A major breakthrough in removing yellowing from old cases!!!

[Lorne]

XANTHAN GUM & BRUSH ON TECHNIQUE

Mixed ½ pint of H2O2 solution with 1/8 tsp of Oxy powder, and stirred to dissolve Oxy.
Added ¼ tsp of Xanthan Gum and stirred. The Xanthan Gum didn’t want to dissolve and instead coagulated.

Left it for 15 mins – still the same.
Added another ¼ tsp, and stirred some more.
Still coagulated.

Beginning to have doubts about the success of this method.
Left it ½ hour, and it changed consistency to a foam, floating on top of a liquid.
Another ½ hour and it’s now a foamy bubbly gel type of mixture.

Put masking tape on the test piece to outline a test area.

And then applied a thin coating of the XG mixture.


Continued in next reply (ie: max 5 attachments per reply).

 

[Lorne]

XANTHAN GUM & BRUSH ON TECHNIQUE continued:

After an hour in the sunshine, the thin coating got thicker and foamier.


After 3 hours in the sun, 50% of the XG mixture had evaporated, so washed off the piece.
Slight improvement noticed.

Doubts about the method are subsiding, and I am now anticipating success.

Reapplied XG solution.

After 1 hour, solution on part has thickened to more of a foamy gel.


The part has now had solution on it for 6 hours. I'll give it 5 more hours, with maybe one more re-coating, and then see what it looks like. I suspect it'll take the same amount of time as the liquid process, but it's easier to brush it on, and you don't have to worry about floating pieces.

 

[carlsson]

Cool, Lorne! It looks like from a horror movie or something.

 

[Lorne]

XANTHAN GUM & BRUSH ON TECHNIQUE continued:

Evaporation of 2nd application 4 hours after applying.

Results after 6 hours of processing with XG mixture.

Third and final application of the mixture. The half pint I mixed this morning is now all gone.

Part hosed off and tape removed.
Final results after 9 hours of processing.
(crappy light on this photo - due to sun setting so early, this far south)

And here’s the before photo again..


It looks good to me !


Merlin: If it was your idea to use the gel/paste, well done. If not, let whoever came up with the idea know that it was that it works great. It works as fast, if not faster than the wet solution. While I would still do keyboard caps in the wet solution (it would be too difficult to coat each key cap with the gel), this brush on mixture/technique has cut the cost of doing the larger pieces (like computer cases) way down. Where I previously needed about 4 gals of H2O2 solution (and that’s after the void displacement idea!), I think I could easily do a case now, with 1 gal. You don’t need any huge tubs or aquariums with this brush on mixture – it could sit outside on the rocks, or on top of a cardboard box. There shouldn’t be any problem with pieces warping from heat of the liquid, and this technique eliminates the problem with the pieces floating, which has become a real pain in the butt – I’ve found nothing that will stick to the parts long enough for the H2O2 solution to do its work.

While your suggestion of Hydroxy Ethyl Cellulose may have worked better than the Xanthan Gum as far as mixing and texture goes, I think the powdered bleach that the hairdressers use, may work better than the Xanthan Gum (even after a couple hours, the XG is still a lumpy sort of mixture). According to the hairdresser, the consistency of the powdered bleach mix may be more what we’re looking for (ie: Cool Whip).
I’m going to try the powdered bleach next. The Powdered bleach can be purchased online from hairdresser supply stores – two manufacturers are : Redken – Blonde Dimensions and L’Oreal – Quick Blue.
(This is getting weird though: Urine Rescue + Blonde Dimension. What a mix).

 

[Merlin]

@ Lorne

Top stuff mate!!

To be honest, I thought that the xanthan gum (my idea, BTW - see post #114 in this thread) might have needed a food mixer, liquidiser or hand blender to disperse it properly; it swells up as it absorbs liquids, which is exactly what you saw in the bowl. It could also be that it's not quite the right pH solution to disperse properly, however, it eventually does and it works!! :mrgreen:

Don't worry about the names of what you are using; one of the credos I have always worked by over the years I worked as a development chemist is.....

"Never use anything for the purpose it was originally intended for, that's how the best discoveries are made."

This is a classic example of that credo at work, this just clever chemistry and the results are fantastic!!!

(Starts 'Land of Hope and Glory' playing in the background)......

 

[Terry Yager]

So, is there any chance of bottling the stuff (after settling on a final formula), or is it too unstable or short-lived? How 'bout a kit to sell to those of us who're too lazy to track down the ingredients and mix our own? I'm sure there will be problems with the shipper, but what are the chances?
Hell, mebbe you could patent the stuff and sell it on the open market. I'm sure there are many other uses that can be found for it. First thing that comes to mind is deck cleaner. How 'bout concrete cleaner for driveways, etc.? Whaddaya think?

--T

 

[Merlin]

@Terry Yager

You couldn't bottle it, at least not with the 'Oxy' added. Once you have started the reaction, you can't stop it from catalysing the peroxide, it would just burst the container.

