Vintage Star Wars Restoration

[daveperrinstar]

Hey everyone, just thought I'd say hi as I'm fairly new to this forum. I have successfully sold a lot of my collection on here to a nice chap. Very pleased. I was thinking of trying to restore my old toys I've had since I was a we kid. They've gone pretty yellow and I would like to try and restore there original look. The worst effected is my old x-wing and the falcon. I'e heard of a solution called retrobright. A mixture of hydrogen peroxide, laundry booster and a couple of other things. Has anyone here heard or tried this out as I'm thinking of giving it a go?

Thanks
David

 

[itfciain]

Hi David - welcome aboard (I was Neil's chauffer)

There are a load of threads across the forums abut ;whitening up' star wars items - especially stormtroopers - the general consensus is that it works but no-one is sure for how long and whether it does any damage to the plastic long term.

I would say that as it is your own collection and you are doing it for your own pleasure then give it a go. I am sure someone can link to the threads - or you could do a search for whitening

 

[x-pack]

Hi dude

I did whiten a 12" Stormtrooper a few years back using hydrogen peroxide. It works but only lasts about 12-18 months.

The process is to get a tub not much larger than the thing you are whitening and pour in the peroxide enough to submerge the item. After this leave it in the solution for ages, like maybe two or three weeks. Keep checking during this time and take out the item when it's white enough for you.

My experience is that you probably need a couple of the smallish bottles which can be ordered from the chemist. It does work and doesn't appear to damage paint, but it doesn't last.

Not too sure what people think of doing this, like whether it's taking away originality or something along those lines. Wouldn't bother again but it was a fun experiment at the time.

 

[Doomseeker]

I personally have no issue doing it to my toys...not that I've done it to many (and all the ones I've done it too have stayed white) but if you're planning on selling on you need to let the buyers know, as it's a "restored" item.

 

[jay4]

dont know about the retrobrite ? but ive seen 4 stormies 2 hoth and a biker scout done with the hydro peroxide mix ,the guy done this in either 2004 or 5 ,ive seen pics a few months back they are all still white so i think this belief that they go yellow again quikly is wrong i suppose it just depends like the first time they went yellow on how you store them afterwards? and i dont subscribe to this notion it damages the plastics moleculor structure for ever leading to crumbling figures etc as all these out the woodwork scientists would have you believe , ive been dying to give it a try out of curiosity

 

[threaders]

I have a really yellow shuttle and some hydrogen peroxide on its way, so I will stick up a thread and show you what happens. I have done it once during summer outside as you need the uv light. This time ill do it indoors and see if it still works.
The only problem is that last time it affected the decals and I am not sure if this is the peroxide as they stayed the same for a few days, but after that the decals started to fade and deteriorate

 

[Joe]

 

[tiefighterboy]

Battery acid and sandpaper.