Brick de-yellowing techniques

[Modulex Guy]

Sorry to bump an old topic, but my question does not seem to need a new thread...

So, does this peroxide method of whitening damage or harm printed pieces??

Recently I have gotten a large load of Modulex letter tiles and many of them are quite yellowed.

I just want to know that the printing will be safe with this cleaning method.

Also does this method work for colors other than blue, grey and white?

[fred67]

Sorry to bump an old topic, but my question does not seem to need a new thread...

So, does this peroxide method of whitening damage or harm printed pieces??

Recently I have gotten a large load of Modulex letter tiles and many of them are quite yellowed.

I just want to know that the printing will be safe with this cleaning method.

Also does this method work for colors other than blue, grey and white?

I don't know about printed pieces; I certainly don't doubt it would destroy stickers. If you could test a printed piece and let us know, that'd be great.

I've used the technique with some success on clear pieces, but it made the clear plastic soft and even trying to dry them with a tissue scratched the surface like sandpaper... clear pieces use a different plastic, from what I understand, and you need to let them "cure" for a few days. Luckily I only ruined one macaroni... the others are not crystal clear, but better than what they were.

[Calabar]

So, does this peroxide method of whitening damage or harm printed pieces??

If you look at photos in post #37, you can see a perfect white flag after the treatment.

So it seems printed pieces don't suffer the peroxide too much.

I advise you to test with a expendable piece in order to see the effects with your eyes, anyway.

[Hoboman]

If you look at photos in post #37, you can see a perfect white flag after the treatment.

So it seems printed pieces don't suffer the peroxide too much.

I advise you to test with a expendable piece in order to see the effects with your eyes, anyway.

I will try this method this weekend on a couple of white horses I want to clean. I will try and take photos before and after. The painted eyes etc on the horse will help us know for sure.

[-R8-]

Hello,

I have tried this method in the past, although it did not seem to have much of an effect, if any on my discolored bricks. I am going to try again, but this time with oxyclean.

Would it be alright to use liquid oxyclean with 3% hydrogen peroxide, or has everyone here been using the solid powder oxyclean?

Furthermore, is there a specific amount of each substance that needs to be used in order to reach the optimal results? I've read that some people here have used two teaspoons of oxyclean and a variable amount of peroxide based on the volume that the bricks took up, is this pretty much the most 'effective' combination of the substances?

[roamingstop]

I have used a version of Oxy-Vanish (oxyclean not available in Switzerland) plus 5% Hydrogen Peroxide... for whites and light greys it worked well. For some blues and reds, I have colour fading... not good.

I have had some printed pieces fair in different ways. Some printed icons cleaned well (the tail fins of some older ambulance planes), others rubbed off on touch (some older numbered tiles), and others had a backing sticker which peeled away.

Moral: if the Lego piece is not rare, sometimes cheaper to purchase replacement parts on BL (especially since HP is expensive here), but if it is an older, rarer piece then it can work well. Just be careful with the coloured bricks.

[Wayno]

Wow...

Today i thought id give this a go with few sample pieces (WHITE ONLY) and the results are amazing.. they look NEW. I`m going to do more tomorrow on printed parts and see what the out come is. i`ll also post up pictures.

Heres what i did today.

*Hydrogen peroxide (12%) I also have 30% so will test that tomorrow see if it works any faster?

*Tesco OXY clean

*1 ltr glass jar

*the Sun

1 scoop of oxy cleaner in the jar and half filled with peroxide, LEGO added and left in the sun... within 2hrs the bricks were like NEW... :)

I`m going to do more tomorrow testing printed parts and to see if you can reuse the mixer more than oncei`m also going to try different peroxide concentrations to see this makes a difference.

i`ll also post up pictures.

Edited August 15, 2011 by Wayno

[Calabar]

@Wayno

Any news about tests with 30% Hydrogen peroxide?

[Concept]

I currently have some whites soaking in "Napisan Vanish Oxi Action Intelligence" (pink container blue lid) and warm water. I will post how it went tomorrow.

[Yucca Patrol]

I currently have some whites soaking in "Napisan Vanish Oxi Action Intelligence" (pink container blue lid) and warm water. I will post how it went tomorrow.

The oxyclean stuff may do something, but for this recipe it actually acts as a catalyst for the reaction between hydrogen peroxide and the nasty stuff that is discoloring our LEGO. You might get some results from the oxy alone, but the real miracle happens when it is used with the peroxide.

[Concept]

The oxyclean stuff may do something, but for this recipe it actually acts as a catalyst for the reaction between hydrogen peroxide and the nasty stuff that is discoloring our LEGO. You might get some results from the oxy alone, but the real miracle happens when it is used with the peroxide.

Yes they are a bit cleaner, they even feel better but the yellowish tinge is still there. Oh well will have to get me some peroxide.

[Yatkuu]

Hello! I have tried the "miracle" process with my 20 years old yellowed white bricks... here is my experience.

I used these products:

(I live in Belgium, bought these from a "Di" shop)

I mixed 2 tea spoon of the powder with enough peroxyde to submerge the bricks in a clear plastic cup and left it outside in the sun for a full day (one day of sun in Belgium is already a miracle in itself!).

Here is the result:

On the left hand side, the bricks that have been "cleaned", on the right hand side identical bricks that did not spent the day in the mixture.

Conclusion, I did not find it so spectacular but it is still totally worth it. For some reason that I can't explain the process worked better on some bricks, but in the end it is still better than nothing.

[Calabar]

@Yatkuu

Could you provide some extra info?