That being said, I don't see why you couldn't package the xanthan gum and TAED separately in a little sachet, to be added and mixed in just before use.

Regarding the patent angle; since we have released this method over several forums in recent months, I'm not sure how I would stand regarding a patent, unless my posts count as prior art and proof of concept for patent purposes.

This magic formula should clean most type of yellowed plastic including UPVC, if anyone has yellowed garden chairs, tables or similar, this should sort them out.

We haven't even got a name for this concoction yet... Suggestions for names are welcomed.

 

[Druid6900]

Considering what Lorne is using for his H2O2 source, how about Piss OFF (gel)

 

[Lorne]

I'm sure there will be problems with the shipper, but what are the chances?
Hell, mebbe you could patent the stuff and sell it on the open market. I'm sure there are many other uses that can be found for it. First thing that comes to mind is deck cleaner. How 'bout concrete cleaner for driveways, etc.? Whaddaya think?

--T

I think the supplier of Urine Rescue will ship it via UPS, the Oxy you can get at the local grocery store and the Xanthan Gum or powdered Bleach you can get online.

I don't think there's a big enough market for our concoction, and most people won't want to be paying what they would have to, to get an old computer de-yellowed. (Hell, I've spent more on H2O2 solution than I did buying the computers).

Now, you could rent a room at the local hairdressers, and de-yellow old computers right there. You'd have all the ingredients you need right on their shelves.

 

[Merlin]

The best name we've managed to come up with so far is 'Retr0Brite'.

At least it doesn't sound like it's got 'Urine Rescue' and hair bleach in it...

ROTFLMAO!!!

@ Lorne

To aid the dispersion of the Xanthan gum, a small amount of something polar like an alcohol or glycol may help. I would suggest that you use a liquidiser, hand blender or similar for some high shear mixing and add a small amount of glycerine (available from any drug store and it's cheap). Glycerine also is non flammable, so we are still keeping the process safe. Try 1/2 tsp in your next mix to see if that stops the "fish eye" lumps.

 

[Lorne]

I like RetrOBrite.

Now, what the heck is ROLFMAO short for?

 

[Druid6900]

It's actually ROTFLMAO = Rolling On The Floor, Laughing My Ass Off.

Dyslexics of the world - UNTIE

 

[Merlin]

Hey, I was tired, and my fingers wouldn't tripe the worms properly, KO? I need a smell checker.........

LOL

 

[Terry Yager]

Ok, I've thought of a use that could broaden the consumer base, mebbe even enough to break-even. How 'bout vinyl automobile interiors, dashboards, etc, which often fade & discolor from sunlight. Might be worth a little more experimentation...

--T

 

[Lorne]

And I was thinking maybe boat exteriors. They're usually fiberglass but I don't know if f/g yellows over time.

Thankfully, I don't have a boat or an old automobile to try it on - someone else can give that a shot - I'm sticking with old computers. This is an expensive enough hobby.

 

[Merlin]

The big potential use I'm thinking of is the scrap PC and electrical equipment recyclers.....

Think of all those old beige computers, monitors, printer, faxes, photocopiers etc. which will have yellowed plastic. Shred the plastic down, soak it in a bath of our magic brew with some UV to zap it and you end up with nice and clean beige masterbatch plastic, ready for re-moulding.

Do you think this idea has some merit, or do you think it would it be too expensive to clean the plastic up?

 

[Unknown_K]

The big potential use I'm thinking of is the scrap PC and electrical equipment recyclers.....

Think of all those old beige computers, monitors, printer, faxes, photocopiers etc. which will have yellowed plastic. Shred the plastic down, soak it in a bath of our magic brew with some UV to zap it and you end up with nice and clean beige masterbatch plastic, ready for re-moulding.

Do you think this idea has some merit, or do you think it would it be too expensive to clean the plastic up?

Probably not worth it.

Asuming the plastic is not a one shot deal (some plastic can only be molded once) you can only regrind a small percentage and mix it with new plastic for molding without having problems, and most of the reground is just the stuff that was molded with defects that QC rejects.

The stuff that is reused tends to be in outdoor furniture (plastic picnic tables for example and folding table tops) and they have funny swirls of pigment in them. I think it is very hard to sort plastic by color even if they were not weathered and yellowed.

 

[Lorne]

I think the real problem with our process becoming a viable "business", is the fact the the H2O2 only lasts 3 days in the UV, before it degrades to nothing.
Being non-reuseable, it's a high cost, one shot deal.
I think it's good for us reconditioning or restoring vintage stuff that we want to keep, but I really can't see any other profitable uses.
It's still a great invention - I'm happy because I hate old yellowed plastic !

 

[Merlin]

OK, so I'm never going to make my fortune from this, but a guy can dream, can't he....??

 

[Terry Yager]

I can confirm that fiberglass (fibreglass for youse who speak the Queen's English) does fade with age/sunlight exposure. Another area for experimentation?

--T