so upset but now happy, dream castle bleaching in progress - updated

[shabbychicdee]

edited; pictures and updates on page 2.
 Christmas holidays are on, sun is out may the bleaching process begin 




 
while i was unpacking the rest of my mlp stuff for putting on display i just came to the last box's with my show stable home sweet home and dream castle in....................ok......i feel like crying.............they have gone really really yellow and look terrible    i don't understand, i thought yellowing came from being left in the sun or from cigaret smoke  they have only stayed out of the sun and left in box's for protection, can they actually yellow/discolour while in storage. the only thing is the storage room they were in can heat up a bit on really hot sunny days cos of the roof but is completely shaded inside. can heat yellow playsets?

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OH the Horror, i am still in shock 

[Honeycomb]

Oh no, I'm so sorry ....

I had this happen to one of my childhood Barbie horses. He was kept in a dark box for many years, but still turned totally yellow. I have no idea what to do to prevent that. It's devastating.

[ValeofSpring]

I'm not expert on plastic degradation, but I imagine that yes, heat could do it.  Remember that plastics age over time, period, just at different rates depending on their composition and environment.  The heat may have sped up processes already underway.  The Stable is very prone to yellowing.  I'm more surprised about the Castle b/c when I see it discolored it is usually pretty obviously from being in a sunny window.

I actually wonder if the cardboard could contribute--perhaps the cardboard is acidic?  I really have no idea, just guessing.

Don't despair just yet--you can try a peroxide treatment to turn them back to their original color (I would do a search for threads talking about this).  Best of luck!

[snwbear24]

Oh no I am so sorry to hear this

[shabbychicdee]

thanks so much guys oh btw it was my home sweet home, i am so scared to check my ss's as they were petty much pure white  i can't look i really can not look 

yes i will have to do my research on the Hydrogen peroxide cream solution to mix up and how much i need for such a big structure.
any info here would be much appreciated. every time i go to read up on things my kid start playing up 

[popyduggan]

I remember the same thing happened to super nes consoles, they have flame retardant particles in the plastic and heat brings the yellowish color to the surface over time. http://playingwithsuperpower.com/the-snes-cleaning-article/

I heard there's a peroxide treatment like ValeofSpring said, but it can be really dangerous for some reason, I forgot why. Here's a product, but you have to make it yourself as it would be illegal to mail http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/Retr0Bright+Gel

[shabbychicdee]

oh interesting, i had 2 ps1 light grey controllers, one stayed real nice and the other went a horrible yellowy brown.

where would one buy these from in person, hairdressers? or hardware store?

[wizzer218]

O NO!..that sux sorry to hear...I have heard that cardboard boxes can yellow ponies...and also keeping the ponies themselves in airtight bags can also damage them.

[popyduggan]

I've seen glycerin and oxyclean at walmart, maybe 12% peroxide(hair bleach, there are different recipes using different % strengths) would be there too, maybe xanthan gum is at your local vitamin place? I can't speak from experience, sorry.

[nhal039]

pythia has had great success whiten dream beauties you should pm her : )

[shabbychicdee]

cool she should now what to buy in nz mayby
fingers crossed

[nhal039]

she will : )

[kellyponyfeathers]

Unfortunately, yes, heat can definitely contribute to the aging and yellowing of plastic.  Sorry.

[Starflashbaby]

people always told me that plastic needs to breath so I guess it can yellow from being in storage. I really sympathize for you I really do. that's why bay breeze has holes in the sealed plastic bag she came with. also my mom told me to check your so soft ponies if you have them in bags. Make sure they don't have mold on them aka cancer. the fur is fabric and needs to breath.
like is said I Really sympathize for you.

P.S Hugs

[PandoraFox]

Unfortunately plastic can indeed break down even when not exposed to the sun.
I collect transformers as well and I've heard of collectors who sore their collection well away from sunlight and still find them yellowing.
I wish you luck in trying to restore your play set! Finding something cherished in such a condition is so disheartening.

I've not tried the retrobright solution myself, though I've checked heir page. Basically it seems to be hydrogen peroxide solution on overdrive to make the process go faster? 
I've had great success myself with hydrogen peroxide cream used for bleaching your hair. It helped me brighten a transformer that is actually known to get damaged from soaking in a liquid solution. Somehow the cream seems less damaging to them. And it's easy to apply to a local area.
My transformer went from icky brownish yellow back to stark white with a bit of perseverance, but the severely yellowed Keyper I've been trying it on is reacting a bit oddly. She is certainly lightening but not quite back to the purple she ought to be. Still it's better then the color she was, which can only be described as poop brown. With winter upon us though, I'm going to have to wait for better weather before trying again.