White plastic tends to turn yellow, so over the years it takes on a completely unsightly appearance. This happens due to the oxidation of its surface layer. This is not an irreversible process, so there are many available ways to bleach plastic at home using chemical agents. Let's consider the most accessible ways to restore its whiteness using various components.
The plastic must first be washed to remove all contaminants.
1. Hair lightener 12%
To bleach using this method, you need to purchase hair bleach at a cosmetics store. It is applied to the yellowed surface with a brush or cotton swab.
The part is then wrapped in film. The latter is needed so that the composition does not dry out.
For the clarifier to work, it must be exposed to ultraviolet light. It could be a blue lamp or just sunlight.
If you have time, then it is enough to place the part lubricated with the illuminator on the windowsill for several days.
2. Pharmacy hydrogen peroxide 3%
Hydrogen peroxide from the pharmacy can also whiten parts. They dive right into it. The bath is then placed under a source of ultraviolet radiation.
3. Perhydrol
This is concentrated hydrogen peroxide, which is used to purify water. It can be purchased at stores and companies that service pools and ponds or sell products for them. The composition must be diluted with water, reducing its concentration to 20%. The part is then dipped in perhydrol.
The bath with perhydrol and the part is susceptible to ultraviolet irradiation. Under the lamp, the yellowness disappears in just a couple of hours.
You can achieve the result by heating the bath without exposure to ultraviolet radiation, but this will be slower and less effective.
4. Ozonator
Theoretically, ozone can also whiten plastic. To do this, the part is placed in a sealed container, which is pumped with this gas. To obtain it, a simple device is assembled from a mini ozonator placed in a plastic bottle.
From it, ozone is pumped by a fan into a container with yellow plastic. The latter must be transparent for ultraviolet access.
Final conclusion: Which method is the best?
All methods work, but the most effective and fastest is treatment with perhydrol under an ultraviolet lamp for a couple of hours.
The quality of hair lightener under sunlight is almost equal to it. But such a result is achieved only in a couple of days. Everything happens faster under the lamp. The next most effective method is to infuse parts with perhydrol in heat without ultraviolet radiation. Pharmacy peroxide gives a barely noticeable result. Ozone, in comparison with peroxide-based compounds, is practically useless.
