Updated: Solution to Yellowing Dolls and Resin Eyes (updated 2020 with Picture)

While searching the web for a way to remove yellowing for my one of my doll made out of PVC "Libidoll", I stumbled upon this video on youtube about restoring plastics to their original colors or state. I was hesitant at first but I eventually bought the product to test it out. The formula is called Salon Care 40 creme starting from 1.99 ~ 6.99 at your local Sally's Beauty Shop.

UPDATED WITH PICTURES (2020 restoration)

My Salon Care 40 expired from 2 years ago and I'm having a hard time finding Sally's that's still open near my location (every store either closed down or temporarily closed due to the pandemic) while I did try to use it to restore some of my yellowed eyes and obitsu parts.....to my dismay it didn't work (I did expect this since it was already way past it's shelf life). So this time I just used a regular hydrogen peroxide 3% to restore em'

 

Process usually takes about half a day. For best results, preferably during a bright sunny afternoon with no cloud cover. I just used a regular ziplock bag and an 8 ounce bottle of hydrogen peroxide (do not skimp on this every part must be submerged or covered in H2O2. I cannot stress this enough)

before restoration

you can barely see the yellowed smudge on the leg but it's there

 

After the treatment|   I removed circled one half-way the treatment as a reference.... (I shouldn't have included said eye for a better example of before and after)

As you can see it's already back to it's original state and the obitsu legs looks brand new!

 

BELOW THIS PART IS AN OLDER RESTORATION OF MY AL AZIF

Before

 

After

 

 

I'm not sure if you can tell by the picture but the color between the head cap and the actual head doesn't match anymore

 

Full restoration

 

 

Thanks for reading, as I have mentioned before feedback will be gladly appreciated if you try this.

 

 

Edited August 27, 2020 by Meguchi
updated 2020

That's crazy! I always thought that yellowing was just aged resin, not actual stains. I wonder if it works on vinyl too, since the two products are very different from each other. Please keep us updated!

That's crazy! I always thought that yellowing was just aged resin, not actual stains. I wonder if it works on vinyl too, since the two products are very different from each other. Please keep us updated!

I can't view the video, but I think the doll Meguchi tested was PVC, not resin (polyurethane).

 

Linda S.

galatia9

updated with pictures =)

Oooh this is interesting. I don't have a Sally's here so I might have to find some of that cream online to try it out. The harder/older vinyl Obitsu parts tend to yellow faster and I have some parts I'd like to de-yellow...

Also forgot to mention if you're going to buy the creme, they have a 12 month shelf life after opening so buy just what you need so you're not wasting money

This really isn't much different from the use of benzoyl peroxide (Oxy10, Persa-Gel, etc), which has been common in the BJD/DD hobby for years. You're basically applying a mild bleaching agent to the vinyl, in this case hydrogen peroxide instead of benzoyl peroxide.

 

So the usual warnings apply:

- If applied to a doll's face, it may face, bleach, or otherwise damage their face-up

- Don't let it touch any clothes or wigs, as it could bleach or damage those items

- Use extreme caution when applying to tan skin or white skin -- this includes DD vinyl! Based on the test with Al Azif, perhaps the hydrogen peroxide works better on the WS than the benzoyl peroxide (which has been known to cause discoloration)

- Watch your own skin, nails, and hair -- it can bleach those, too!

I used the hydrogen peroxide gel successfully for un-yellowing the music keyboard.

The white keys weren't white anymore, now they're much better.

I've heard that the sun is not necessary - but afaik You need UV, so the sun is the easiest way in case You don't have any UV lamp.

 

I thought about trying it on DD, but didn't have time so far.

EDIT:Ah snap.. didnt notice the hidden video in the first post that was actually from the 8-bit guy already, but you get the gist..

 

Its apparently nicknamed Retrobrite in the computer restoration side of things.

Although the original nickname was given to the self mixed hydrogen peroxide plus various spices and herbs to make it gel-like.

 

But the 8-bit guy has used the hair salon stuff which is actually more potent than the pharmacy liquid apparently.

 

.. mainly leather, beware.

 

However that video was about a computer that had specifically weird plastic that was more susceptable to uneven curing.

 

I think the 8-bit guy went on in greater detail about the application in the third part of that restoration, speculating what went wrong with it.

