Experiment #1: De-Yellowing
Hi, this is Shuei.
Today I decided to take my time to do de-yellowing experiment.
As you may know this already, plastic of old console turns yellow over time. This happens due to the chemical reaction. Plastic contains thing call BROMINE that reduce a plastic chance of catching fire.
This Bromine and Sunlight cause the chemical reaction that turns plastic yellow and brown. (Sorry, I am not a chemist and I might be totally wrong.)
Anyways, it is possible to reverse this chemical reaction by using UV light and some kind of chemicals. You can use Retr0bright (mixture of chemicals somebody came up with) which contains hydrogen peroxide and active oxygen laundry booster (such as Oxyclean). I heard that hair bleach called SalonCare 40 works as well so I used it for this experiment.
Here is what I got for this experiment.
- Yellowed consoles (Original Gameboy console and Super Famicom Console)
- Big Plastic Bin
- Black light (for UV light)
- SalonCare 40
- Some ropes to tie Black light
- Rubber Gloves
- Paint Brush
- Eye Protection and Mask
- Aluminum Foil
- Sponges
I experimented this before with Sun light but failed because SalonCare got dry. So this time I used blacklight with Aluminum Foil around bin to get equal exposure to UV light. Also, I put a few sponges in the bin as a humidifier purpose. I used a paint brush as well to apply it evenly. Last time it came out a little blotchy because solution wasn’t applied evenly.
From my experience, this SalonCare solution is very hazardous (It will burn your skin) so I used rubber gloves, a mask, and eye protection to protect myself. I recommend NOT to touch solution even when you wash it out.
Anyways, everything is set and now UV light is on and lid is closed.
I will let you know the result tomorrow.