Any tips on brightening old white plastic?

[Martinm210]

My new 066 build is coming along nicely, but now that I've done alot of paint striping and repainting of the case and metal goodies, that white is looking even more yellow now.

I tried bleach and a few other household goods, but it seems sanding is the only thing that's at all effective at making the yellow go away on white plastic.

Are there any other tips you have besides paint? I refuse to paint plastic, it seems like in the handle area, it would get torn up way too fast and look worse than the pale white.

Any way on making those whites bright again?

And no I don't us ALL and I don't separate my colors...lol!

I probably won't care after the first cord of wood, but it's snowing outside, firewood season is a ways off yet... and I've got a project to work on...

 

[husky455rancher]

maybe a light rubbing compound? i would think that would work well and not be as harsh as sanding.

 

[stihlboy]

My new 066 build is coming along nicely, but now that I've done alot of paint striping and repainting of the case and metal goodies, that white is looking even more yellow now.

I tried bleach and a few other household goods, but it seems sanding is the only thing that's at all effective at making the yellow go away on white plastic.

Are there any other tips you have besides paint? I refuse to paint plastic, it seems like in the handle area, it would get torn up way too fast and look worse than the pale white.

Any way on making those whites bright again?

And no I don't us ALL and I don't separate my colors...lol!

I probably won't care after the first cord of wood, but it's snowing outside, firewood season is a ways off yet... and I've got a project to work on...

sand it with super high grit sand paper then clear-coat it

 

[TreePointer]

Powdered cleanser like Barkeeper's Friend or Comet w/bleach. I've never used it on chainsaw plastics, but they've worked very well on other plastics and even some painted surfaces. Try it in a small obscure area of the plastic.

 

[davefr]

In my experience you can't effectively restore Stihl plastics to like new condition. Unlike other plastics, they usually don't take to polishing compounds and/or plastic cleaners.

If you use an abrasive you might clean them up but they become even more susceptable to staining and getting dirty.

Stihl plastics are unlike any plastics I've ever worked on before.

Just wash them well and leave it at that. Or find better ones on Ebay.

 

[warjohn]

Depenfing on how bad it is novus pkastic polish will help.

 

[Texas Traveler]

In my experience you can't effectively restore Stihl plastics to like new condition. Unlike other plastics, they usually don't take to polishing compounds and/or plastic cleaners.

If you use an abrasive you might clean them up but they become even more susceptable to staining and getting dirty.

Stihl plastics are unlike any plastics I've ever worked on before.

Just wash them well and leave it at that. Or find better ones on Ebay.

Not So!!
Equipment dealers preparing machinery for auctions use a product called Dakota shine to restore heavy plastics & decals for auctions.

This stuff works wonders on plastic. It is a two part process first part is a cleaner & softener, the second part is a hardener.
It is hard to buy it because they like to sell & ship in large amounts .
I have at times gotten sale samples of the product, but they may be more flexable now.

 

[Jacob J.]

Not So!!
Equipment dealers preparing machinery for auctions use a product called Dakota shine to restore heavy plastics & decals for auctions.

This stuff works wonders on plastic. It is a two part process first part is a cleaner & softener, the second part is a hardener.
It is hard to buy it because they like to sell & ship in large amounts .
I have at times gotten sale samples of the product, but they may be more flexable now.

Yeah but have you tried those products on Stihl plastic tanks and covers specifically? Dave is right, Stihl's plastic is a proprietary compound which can be really hard to work with.

 

[Lakeside53]

It's not propriatory.... just not what is usually found as more common plastics - it's PA66-GF or... in common speak - Nylon, fiberglass filled. Tough stuff, and very good... but the cleaners mentioned won't do much.

 

[parrisw]

Take the plastic handle to a body supply shop, have them mix you some paint to match the puke yellow white, and paint the rest of the saw to match the handle!! Voila its magic.

 

[Jacob J.]

