Cleaning playmobil with hydrogen peroxide [H2O2]

[Tiermann]

I've had very good results with this method. I use a glass bowl for mine, but the bag is a good idea. It forms little bubbles on the sides of the object as the chemical reaction happens so moving things around from time to time is good. I cleaned up a white horse nicely this way last year. I just bought some fresh to try some on a space vehicle next full sun day off I get.

[tahra]

I hope not... But I can't be sure how this works with other types of plastic, if that applies to the old elephants? (we don't have any white elephants, unfortunately). It's important not to leave it too much time exposed to strong sunlight, and the parts should be clean (not dusty, etc), or the solution can provoke some stains, I guess.
We had very good results with Steck walls from the castle (3666) too, and those parts are grey and not white. They look much better. Be careful, though, with the great Portuguese sunlight

Right... plenty of steck too.. and system X.

It doesn't, that's the good news, there isn't much waste. The parts should be wet, and the sun must shine on it.

I use a glass bowl for mine, but the bag is a good idea.

I was thinking glass bowl as well, but for some of the parts would have to be HUGE!

[Klickteryx]

Have any of you tried using it on something with print? As in, will it damage the print?

[Luftgaengerin]

Have any of you tried using it on something with print? As in, will it damage the print?

Hi, this is a tough one. It depends on the thickness of the print and the intensity of UV-radiation. So, no general advise, except being careful... You can try it indoors for some days and check frequently, meaning: there will a weaker atmosphere inside the bag but no harmful sun rays. 

[GrahamB]

I think the [photo]chemical process needs UV light (found in sunlight) to work, so indoors or through glass might not get the best results.

[Hadoque]

A German color collector told me once to just lay yellowed playmo directly in a bright summer-sun for a day or so and that by this the parts would get white again, so just by UV-radiation and without any chemical product whatsoever...
Not sure if that is true and I´ve never tried it (living in Belgium with it´s modest climate, you know.) But as this summer is the hottest and sunniest since 1976, I might give it a try...

[Klickteryx]

A German color collector told me once to just lay yellowed playmo directly in a bright summer-sun for a day or so and that by this the parts would get white again, so just by UV-radiation and without any chemical product whatsoever...
Not sure if that is true and I´ve never tried it (living in Belgium with it´s modest climate, you know.) But as this summer is the hottest and sunniest since 1976, I might give it a try...

That doesn't sound right as it's sunlight that makes them yellow in the first place. If you peel a sticker off something yellowed it's a cleaner colour underneath so it doesn't yellow just through age.
It would be convenient though.

[Hadoque]

That doesn't sound right as it's sunlight that makes them yellow in the first place.

That is exactly what I replied to him, but he insisted that long enough exposure directly into a very bright summersun would turn yellowed parts white again

[tahra]

I'm wondering... sun is good for this..

How about heat? We have LOADS of sun now, but we're boiling. Probably a bad idea to attempt this during a heatwave, right?

[GrahamB]

I think you may be right, Tahra. There is some evidence that yellowing happens even in the absence of direct sunlight, so heat is a good candidate. The yellowing is caused (I read) by the migration of Bromine atoms to the surface of the plastic, something which an increased temperature would almost certainly accelerate. (The Bromine is part of an additive used to reduce the flammability of the toys).