 

I was curious would this work on vinyl, since the hair-bleach cream would be more easy to source than benzyol-oxy, so its nice to know of a possible go-to product besides that.

since this originated from a 8-bit guy video

, and there was one that, if it works on vinyl, might mean safe treatments for heads... Ozone, although that still needed UV light to work.

 

Also heat plus peroxide gave quite fast results. (as tested on plastic, again as a disclaimer)

since this originated from a 8-bit guy video

, and there was one that, if it works on vinyl, might mean safe treatments for heads... Ozone, although that still needed UV light to work.

 

Also heat plus peroxide gave quite fast results. (as tested on plastic, again as a disclaimer)

 

Already restored my Al Azif's head to original condition and it didn't damage her face up =)

Hi Meguchi,

 

i have a Saber Alter 1st version 2008 model it is mostly yellowish and brownish. May i ask you for more information with regards to which method did you use to revert the yellowing on your WS Al Azif. Thank you in advance!

My Kanu is pretty yellowed. I will give it a try as well!

Hi Meguchi,

 

i have a Saber Alter 1st version 2008 model it is mostly yellowish and brownish. May i ask you for more information with regards to which method did you use to revert the yellowing on your WS Al Azif. Thank you in advance!

 

sent u a pm

Thank you very much Meguchi for your kind info sharing. Will proceed to try that method out once i have the items needed. Thank you very much again!

Does anyone know if this breaks down the vinyl or resin at all? I guess if you leave it on to long it may break it down... also does it come out even or is the deyellowing patchy?

Does anyone know if this breaks down the vinyl or resin at all? I guess if you leave it on to long it may break it down... also does it come out even or is the deyellowing patchy?

 

 

No cracking or breaking ever happened to me, as for the evenness in the treatment I just made sure everything is covered and repeated the treatment if yellowing persists. Just make sure u turn it over every 15 minutes for a total of 1 to 2 hours or as desired, also make sure it doesn't get too hot. UV is doing the trick not heat. My Al Azif is still okay so far, I didn't have to repeat the treatment. But each batch of Vinyl made by volks is different and My Al Azif is 10 years old so I would advice that u try it on a limb first before going gung-

ho on the face-up

Hi Meguchi,

 

i have a Saber Alter 1st version 2008 model it is mostly yellowish and brownish. May i ask you for more information with regards to which method did you use to revert the yellowing on your WS Al Azif. Thank you in advance!

 

sent u a pm

 

Hi, I recently found this post while looking for a solution to my yellowing Nia Dollfie Dream. Is there any way you could pm me your method to restore Al Azif as well? I'd love to attempt it on my Nia, but I want to make sure to take the proper precautions to make sure her faceup won't be damaged. Thank you for any help you can provide!

Hi, I recently found this post while looking for a solution to my yellowing Nia Dollfie Dream. Is there any way you could pm me your method to restore Al Azif as well? I'd love to attempt it on my Nia, but I want to make sure to take the proper precautions to make sure her faceup won't be damaged. Thank you for any help you can provide!

 

I didnt really take any precautions, I just took the eyes out (btw it also works on resin eyes I'll post a before and after in the future) and smothered the whole face with saloncare 40 (hydrogen peroxide creme form) and put her out underneath the sun for 2 hours making sure each area gets an adequate exposure. It's really a gamble since I dont know how the creme would react on Nia's face up...(but it works 100% on Al Azifs) so yeah... I wouldn't suggest to do it on a face up I'm not planning to get redone, as for other body parts it should be relatively safe. I know Nia is notorious for yellowing. I do hope you can restore her.

Hi, I recently found this post while looking for a solution to my yellowing Nia Dollfie Dream. Is there any way you could pm me your method to restore Al Azif as well? I'd love to attempt it on my Nia, but I want to make sure to take the proper precautions to make sure her faceup won't be damaged. Thank you for any help you can provide!

 

I didnt really take any precautions, I just took the eyes out (btw it also works on resin eyes I'll post a before and after in the future) and smothered the whole face with saloncare 40 (hydrogen peroxide creme form) and put her out underneath the sun for 2 hours making sure each area gets an adequate exposure. It's really a gamble since I dont know how the creme would react on Nia's face up...(but it works 100% on Al Azifs) so yeah... I wouldn't suggest to do it on a face up I'm not planning to get redone, as for other body parts it should be relatively safe. I know Nia is notorious for yellowing. I do hope you can restore her.