How many hours did you leave the solution to act?

It was a sunny day?

Can you quantify the hydrogen peroxide you used for 2 teaspoons?

It seems the hydrogen peroxide is a bit weak... perhaps you need a 10-15% solution at least (your solution is about 3%, isn't it?) to obtain "miraculous" results.

[Yatkuu]

@Yatkuu

Could you provide some extra info?

How many hours did you leave the solution to act?

It was a sunny day?

Can you quantify the hydrogen peroxide you used for 2 teaspoons?

It seems the hydrogen peroxide is a bit weak... perhaps you need a 10-15% solution at least (your solution is about 3%, isn't it?) to obtain "miraculous" results.

The bricks stayed in the solution for approximately 8 hours (10AM until 6PM) it was a sunny day but the sun exposure was probably of 6 hours max.

I believe the solution I used is 10% - I'm no chemist but the bottle says "stabilised, 10 volumes" maybe someone can confirm on that.

I actually did 2 tests, the one in the picture is the first one I did with a small quantity of 1*1 plates - the second attempt was a full cup of random bricks and for that one I used +-200ml of peroxyde.

For the 2 tests I used 2 teaspoons of oxy - which was probably too much for the first try as not all of it was dissolved in the end but the outcome was similar with the 2 attempts.

[Calabar]

I believe the solution I used is 10% - I'm no chemist but the bottle says "stabilised, 10 volumes" maybe someone can confirm on that.

Your hydrogen peroxide is weaker than mine with 3,6% and 12 volumes. The author of the post used a 30% solution (about 10 times more than your).

[Yatkuu]

Your hydrogen peroxide is weaker than mine with 3,6% and 12 volumes. The author of the post used a 30% solution (about 10 times more than your).

Wow, I had no idea! I should probably have paid more attention in chemistry class! Now in need to look for more concentrated peroxide... I'll post an update if I find some..

Edited October 19, 2011 by Yatkuu

[lorax]

I thought I would also give this a try.

Here are the products I used (6% was the strongest peroxide I could find in Australian chemists, costs $3.99 for 100ml)

I used white macaroni, which I find is the piece that suffers most from discolouring and left it to soak in the solution for about 2 hours (note: the piece on the top in the middle was a clean one that was not soaked).

The picture does not show it, but some of the macaroni responded really well (while others only had a small change).

I also used it on some pieces in my minifig graveyard (I have a hard time throwing away bad minifigs) and also had varying results (some responded well, some barely changed).

Off topic: I have never noticed the change in the macaroni (see the top of the bottom left picture).

[Concept]

I was able to get some 40 Volume - 12% creme peroxide from a hair products shop. I am not sure if there will be any other differences with the creme stuff (had to add some water) but I am willing to give it a go. Cost $6.99 for 990ml.

I have only just started soaking the bricks so will see how it goes.

[Yatkuu]

Hi!

So... I managed to find some 30% peroxyde (bought in a pharmacy, 12euro/1 litre) and I did some additional experiments. The results are really impressive!

I built this little tutorial/comic to describe the technique used and to show the results.

Here is just 1 "before/after" picture to give you an idea:

In summary, now that I have done this a few times, I found that you need at least 10% concentration peroxyde to make it really worth it. For bricks that are really in bad shape you'll even need the 30%.

Another element to take into consideration is the price, peroxyde does not come cheap so you may want to use it preferably on rarer bricks rather than on you entire collection! I also tried to salvage the mixture after using it a first time but it was not really a success. I don't know if it is the reaction to the mix of oxy & peroxyde but the thing is generating some gas (oxygen?)... despite the fact that I placed it in a strong plastic jar the pressure grew too strong for the cap. After a few days I think all the gas got away and the mixture appeared to have lost its whitening action.

[Calabar]

@Concept

Any news with the peroxide "creme"?

[escortmad79]

Can this please be posted as a sticky thread on the top of the general discussion & news section in order to avoid countless queries regarding cleaning of bricks?

Seems to be at least one new one each week

[Calabar]

Can this please be posted as a sticky thread

I think this is definitely a good idea.

[Brickity]

Someone please help me:

I have this Marion Ravenwood torso (the wedding one) and it has become very yellowish since 2008! And pieces are supposed to go yellowish when they go trough many years, but it's been just 3 years! Any idea why this happened? How will I be able to whiten it if it is a printed piece? (Won't the print go off?)

I really want to know if it is possible to clean printed pieces, cause I have many torsos and legs (printed) that have acquired a disgusting color. Is it necessary to leave the pieces in the sun? Have anyone's bricks get brittle cause of the whitening process?

Thanks

Edited December 15, 2011 by Otherworld

[harmacy]

I just used the 'paste' method on some old light grey road plates and moon plates. I used 6% Peroxide, Oxyaction crystal white and arrowroot thickener to make it all gloopy. I figured that the surface area of plates would best suit the application of paste - and I was right.

It only took 90 minutes here (Its almost the middle of summer here in NZ) out in the midday sun, and the plates are looking fantastic. If anything, I had them out for a little bit too long, as they are now a very very very slight shade lighter than my mint road plates. In all honesty, it takes a real good look to see the tint difference.

In saying that, next time, I will check every 15 mins for the results. Yippeee!!!!

[Alywin]

Sorry to share some discouraging experience of my friend. My friend did successfully bleached bricks with serious yellowing using hydrogen perioxide a year ago, but very sadly, the yellowing would reappear after months later, and the yellowing got even poorer before bleaching. So be cautious.