Retrobrite Vapor Method

⚠️ Remember to always wear eye protection 🥽 and gloves 🧤 when working with hydrogen peroxide

ℹ️ Background Information

In the past I’ve used various Retrobrite methods to restore some of my yellowed plastics. I’ve used the original Retrobrite paste method successfully, even though it can cause streaks if you don’t apply it evenly. I’ve also submerged items in hydrogen peroxide but that can take a lot of liquid and some plastics love to float. ⛵️

Over the years there have been advancements in the Retrobrite process. People have found out that you only really need 12% hydrogen peroxide and that heat can accelerate the process. 3% takes FOREVER.

When I found out of the new Retrobrite Vapor process I was excited to try it because it addressed some of my past negative experiences. 🤩

The new process involves you enclosing your plastics in an air tight container with some 12% hydrogen peroxide at the bottom of the container. The hydrogen peroxide will start to evaporate and cause condensation which evenly covers the plastics to quickly restore them. ♨

Seems promising! You don’t need that much hydrogen peroxide and you don’t have to worry about even coverage.

Keep on reading for my experience after the directions ⬇️

🔢 Directions

1. Get an air tight container that can fit your plastics, but doesn’t have a lot of extra space. Note: You can still use a larger container but it’ll take more hydrogen peroxide and longer to get started. The container needs to be air tight. My first run I used a container that only snapped closed instead of latched and after 18 hours nothing really happened
2. Disassemble and ✨ clean ✨ your plastics, remove any electronics. Any dirt could block the renewing process
3. Put your plastics in a container with something holding them off the bottom of the container like a smaller bowl or plate
4. Wearing gloves 🧤 and 🥽 eye protection, fill the bottom of the container with 12% hydrogen peroxide. Note: You don’t need to completely fill the bottom, but have roughly enough for the size of your container. I used 1 cup for a 15L container and I was able to do multiple batches, so that may have even been too much
5. Seal and wait. ⏱️ The process can take a few hours to get started, but once you get started you can easily do multiple batches. The items won’t be super wet, but the process is working microscopically! 🔬 Note: I typically left my plastics in for 24 hours, but some were noticeably better after just 6 hours in the sun
6. Use gloves 🧤 to remove your renewed plastics, and wipe them clean if you plan on immediately using them, or let them stand to have all the liquid evaporate. Note: I accidentally burned myself by touching something fresh out of the container that looked dry 😖

🔼 These photos show steps 3 and 5, respectively

👀 Results

I was able to do three separate batches during a 90°F (32°C) heatwave with 14 hours of sunlight, 12 of which were direct ☀️ I only used 2 cups of 12% hydrogen peroxide between two 15 liter latching bins.

🎮 DualShock Controllers

🩶 Gray DualShock

This controller got the worst of the sun and yellowing over the years. I didn’t take the best before pictures, but the results are definitely noticeable:

🔼 The before: yellowish gray. Kinda dim in color

And here’s the same controller after 18 hours, it was noticeably better after 12 hours but I left it in longer to get every last bit of yellow:

🔼 The after: a clearer, brighter, whiter gray

I left it in the container overnight so of those 18 hours 2 would’ve been in indirect sunlight and 10 in the dark. But, it was in the hot sun on a 90°F (32°C) day and recent research shows that the heat can also be a catalyst in the Retrobrite process when there’s no UV light ☀️ When I opened the lid of my container it was steamy ♨️

💙 Blue DualShock

This controller was hard to photograph, but in person you could tell the blue color was a little off. It was also from 2000 like the gray controller.

🔼 Hard to tell but it’s yellow around the edges. I think my phone made the colors pop more than they did in person

This one brightened up quickly, it only really needed 6 hours in the bin. I did this controller in the second batch so the box was already filled with condensation

🔼 I’m blue Da ba dee Da ba di

I also finally found a better place to take natural light photos 📸

🎮 GameBoy Advance

This one was really exciting and has a wonderful improvement. Here’s before:

🔼 White, but is it really?

And here it is after 24 hours in the bin:

🔼 Now that’s white 🤍

It was probably fine after ~14 hours but I didn’t want any yellow left behind so I left it in longer.

I also have a bonus photo comparing it to a similarly sun damaged GameBoy Advance:

🔼 The second one looks so dingy

For the GameBoy Advance I also threw in the side bumpers as well as the L, R, and Start and Select buttons to clear them up too. Surprisingly the A, B, and D-pad were unaffected by the sun. 🚫☀️

📺 PlayStation

This PlayStation was from 2000 and it came with the two controllers pictured above. I also forgot to take before photos before taking it apart 🪛

🔼 You can see the yellow on the corner near the Power button and it’s super noticeable in the sun ☀️

The PlayStation had to be done in three batches. I did the top shell, bottom shell, and lid separately because you’re not allowed to stack pieces. Any shadows may prevent the plastic from resorting 🕶️

🔼 Like it’s fresh out of its box and now matches the controller ports

Each part was left in for 20-24 hours to make sure every last bit of yellowing was gone. You could do it for around 12-18 hours especially on a hot day in direct sun but I didn’t want to have to repeat the process and it’s very hard to overdo the Retrobrite unless you leave it in for days. ☀️🌙

🔼 It ended up being most noticeable on the seam of the lid and the top shell (also it’s less grimey now)

🎓 Lessons Learned

You can’t use 3% hydrogen peroxide. 🙅 I’ve tried this in the past with the submersion method and it takes WEEKS. 🗓️ You need to get the 12% food grade hydrogen peroxide without any added stabilizers.

You absolutely need a bin that seals or latches. The first day I used a bin that only clicked closed on two sides and I never saw the results I was expecting because the humidity must’ve been escaping. Osmosis and all that stuff…

🔼 These bins didn’t latch and I never saw the condensation form

I would encourage you to not have your plastics touching the liquid to prevent uneven restoration, but as long as you’re doing the rest of the process correctly and using enough hydrogen peroxide I don’t think it matters that much. Towards the end I threw in some items that I didn’t really care about and they were half in the hydrogen peroxide and I didn’t notice any uneven streaks even after 18 hours.

🥡 Takeaway

I’ll definitely be using this method as my preferred method in the future! It makes very even results in just a day and doesn’t require you to fully submerge huge items like the PlayStation shells. 😊✅

😊 Special Thanks

Original founder of the Vapor method: https://twitter.com/A3rgan/status/1539964705665454081?t=4j03HEr1s_RJ3-EfWxjQPQ&s=19