Whitening a Yellowed Vintage Knitting Machine (RetroBrite)

[@jsmxwll]

if you are doing heat sensitive parts, using UV LEDs in a box works pretty well but is usually slower, depending on how bright the sun in where you are. putting the parts in a sealed box can also help reduce streaking because they wont dry so quickly and don't usually need to be wrapped. hope that helps someone.

[@NumaticVacuum]

It is a great way to restore the colour to plastic that has UV discoloured, however, it doesn’t last, it goes back to the way it was over a few months.

[@heatherismakingstuff]

I had heard that also, but for me it hasn't been the case. I have a machine and parts I did last year that looks the same as when I first did the treatment. However it has all been kept in a basement without much natural light. It is possible it might be a different outcome if exposed to UV light again, since the offending chemical is still there in the plastic.

[@NumaticVacuum]

Heather Is Making Stuff It doesn’t go nicotine yellow again but it doesn’t last the lovely bright white from when the retro brighting was first done, even left in ambient light, at least that was the case for me, glad you have managed to keep it as is.

[@heatherismakingstuff]

@@NumaticVacuum interesting, I'll have to see how it holds up

[@yvonnemaisonette9230]

After whitening you need to keep your item covered when in sunlight!

[@roumiganev5367]

Thank you for sharing your experience. Just a question: how did you clean the items after the process?

[@heatherismakingstuff]

Mostly it just wipes off, and the remainder I cleaned off with rubbing alcohol (I use this for cleaning the machines most of the time.)

[@denisefernekes182]

Heather, great help, how did you clean or neutralize the peroxide? Mine is actually golden yellow... looks it’s age, lol! The ribber looks almost new comparably. Thanks!

[@heatherismakingstuff]

It dries up after a while and I wiped it down with alcohol (what I usually use to clean the machine bed) to get any residue off. My sk155 that I had previously was a lot worse than this one - looked like those harvest gold appliances from the 1970s before it had its spa day.

[@denisefernekes182]

@@heatherismakingstuff thats what mine looks like, do the peroxide affect the lettering on the carriage cover around the dial?

[@heatherismakingstuff]

@@denisefernekes182 I only did the ribber and not the main carriage, but if you're concerned you can tape over any parts you want to protect. I should have taped the plastic insert bit on the ribber but it didn't damage it, just the glue underneath that held it on.

[@diannefitzmaurice9813]

Did you do the circular knob? If not why not?

[@heatherismakingstuff]

I did the sides of it, but not the front as it has a brown/grey piece of thin plastic on the front of a different type.

[@rhyannadetuathana7032]

hi will it work on a silver reed ec-1?

[@heatherismakingstuff]

Unfortunately I don't know. It will depend on the kind of plastic, but I don't know the plastic they used for the ec1

[@rhyannadetuathana7032]

@@heatherismakingstuff ok thanks. I don't know what kind of plastic either.

[@tjjaffacake]

Would this work without the sun?👀👀x

[@heatherismakingstuff]

Sorry I didn't see your reply before now! I don't think it works without some kind of UV light exposure, but I have seen people do it with a UV bulb instead of the sun. However I'm not an expert in what makes it work, maybe it's just the heat that does it and not the light itself as is the case with bleaching hair?! I would say you'd have to try and see what happens

[@maquinadetricodeniseferreira]

Legal 👏👏

[@thenewalex]

Oh no don't do this without taking off the plastic parts, you must separate the pieces to do a good job in the first place, and also you don't want the metal parts to get rusty by making them wet and not being able to dry them properly. Especially the unaccessible spots where the screws hold everything in place. Plus hydrogen peroxyde, which contains oxygen, increases the oxydation process (as the word says). Let the experts do this, keep your cookie coloured machine healthy instead