Electrolux Silverado plastic yellowing

[mjhoshaw]

It seems that most of the Silverados I see on this forum have some yellowed plastic parts. I attribute that to the various parts being made from different kinds of plastic. The same parts are yellowed on my Silverado as the ones I see in the forum. Will any of the various plastic restoring techniques out there work in this case? If so, I will put in the effort on my handsome, sturdy machine. Thanks.

Joel

 

[suckolux]

My baby has some pieces which have yellowed.

 

[human]

Style Care 40...

There's a product called Style Care 40, which is a strong hydrogen peroxide creme solution used as a dye activator in hair salons. You can buy it places like Sally Beauty Supply. Not only will it bleach hair, it will bleach plastics. Just spread the stuff on in an even coating, wrap the piece in plastic wrap and set it in the sun for a few hours. Ironically, the same UV radiation that discolored the piece will work in concert with the peroxide to bleach the plastic back to its original hue.

 

[dysonman1]

I'm very lucky my Silverado has not faded. Almost all the ones I see have turned yellow on top. I know that's not the right rug/floor tool in my pic, but it's from my Commemorative Edition that I got from the Vice President of Electrolux and I kind of think it looks good with the Silverado.

 

[mjhoshaw]

Nice match-up

Thank you, human. Dysonman1, I think it looks splendid.

Joel

 

[jo]

Thanks

For the information. Not only are parts of my Silverado yellowed but so many other things!

Jon

 

[tylerhawkins84]

Mine had it to

I acquired a Silverado tank and hose from my grandma a few months ago. I cleaned it up and made it look a lot better but the plastic on the upper panel and On/Off switch had turned to an ugly shade of almost greenish brown probably from UV rays as she kept it out in the kitchen most of the time. The wheels were affected to but to a slightly lesser degree. It reminded me of how plastic will discolor from cigarette smoke but my grandparents never smoked so I know that wasn't the cause. I bought another unit on eBay because it had an excellent original woven hose and I wanted to replace the ugly vinyl hose my grandma had been using. Lo and behold the new unit had virtually no discoloration on it's plastic trim. I decided I wanted to switch out the panels. My unit was probably from '82 as it had the earlier sticker design on the metal insert with the "Silverado" text in gray instead of red and I know when my grandma had the PN it was the metal PN4 design. I decided to try and switch out the metal inserts to keep mine looking original and it wasn't to bad, just had to gently bend the tabs on the underside enough to pop it off. The replacement must have been from one of the last '84 models because it says at the front in red lettering "use only genuine Electrolux bags" which I guess indicates it has the newer single stage motor but I can't verify that as I haven't and probably won't take it apart. I can verify mine does have the 2 stage double fan motor though and my original panel didn't have that warning. I have heard of Retrobriteing white plastic but don't know if it would work on gray. I suppose it may. I have seen this same discoloration on gray Kirby cords so it must be the way UV affects the dye.

 

[electrikbroomgu]

Yellowing

I have been playing around with restoring yellowed white, grey and blue plastic pieces for several years now. Being left in the sun or around cigarette smoke is sure a factor in yellowing but I also notice heat in general also does it as many of my Regina's and Hoovers have yellowed in my upstairs vacuum room with the shades pulled down and no sun getting in and a cigarette has never been smoked in this house. It also seems to be quite random and it doesn't matter if its 1950's plastic or 1990's or newer.

I have de-yellowed numerous plastic pieces over the years. Sadly it doesn't last as the tell tale yellowing eventually returns. The only way I have found that lasts on white plastic is painting it with Krylon white plastic paint. The blue and grey pieces I have had to retreat several times to banish the yellowing but sadly it will come back down the road. If somebody has figured out a way to keep treated pieces from going yellow again I would sure love to know the secret.

Joel