 

Thank you for your advice! I ended up pressing white poster tack against the painted parts of her face up to put a barrier between them and the Salon Care 40. It worked out really well. After peeling the poster tack off, her faceup is still perfectly in tact after two treatments and the tint of her head and body have whitened considerably. She's looking great, thank you for making this post! I would never have known about this solution otherwise, and it's helped so much!

updated with newer experiments due to @Yumeiro 's post. Hope it helps~!

Whoa, glad to stumble upon this!  I've wondered since starting my exploration of vinyl dolls if RetroBrighting could be effectively used to remove yellowing, and I'm glad to see it can work!

This is the method that I'm most familiar with*; the key part here is it uses 12% hydrogen peroxide, not 3%, which is what's sold for household use.  You have to order it online, but you can also use it again and again, so one jug of it should last you a long while.  Go crazy, Retrobright everything you own!  You could also buy less and just Retrobright parts one at a time in a smaller container, but I definitely think this is the best and fastest way to go if you've got a lot of pieces to do at once.  You can of course achieve the same result using the cream solutions and sunlight though, this is just much faster, which might be worth it for some people, or if you're in a situation where access to direct daily sunlight isn't available.

*linked to the YT video because for some reason it wouldn't auto-embed itself

At the moment, I have to dispute the findings of this treatment on resin eyes. Yellowing of resin happens in the resin itself and is a result of a chemical reaction in the hardener and resin after curing, not on the surface like oxidization on plastics. Resin is non porous as well, so the peroxide solution will not penetrate. Vinyl is porous, so what you're seeing is a surface bleaching and penetration into the surface itself.

I tried the developer from sally's myself as it was cheap enough to try it. I also purchased the liquid clear developer as well to allow more UV to penetrate into the solution and eyes. The first 2 pics are taken within minutes of each other, blue eyes are BAF eyes from 2-3 years ago, the green are lizanna maple metallic eyes from 3-4 years ago.

The 3rd pic is after 8 hours in overcast light. There is no change. 

The 4th pic is after another 8 hours in direct sunlight and another 4 hours submerged for a total of 12 hours in solution. There is also no change.

Another observation is that the top layer of resin on one of the green eyes cracked and peeled off. I'm not sure if this was a result of damage to the layer previously and it was bound to crack and flake off, or if the developer contributed to the layer losing the bond with the resin underneath, or if the developer was wholly responsible for degrading the resin layer that it compromised the bond. I can't say for certain, so if you are going to try this, do it at your own risk and with understanding that there was an unexpected data point.

I still have some developer left, so maybe when there is stronger and hotter sunlight later into the spring I will revisit this.

Couple things to note, 40 volume developer is 12% hydrogen peroxide. Over the counter medical hydrogen peroxide is 3% concentration. It is possible to get concentrated peroxide in the 30-40% concentration, but it's extremely corrosive/dangerous and requires special handling like any harsh acid or alkaline solution. Gloves, goggles and respirator are required for handling of more pure hydrogen peroxide, but it's available to purchase to anyone, but I doubt it would have any better effect on resin eyes.

Other chemicals in the cream or clear developer include phosphoric acid (in both) and a number of other acids and alcohol in the cream, aside from water. I imagine the phosphoric acid is a stabilizer for the peroxide, otherwise the H2O2 is going to revert back to water very quickly, as the extra oxygen isn't strongly bound.

 

Any Updates regarding the state of your Al Azif, @Meguchi?

I'm asking because I recently stumbled upon a post on Weibo from someone who apparently bleached a DD head, only to have it turn horribly yellow after half a year. Here's the link for anyone who's interested. Maybe anyone can share some more insight on what Google translator was able to tell me about this as well. 

Google translate seems to have got most of it right.

- OP bleached a white skin DD head that was only slightly yellow. Only the headcap had patches of yellowing. It sounds like they dunked the entire head in actual bleach... The bleaching appeared to be a great success at first, but then the entire head started yellowing rapidly after half a year and is now much more yellow than it originally was!

- The head is from 2008. They bleached it in 2019.

- The pics show the head with its original body. The head and body were originally the same colour.

- They definitely DO NOT recommend this method, unless you are truly desperate!

Edited October 26, 2021 by nami