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Discolored plastic


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Wondering if I could get a little help from my friends here. I was taking my mates out of storage to get rid of the boxes, and found a number of them are suffering from plastiligo. Not sure why this happened, as they were not in the light, but in a dark box, in a dark basement.

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I remember reading somewhere on here that someone cleaned discolored plastic with hydrogen peroxide, and wondered if this method is safe for mates? Sorry if this has been discussed elsewhere, but I tried using the search function and kept coming up empty.

BS

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I remember seeing that here or a link to another site but I think it only potentially cleans white plastic. To be honest I would avoid Hydrogen Peroxide unless absolutely necessary because it is a very volatile chemical no matter how easy it is to obtain or whatever the strength. Hydrogen Peroxide + 2 other well-known ingredients will ,in the right quantities blow your Minimates ,your basement & you clean through the roof.....when ignited . I kid you not.

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Ive had some problem like that with my transparant parts

I used to save my figures in a little plastic box with different sections and some parts like sandman's transparant sandblast arms(Brownish transparant) and clear blue iceman all had a purple glow o.O

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While I don't have an answer to your question, now you've got me wondering. If they are not reacting to sunlight, is it something in the storage container? A mold release on the plastic box (in Aapje's case). BS, what container were your discolored 'Mates in ? Their original boxes?

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I had almost all of my mates that were not on display in their original boxes, which were all in a clear plastic storage bin. I had them in my basement for about 2 years until we moved this past December. Now, the basement was never hot, nor did it get very cold, and water was never an issue down there it was a very dry basement. Prior to being put into storage, I had them all on display at work. They were in an overhead cabinet in my cubicle, which I shut and locked at the end of every day. They were exposed to some fluorescent light during the day when it was open, but being in the cabinet, it was fairly minimal. When I packed them up into the boxes, there was no discoloration, so it is a mystery to me :confused:

BS

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There is a fair bit of coverage on this problem in various toy forums & unfortunately most of it is depressing because it seems that, far from being eternal, plastic seems to have a shelf-life like everything else. Various plastics react with other plastics apparently & although I wouldn't have imagined that too many different plastics are currently used in Minimates this wasn't the case a few years back. Alternate Superman ,loose,is the supreme example of how white Minimates get jaundiced but I can categorically assure you this only happens when he comes out of his C3 package ,so make of that what you will!

This discolouration affects kubricks as well ,white plastic suffering yet again.

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I'm just filtering stuff I've read on the net but I've read on a couple of sites that zip-bags supposedly cause problems they are made from polythene (?) & much the same as promo bags which now tend to have a small hole in them if you notice!

This may or may not be relevant .

Edited by buttheadsmate
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Basically, with time all plastics tend to break down, and as they do they give off gases. This is why there are holes in the shipping bags. For this reason, I use a hole-punch in my zip-lock bags to keep the vapors from being trapped in the bags and contributing to further breakdown.

I'm not sure how much air flow the tackle-boxes have. I've had stuff in storage for years now, and I hope to eventually dig out some stuff to check on it. Hopefully nothing a little bit of paint can't fix. For a lot of my Toy Biz LOTR & my DST Trek TOS figures, I bet a lot of that rubbery plastic will disintegrate over time.

Edited by monkeycrumb
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I'm just filtering stuff I've read on the net but I've read on a couple of sites that zip-bags supposedly cause problems they are made from polythene (?) & much the same as promo bags which now tend to have a small hole in them if you notice!

This may or may not be relevant .

Although I was convinced that I had seen small holes in all the promo bags ,I can confirm, after inspection, that this is not the case . Whilst some bags do have this manufactured hole it is undoubtedly the exception rather than the rule. My apologies for suggesting otherwise. In my defence I am merely putting forward suggestions rather than making categorical statements & I doubt that anybody died as consequence. :D

The more I look into this phenomenon the more it intrigues me & it is very difficult to find anything on the internet that actually promotes the idea that plastics break down at all! Most of the related items that I've seen ...& I've now seen quite a lot....concentrate on the problem that they don't break down at all although a National Geographic article mentioned that sea-borne waste plastic is breaking down quicker than previously thought possible with alarming consequences for us all......I'd link it for you but I decided that you'd be better off enjoying your day :D

My opinion is ,for what it's worth, is that the fate of a Minimate is determined at the factory & constituents used in the recipe for that particular Minimate's parts ,whatever is or isn't put into the mix will eventually show it's hand.....leg .....or head in a distinct way . The one thing that continually rears it's head is my old friend 'phthalates' who wasn't as 'his' name implies Ares' brother or a student at Xavier's college ....oh no..... 'he' is to be feared :( despite his presence in most toys as a plasticiser .

For the moment it's just our toys that are changing colour ..........

.....have a good day :thumbsup:

This is perhaps the most informative article I've read so far http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Barbies-Health-Hazard.htm

I still maintain that apart from a few instances loose minimates suffer for whatever reason worse than packaged stuff which perhaps sounds obvious but is it ?

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  • 1 month later...

An update for anyone interested. I let Spidey 2099's legs soak in 3% hydrogen peroxide in the sun for a few weeks, and it actually worked. The color isn't completely changed back, but it's pretty darn close. If I had the more concentrated stuff, it only would have taken a day or so, but it's not easy to get a hold of, and quite pricey. Here's a before and after pic to show the results:

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BS

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Mini mite, there is a very slight color difference, but you need to really examine it to notice, it's good enough for me. The peroxide is just run of the mill stuff that can be purchased at any drug store/walmart etc.

And Nessex, there was no damage to the plastic at all, it worked very well other than the fact that it took so long.

BS

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  • 2 months later...

After having gone through my collection, it turns out my astonishing X-Men White Queen is suffering from the yellowing of the shins much like Blacksun 1520's was. I would like to attempt his peroxide treatment, but was wondering what the effects of said treatment might cause to tampos on the legs. Has anybody here on the board tried this treatment with tampoed plastic? This inquiering mind would like to know. Thanks.

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I haven't done this with any tampoed parts, so I'm not sure what would happen.

An update to my experiment though. My Spidey 2099 parts that were soaked in the peroxide looked really good for a while, but it seems that they have become slightly bleached. I don't know why they would come out of the solution fine, then become lighter after being removed, maybe from light exposure? IDK, but a word of caution for anyone wanting to try this with colored plastic. I'll try to get some pics up later.

BS

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