colour faded bmx seat,what to do?

marc two tone

Retrobike Rider
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hi guys,this bmx seat has suffered somewhat cosmetically.
originally white it is now 50% caramel/yellow.
id like to restore if possible,ever encountered this problem?
other than throw in the bin is there anything i can do?

thanks for looking.

marc.
 

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Here's my thread on another site - you can use this for seats but it the time in there that can kill a seat ;)

cheers B ;)


Right Bleaching your mags

If you have a set of white mags laying around, and you want to make them look good for a ride - there are a couple of things to take into account

what you will need
- tub to bleach in
- bleach
- gloves (goggles if needed)
- degreaser
- soappy water
- drying towel / cloth
- hook / poll to stir with
- household polish if wanted to shine

WARNING !
remember if you have kids or pets - keep the tub out of reach - if you do this inside the smell will taint every thing - and fumes can be harmfull to all !

1- how dirty they look in the first place - if there caked in muck and grease, once you finish of cause there going to look better in your eyes

2- if this is your first set of bleaching you may be expecting them to turn snow white - sadly this will not be the case

3- if you want pure white ! you will have to buy new/nos one's and even then they may not be snow white

Bleaching

Before chucking them in the bleach a couple of things

1- wash them with a degreasing soap - you can get some thing like brake & clutch cleaner, this will disperse and brake up the old dirt and grease - they will now need a good wash - and yes get into the corners and hard to reach places - the more they are clean the better the results

2- make sure you know what you are going to bleach them in - a plastic tub from home-base or B&Q works best - flexy with two handles - some tubs or boxes can leak colours when bleaching in them ( the above item seem to be ok ) if colours leak this could stop the mags turning whiter

3- what bleach is best to use ? 6litres for 20p or brand name ?
well i've tried both and for me a house hold brand (domestos) works best - why ? well i feel it is not so watered down and a better strength - the cheaper stuff from from overseas supermarkets has been to watered down - there forth has not so much strength to it :cry:

4- grease any parts that are metal if you are leaving them in for a long time - clear grease is best used as if it a dark grease, it might stain the white plastic/nylon and you don't want yellow/brown marks on you white mags !

5 salt - when used in dying, it opens up the pours in the nylon - hot water is used with the salt to ad this process - so here we have two things to think about - if you use hot water with the bleach it might create vapour that could be harmful if breathed in ? - it might melt the grease to fast and let the salt get to the metal - this is not the case with dying mags as that is a 24-48 hour process but bleaching can be left in for about a week or so ! the results for using salt has not verified

so how long then ?

1-well once you have washed and degrease the mags, you might see little hair line black marks - this is where the aging process has allowed the plastic/nylon to harden and crack (it's the same with old china plates that have a crackling/craze patten on them ) add the fact that they have been used for riding and jumps - hence dirt get into the hair line cracks.
removing them can make the mags look a little whiter

2- I leave mine in a dark tub out side, but covered so sun light can't get in - as sun light will not help as it will turn bleaching plastic yellowish - the UV rays brake down and ad the aging process in the nylon/plastic - speeding it up and making them brittle and yellowish - this is why you should not leave them in for too long - i would say about a week to 10 days is as about as long as they need !

3- stir them once a day - bleach will sink to the bottom and will need to be moved about for best results - also turn them over to the other side, so they get an equal going over in the tub - use a hook to reach into the tub, to get them out to turn them over

4- they will only go a soft / creamy / off white - they will never go snow white unless they have never been ridden or out of the box or kept out the sunlight - remember if they have been used they have dirt - UV light - aging process, all of these will take it form white to yellowish - be happy if they look clean and are more whiter than before you started !

5- wash them off with good soapy clean water - rinse with cold water - then wipe/dry with a clean cloth - i leave mine in the airing cupboard, which allows them to dry all the moisture out before putting any metal parts back again

6- you can put polish on them to give it a bit more of a shine - house hold polish can be used, but spay onto the cloth and work in - don't spray on to the mag as it might leave splatter marks
if ridding the mags - don't put polish on the brake rim as stopping may be a problem !

dying with the help of bleach !

if you are dying coloured mags back to there original colour - bleaching can help with some mags

if you have two different mags of the same colour but not a pair/set - meaning that two yellows don't quiet match - put them in the bleach (see above) and this should drain the colour out of them ~ also taking out the black hair line black cracks - then re-dye the pair at the same time with dylon - this should make them equal in coulor.

well i hope this helps you lot out there - don't forget this is just one member's findings - in your own bleaching/dying process, you might find a better way or results slightly different as methods may be don't in different amounts or time scale !

i will be more than happy to try and answer any question you have !

CHEERS BENDYCAT ELEVENTEEN
 
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