Best way to remove yellowing?

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • mrfuser
    Service Manager

    Site Contributor
    1,000+ Posts
    • May 2007
    • 1580

    Best way to remove yellowing?

    Ok gurus . What have you found to remove (or at least lighten) yellowing on the bizhubs?
  • copyman
    Owner / Technician

    Site Contributor
    2,500+ Posts
    • Sep 2005
    • 4143

    #2
    Re: Best way to remove yellowing?

    If they are yellow from the sun or smoke (not as often now a days) than not much can be done to bring them back. They fade throughout the whole plastic. The best I've found to get them looking decent is a damp sos pad and scrub in circular motions, than wipe off good. This after removing labels with WD-40, alcohol, etc. Final touch right before stretch wrapping is spray WD-40 onto paper towel and put a light coating of it on the brown part of covers and makes them look shiny and new.

    By the way isn't it weird that some bizhub covers will yellow and one right next to it will stay nice & white !!!

    Back in the day painting copier covers was a big business. When you did a complete down to the frame rebuild (don't try that today) you would send the covers away to be repainted to exact OEM colors. They also sold cans of OEM paints, Ricoh beige, etc.
    Covers back than were mostly yellow from smoking in offices.

    Comment

    • Toxic
      Senior Tech

      500+ Posts
      • Dec 2009
      • 690

      #3
      Re: Best way to remove yellowing?

      Nice catch Copyman,i was thinking problem is some yellow background or something like that .

      Comment

      • tsbservice
        Field tech

        Site Contributor
        5,000+ Posts
        • May 2007
        • 7569

        #4
        Re: Best way to remove yellowing?

        Have bizhub C224e in office waiting for me to experiment with yellow covers. Will report when done.
        Some plastics are recycled, some not I think yellow ones are from recycled plastic.
        A tree is known by its fruit, a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost, he who sows courtesy, reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.
        Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.

        Comment

        • blackcat4866
          Master Of The Obvious

          Site Contributor
          10,000+ Posts
          • Jul 2007
          • 22662

          #5
          Re: Best way to remove yellowing?

          Do a little Google searching. There's a company that "treats" plastic covers. It's a chemical treatment.

          Yes, the yellowing goes all the way through the plastic, and the gentleman that does it claims that he can "restore" original condition. =^..^=
          If you'd like a serious answer to your request:
          1) demonstrate that you've read the manual
          2) demonstrate that you made some attempt to fix it.
          3) if you're going to ask about jams include the jam code.
          4) if you're going to ask about an error code include the error code.
          5) You are the person onsite. Only you can make observations.

          blackcat: Master Of The Obvious =^..^=

          Comment

          • copiertec
            Service Manager

            Site Contributor
            1,000+ Posts
            • Jan 2016
            • 2172

            #6
            Re: Best way to remove yellowing?

            Back in the day painting copier covers was a big business. When you did a complete down to the frame rebuild (don't try that today) you would send the covers away to be repainted to exact OEM colors. They also sold cans of OEM paints, Ricoh beige, etc.
            Covers back than were mostly yellow from smoking in offices.

            I went to Sharp school at a facility that would repaint the entire covers and refurbish the copiers, zero the meters out and stamp a refurbished sticker on them, it was interesting to see the process to watch, the copiers looked brand new, they would then put them on a pallet and wrap them with some spay foam, box them and send them out.
            I know you can't use appliance spay paint, I tried it once (maybe twice), and a few months later or less the printer looked worse because the paint was basically all scrapped off, it was a mismatch of old yellow panels with the white appliance paint; it looked as though maybe it had fallen off the back of a moving vehicle and rolled several times. Appliance paint works on metal stands but definitely not plastic printer/ copier covers, I guess that is why they call it "appliance paint." One of my My Homer Simpson moments!

            Comment

            • allan
              RTFM!!

              5,000+ Posts
              • Apr 2010
              • 5445

              #7
              Re: Best way to remove yellowing?

              Retr0bright
              Whatever

              Comment

              • Hansoon
                Field Supervisor

                Site Contributor
                2,500+ Posts
                • Sep 2007
                • 3273

                #8
                Re: Best way to remove yellowing?

                Retr0bright - Wikipedia


                Hans
                " Sent from my Intel 80286 using MS-DOS 2.0 "

                Comment

                • DigiMan
                  Trusted Tech

                  Site Contributor
                  250+ Posts
                  • Jan 2013
                  • 262

                  #9
                  Re: Best way to remove yellowing?

                  Basic ingredient... tetraacetylethylenediamine
                  Damn
                  I knew i had to choose an alchemist class
                  Last edited by DigiMan; 07-18-2019, 12:47 PM.
                  I don't like the new copier I just bought. It says "put face down" but every time I do it, it blinds my eyes.

                  Comment

                  • guitar9199
                    Service Manager

                    Site Contributor
                    1,000+ Posts
                    • Sep 2016
                    • 1097

                    #10
                    Re: Best way to remove yellowing?

                    My boss used to tell the customers, "That's the 'Gold Package' upgrade. We normally charge extra for that, but we're throwing it in as a 'Valued Customer' bonus!"

                    ...not sure if anyone actually BOUGHT that line of "Bovine Scatology", but at least it SOUNDED nice.

                    Comment

                    • arahael
                      Technician

                      Site Contributor
                      50+ Posts
                      • Mar 2013
                      • 96

                      #11
                      Re: Best way to remove yellowing?

                      maxima-utleniacz-w-kremie-1000ml.jpg 1-2 mm to cover and give it to sun. Try search strongest %%

                      Comment

                      • qbert69
                        Service Manager

                        1,000+ Posts
                        • Mar 2013
                        • 1152

                        #12
                        Re: Best way to remove yellowing?

                        Originally posted by arahael
                        [ATTACH=CONFIG]43146[/ATTACH] 1-2 mm to cover and give it to sun. Try search strongest %%
                        50% Volume Cream Bleach If You Can Get It!!!
                        BTW--The Yellowing is caused by Brominated Fire Retardants in the Plastic!!!


                        PS--I use the 40% out in the bright sun for an hour plus and it works quite well!!!
                        REACH FOR THE STARS!!!
                        Konica Minolta Planetariums!
                        https://www.konicaminolta.com/planet...gma/index.html

                        Comment

                        • Bix
                          Service Manager

                          1,000+ Posts
                          • Apr 2018
                          • 1421

                          #13
                          Re: Best way to remove yellowing?

                          Hi, I remove the yellow layer directly with sandpaper and then proceed to polishing.
                          Printers come back like new

                          Comment

                          Working...