350 GTO Oil Tank Whitening Test

[moonpup]

As many of you might have read, I was recently able to get my hands on an oil tank that was in pretty good shape. However, it's pretty yellowed from age and that's not going to cut it for the restoration I have in mind.

After doing a fair amount of research on how to get the yellowing out and make it whiter, I've decided to try a solution that is talked about quite a bit by computer folks and toy hobbyist's. Here's a link that provides the formula......

http://chipmusic.org/forums/topic/1252/removing-yellowing-from-plastics/

Yesterday, I went out and bought the supplies I'll need and sometime in the next few days I'm going to give it a try.

Below is a pic of everything needed and a shot of the yellowed tank.  After I'm done, I'll post up some shots of the results.

[Steve S.]

Should be interesting to see the results you achieve.  I'll be checking back.

Steve S.

[moonpup]

Well here we go....  I've got the solution mixed, the tank soaking and sitting in a mess of Texas UV's! 

I'm a little disappointed though, as the website says that as soon as you add the oxi-clean, you'll see an immediate reaction of foaming & fizzing. That didn't happen, but within 10 mins. it was foaming a little. I followed the directions and formula to a tee. Could be the hydrogen peroxide has been sitting on the shelf for a while and isn't as strong now, who knows. 

I'll let it sit all day and see what happens. If I'm not satisfied, I might try a stronger solution with 6% HP as some other sites recommend. Thought I'd start with the 3% to play it safe, as I don't want to damage this.

( the black plastic piece is being used to keep the tank submerged)

[Bikenstein]

Interesting. It looks white on the bottom side in the photo and yellow on top. It's probably yellowed all around. Did you take a before shot to compare?

[moonpup]

Interesting. It looks white on the bottom side in the photo and yellow on top. It's probably yellowed all around. Did you take a before shot to compare?

Take a look at the photo in the first post....   

[Bikenstein]

Duh!       Maybe it is the smoke.     The brisket turned out great. Doin some more ribs today.
Need to trim those bushes off the bank

[moonpup]

DAY 1 Update

Results from the first day were mixed. There was a noticeable difference and the tank was whiter but still nowhere near what I'd like.

The day started out nice & sunny but 2 hrs. after setting everything up, it got real cloudy and had rain off and on for most of the afternoon. Had to bring it in under cover several times so as not to dilute the solution.

Today, Ive set it all back up with a new batch of HP & Oxi and hopefully the weather will cooperate a little better.

This is today's pic....

[moonpup]

DAY 2 Update

The second day weather was much better as were the results! 

The areas having the darker stains/yellowing are much better but haven't completely disappeared. Also, please note, the "after" pic make it look much whiter than it actually is. It has more like a very light cream color to the surface, so don't expect miracles. That said, I'm still very pleased with the results.

I haven't decided yet whether I'm going to give it a 3rd. soaking, but if I do, I'll report back. I'd also like to say that this process appears safe as far as altering or causing any damage to the plastic. I could detect none.

Here are the before/after pics......

[Bikenstein]

Very good Master member with over 100 days on the site! Thanks for sharin this and all the other posts you have done. I have a couple of plastic parts I need to try this on, I just gotta find em. A third soakin could do the trick. Glad to see you got your computer fixed.

[moonpup]

Thank you fellow "Master BS'er" with less days but catching up to me.    (Man I gotta get a life!)

Yeah, that virus/trojan I picked up was a nasty one. Dang near crashed my "puter" and unfortunately forced me to wipe the hard drive and reinstall the operating system. Lost everything.    I've never used a back up drive in the past, but this "lesson" has opened my eyes. It's now #1 on my to do list.

[Steve S.]

Wow!  I would say pretty dramatic results, even if it's not entirely white.  I would say it was a success.

Steve S.

[Mopar5426]

   Ive Always Wondered How To Get My GTO Tanks To Look Better    Even Thought About Paint  Im going To Try The Spare Tank I Have It Has A Small Crack    Then Try It On My Good Ones    THANKS     GENE

[Colin]

That's a vast improvement and well worth the effort/money

[moonpup]

Thanks guys, but I thought I'd throw up a couple more before & after pics due to the fact that I really didn't think the first set accurately represented differences. Especially the "after" picture that I thought was coming across as much more whiter than it really was.

Don't get me wrong, I am pleased with the results, just not the results of the first before/after pic's.    I think these are much better pic's and yes Colin, it was worth the effort & money spent.

Gene... good luck and hope it works out for you.

[reed]

Moonpup,
What was the cost of the whitening kit etc.
Thanks.
Steve.

[moonpup]

Steve, it was about $15 altogether for the 7 qts. of hydrogen peroxide, oxi-clean and plastic container. (@ wally world)

Ended up only needing 6 qts. of the HP at a time, so the next soaking cost about $5 for some more HP.