yellowing plastic trim

[ike66]

The plastic trim around the door window, awning motors, and stove vent cover have yellowed over time. Is there a way to bleach these back to white or do I just paint them.

[Gene_Ginny]

Clay L wrote:

Gene&Ginny wrote:
I use Clorox Kitchen Cleanup with bleach. Spray it on, go have a cold one ... or 2, rinse. Also works well on the AC outlet covers and grab handle next to the door.

That works but for more stubborn yellow stains I have used Softscrub with bleach. It takes a little work but will remove the yellowing.

I had never heard about Softscrub so I did a search. Looks good. THANKS!

[Clay_L]

Gene&Ginny wrote:
I use Clorox Kitchen Cleanup with bleach. Spray it on, go have a cold one ... or 2, rinse. Also works well on the AC outlet covers and grab handle next to the door.

That works but for more stubborn yellow stains I have used Softscrub with bleach. It takes a little work but will remove the yellowing.

[Gjac]

I have had good luck with acetone to remove the yellowing from plastic trim and panels. It even removes mold from the plastic bead trim and caulking. It is a solvent so don't saturate the cloth or let it soak on the part you are cleaning just dampen the rag and wipe it off.

[blueglide]

Yeah...just saw that last line as I was editing my previous post...we agree...I'm just a step behind your posts! 🙂

[NYCgrrl]

blueglide wrote:

NYCgrrl wrote:

blueglide wrote:
Check out this thread I posted a year ago about the same problem. Be prepared for a few naysayers who have not tried it to tell you that it won't work or is bad because its bleaching the plastic (its not)...blah blah blah. My plastic still looks brand new.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29016049.cfm

It IS "bleaching" as in whitening a surface and the surfaces I frequently use hydrogen peroxide on are natural textiles.

That didn't take long....heres an article, one of many, that explains the chemical process taking place. This one is fairly basic but does a good job of explaining it. This is a chemical stabilization process (bromine stabilization).http://www.mountainouswords.com/mountain-air/retr0bright-restoration-project/

I just agreed with you:h

[blueglide]

NYCgrrl wrote:

blueglide wrote:
Check out this thread I posted a year ago about the same problem. Be prepared for a few naysayers who have not tried it to tell you that it won't work or is bad because its bleaching the plastic (its not)...blah blah blah. My plastic still looks brand new.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29016049.cfm

It IS "bleaching" as in whitening a surface and the surfaces I frequently use hydrogen peroxide on are natural textiles.

That didn't take long....heres an article, one of many, that explains the chemical process taking place. This one is fairly basic but does a good job of explaining it. This is a chemical stabilization process (bromine stabilization).http://www.mountainouswords.com/mountain-air/retr0bright-restoration-project/

I understand what you mean when you refer to it as 'bleaching' (in a generic sense) but that process can be damaging and this shouldn't be confused with that. None of the papers explaining it use the term 'bleaching'. Semantics I guess.

[phillyg]

The best and longest lasting fix is a plastic-specific spray paint.

[NYCgrrl]

blueglide wrote:
Check out this thread I posted a year ago about the same problem. Be prepared for a few naysayers who have not tried it to tell you that it won't work or is bad because its bleaching the plastic (its not)...blah blah blah. My plastic still looks brand new.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29016049.cfm

It IS "bleaching" as in whitening a surface and the surfaces I frequently use hydrogen peroxide on are natural textiles.

Hydrogen peroxide is an acetic acid and lemon juice, a milder one.
However "Hydro p" should not be confused with chlorine bleach commonly called Clorox in the US market place or oxygen bleaches such as OxiClean and powdered bleaches in general.

I would not be surprised to hear that it works to remove yellowing from plastic if the item soaks in a solution long enough. Probably adding washing soda or powdered bleach to the solution would help as well.

Big problem with any liquid whitening agent is to keep it from dripping off before the chemical reaction is completed on vertical(?) surfaces. For them, you buy a lot of Pampers, soak them in the whitening solution then tape them to the surface.

I suspect the original thread's disconnect came into play regarding the 2 different meanings of bleach: scientific and everyday usage. Both defines are right just if different ways;).

HTH

[blueglide]

Check out this thread I posted a year ago about the same problem. Be prepared for a few naysayers who have not tried it to tell you that it won't work or is bad because its bleaching the plastic (its not)...blah blah blah. My plastic still looks brand new.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29016049.cfm

[bguy]

Superclean.

[garyemunson]

Plastic have a UV inhibitor that gets "burned away" over time. Painting is the best cure as even sanding the yellow off doesn't help the fact that the plastic is compromised.

[Gene_Ginny]

I use Clorox Kitchen Cleanup with bleach. Spray it on, go have a cold one ... or 2, rinse. Also works well on the AC outlet covers and grab handle next to the door.

[caseyhoward]

I did the same as others paint...one time and it's done

[ScottG]

I used Krylon Fusion about 5 or 6 years ago to paint the trim around my door windows. I am amazed how well it has held up even with all the rain we get around here. It still looks better than new.
Amazing stuff.