Cleaning Plastic

[dratomic]

I have a vintage (ca. 1950s) Ohio Arts AstroRay gun. There's a white plastic piece on the front of the gun that appears to be made out of the same material as the Thunder Robot's prop -- that softer, smooth plastic that no one seems able to paint.

The piece has become a bit musty with age, and I was wondering if it'd be a bad idea to submerge it for a while in a cup of dilluted bleach (like a home cleanser or something). Will this eat away at the plastic? Will this even help make it whiter? Is there a better way to brighten it up?

This isn't vital -- it's pretty clean as it is. But if I could shine it up, that'd be nice.

[robot polishing his rocket]

my mother always told me never to bleach my white shirts. because the bleach will turn them yellow if you do.

i thought this was some old-wives-tale until i tried it – she was right!

i'm not too sure if plastic would react in the same way, even if the bleach is dilluted.

if i were you doc, i'd leave it alone. old toys always look better looking old.

:)

[Velocity]

Here's a trick I learned from my wife, used to get white fabrics brilliant white without using bleach. She uses Cream of Tartar, a powdery white substance found in the spice & seasoning section of any supermarket. Make a paste with the tartar and gently clean the target surface. Then expose it to direct daylight for about an hour. The whitening effect is amazing (on linens, anyway). Might work on plastic, and it can't hurt it.

[dratomic]

Thanks for the advice... On second thought, though, I've decided to follow RPHR's advice and just leave it as it is. I'm not sure what I was thinking on this one -- I, too, like old things to look old. I think I got caught up in the act of cleaning the gun (old is one thing -- this had about 50 years of dust on it) and just wanted to get the ray gun shining.

It's pretty darn bright as it is, so that's that. But again, thanks for the info guys.