It's not propriatory.... just not what is usually found as more common plastics - it's PA66-GF or... in common speak - Nylon, fiberglass filled. Tough stuff, and very good... but the cleaners mentioned won't do much.

I was meaning as far as chainsaw stuff. The Husky plastic in say, a newer 372 tank I can work with- even with plastic 'welding' on repairs. I just have not had any luck with Stihl tanks. There was a run of polymer-flywheel 066 tanks I ran into that had split on the seam on the bottom. I never did a good fix for that.

 

[Lakeside53]

I understand that well... Nylon is bit?h to plastic weld (and I have a pro hot air welder!)... but that's what makes it so tough. I've got reasonable good at it, after I got the correct filler rod. The glass fiber sure does help JB weld to stick though


Any one wanting to paint stihl tanks - tell the painter it's PA66... it's all in choosing the correct primer.

 

[davefr]

Take the plastic handle to a body supply shop, have them mix you some paint to match the puke yellow white, and paint the rest of the saw to match the handle!! Voila its magic.

That's an option but it gets very expensive very quickly. To professionally paint just about anything you need:

1. Primer (two part if epoxy, then a reducer made for that type of primer)
2. Paint (usually 1 qt is the minimum purchase for a custom color). There's often a special charge for custom matching unless you can match it with an industry standard color. Most paints also require a catalyst for best results. They also require a reducer and it's often not the same as what's used in #1.
3. If you want a clear coat then that's another quart of paint. Usually the reducer and catalyst is the same as what's used in #2.
4. Don't forget things like strainers, sandpaper, scotch brite, wax and grease removers, etc.

In my experience it's rare that you come out of an auto body supply shop without dropping at least a C note. However the results will be far superior then what you can achieve with a can of Krylon.

If you want to renew things like shrouds/covers, it's often cheaper to shop for some nice ones on Ebay.

 

[blsnelling]

I've never found a way to remove stians from the white plastic.

 

[stihl only]

I probably won't care after the first cord of wood.....

Sounds like the answer to me right there. Don't get me wrong, when I'm doing a build, I clean everything as good as I can, but I don't try to detail a saw that I am going to use to cut wood! I actually prefer an older but mechanically perfect saw to a new one because I don't feel like I have to try so hard not to put and marks on it!

Just run it like you stole it!

 

[rb_in_va]

Not sure if it would work but has anyone tried magic eraser on the white plastic? I've found that the magic eraser will get lots of stuff off of lots of surfaces. Would be worth a shot as they are good for cleaning so many other things.

 

[flashy]

oops! my bad....

.......old white plastic.....


I thought this was the politics forum and you were talking about Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi. :monkey:

Never mind.
Carry on.
As you were.

 

[blsnelling]

The stains in the white plastic impregnate the plastic. It is not just on the surface. I don't think you're going to remove it.

 

[davefr]

Not sure if it would work but has anyone tried magic eraser on the white plastic? I've found that the magic eraser will get lots of stuff off of lots of surfaces. Would be worth a shot as they are good for cleaning so many other things.

It might be worth a try but the magic eraser is just a rubberised abrasive. Stihl plastics can definately be abraded but after a certain grit they become almost impervious to finer and finer polishing which is what's needed to renew most surfaces. You are then left with a scratched surface that becomes a magnet for holding in new stains and dirt.

In a previous thread someone suggested heating them with a heat gun almost to the melting point to bring back the color and shine but I've never attempted it.

I guess the same thing that makes Stihl plastic tough makes them resist polishing.

 

[gregz]

when I cleaned up my old 66 I had no luck with the white plastic/handle. I tried everything.
I had great results with the orange covers using rubbing compound and turtle cleaner wax..
The old metal 066 tag was worn and no longer available so I replaced it with a newer plastic one.
Most people would not of picked this saw out of a ditch when I
bought it last year. It ran excellent just looked real bad
Little work and 17 year old saw looks good .
Lets see some pics!!