and left it on to see if that coats the sticker to prevent it from getting damaged while soaking it in h2o2? I have a G1 Masterforce Go Shooter that I just got that's a little off-white that I want to try but haven't decided which way I want to go to try to preserve the stickers as best as possible.

I could go the lighter fluid route and try to take the stickers off that way, but there's always the possibility of ripping or bending the sticker unintentionally. I thought I had read somewhere that someone put vaseline on their stickers first before submerging the figure in H202 but have never left stickers on a part when I've done the H202 treatment.

Just curious if anyone else has read about this (any links?) or tried this themselves.

MightyMagnus78 wrote:

Seibertron wrote:Has anyone tried putting a coating of vaseline over a sticker and left it on to see if that coats the sticker to prevent it from getting damaged while soaking it in h2o2? I have a G1 Masterforce Go Shooter that I just got that's a little off-white that I want to try but haven't decided which way I want to go to try to preserve the stickers as best as possible.

I could go the lighter fluid route and try to take the stickers off that way, but there's always the possibility of ripping or bending the sticker unintentionally. I thought I had read somewhere that someone put vaseline on their stickers first before submerging the figure in H202 but have never left stickers on a part when I've done the H202 treatment.

Just curious if anyone else has read about this (any links?) or tried this themselves.

Doesn't the plastic turn yellow under the sticker anyway?

Seibertron wrote:

MightyMagnus78 wrote:

Seibertron wrote:Has anyone tried putting a coating of vaseline over a sticker and left it on to see if that coats the sticker to prevent it from getting damaged while soaking it in h2o2? I have a G1 Masterforce Go Shooter that I just got that's a little off-white that I want to try but haven't decided which way I want to go to try to preserve the stickers as best as possible.

I could go the lighter fluid route and try to take the stickers off that way, but there's always the possibility of ripping or bending the sticker unintentionally. I thought I had read somewhere that someone put vaseline on their stickers first before submerging the figure in H202 but have never left stickers on a part when I've done the H202 treatment.

Just curious if anyone else has read about this (any links?) or tried this themselves.

Doesn't the plastic turn yellow under the sticker anyway?

Not necessarily. I've removed many stickers and it's as white as day underneath the sticker. I'm assuming that's because the sticker blocks the harmful sun rays from reaching the plastic underneath. I'm assuming this is not always the case and that there are instances where the stickers doesn't matter.

MightyMagnus78 wrote:

Seibertron wrote:

MightyMagnus78 wrote:

Seibertron wrote:Has anyone tried putting a coating of vaseline over a sticker and left it on to see if that coats the sticker to prevent it from getting damaged while soaking it in h2o2? I have a G1 Masterforce Go Shooter that I just got that's a little off-white that I want to try but haven't decided which way I want to go to try to preserve the stickers as best as possible.

I could go the lighter fluid route and try to take the stickers off that way, but there's always the possibility of ripping or bending the sticker unintentionally. I thought I had read somewhere that someone put vaseline on their stickers first before submerging the figure in H202 but have never left stickers on a part when I've done the H202 treatment.

Just curious if anyone else has read about this (any links?) or tried this themselves.

Doesn't the plastic turn yellow under the sticker anyway?

Not necessarily. I've removed many stickers and it's as white as day underneath the sticker. I'm assuming that's because the sticker blocks the harmful sun rays from reaching the plastic underneath. I'm assuming this is not always the case and that there are instances where the stickers doesn't matter.

Fare point, but why risk it?

You'll need hydrogen peroxide and some clear sealable containers. You can use any strength peroxide, but I prefer the higher percentage stuff that you can buy at pool supply stores. I use Softswim Clarifier C, which is about 28% opposed to the 3% you can get at department stores. It does require some caution, if you get the high strength stuff on your skin it will turn bone white and sting for about an hour.

Disassemble your figure so you are only whitening the discolored parts. Make sure to remove any screws or pins as they will rust. Sometimes it's unavoidable with riveted-on parts or stubborn pins, if that's the case limited exposure isn't the end of the world just be sure to thoroughly dry the parts as soon as they come out. Stickers and paint will also survive limited exposure, the longer the soak the more they will fade and come loose, but for the most part they will survive this process.

Once you have the figure broken down, place the parts to be whitened into your containers and pour in the peroxide covering all the parts. Don't overcrowd the containers, because you want them to all get equal exposure to...............................................wait for it...............................the sun! Ironically, UV light is the catalyst for the whitening process. Once you have all your parts in the the containers with the peroxide, seal them and place them in direct sunlight. Magically watch the yellowing disappear. Time depends on the severity of the yellowing, but after about an hour in high strength peroxide and direct sunlight you should see a significant change in color.

I use sealable plastic containers from Wal-Mart. They come from the kitchen area and feature a clear spring loaded resealable lid. The clear lid allows more sunlight to enter the container. I also set my containers on a mirror, that way the sunlight is also reflected up on the bottom of the parts.

Once the desired whiteness is achieved remove the parts, rinse them in fresh water, and allow them to dry. Reassemble the figure and done!

Hope that helps!

Seibertron wrote:I bought some of the pool supply stuff per El Duque's suggestion. Just got my hands on a couple of Go Shooters that I want to restore. I've got Go Shooter sitting out in a glass just that I filled part of the way with the Clarifier. Can't believe how much faster this stuff is than the 3% H2O2 from regular stores. Go Shooter should be all set here in about 30 minutes or so. He's been out for about an hour, just checked on him and it's bubbling like crazy and I can already see the difference. My biggest concern is the blue plastic that yellowed to a kind off bluish-green color.

Lazerface wrote:Has anyone tried peroxide to get the yellow out of a G1 Swoop's head or any similar clear plastic?

I don't think there is any way to take the head off to do it. I'm afraid of the head melting, and I'd have to find some way to cover the rest of the body so it wasn't exposed to the sun.

Does anyone have a broken head they could experiment with?

Lazerface wrote:^ Yeah. I have done this with some synthesizer keys. I know the peroxide won't melt the plastic, but leaving something in the sun where I live means it will be in 100+ degree heat.

Those look like some good results with the Starscream. What % peroxide did you use? How did you apply the peroxide? How long did you leave it in the sun? What was temperature outside?

Thanks!

fenrir72 wrote:@ Ryan

Whats this "Clarifier"?