Accidental Plastic Rejuvenator Discovered

[foakes]

Like many of us, plastics when faded or discolored have always been a hit & miss proposition to bring back to new.

I have tried at least 10 or 12 products over the years —- ranging from kitchen products, automotive products, antique radio and camera cleaners.  Penetrol, Black Magic, rubber and plastic miracle restorers, Armoral, waxes, WD40, polishes, and more.  Some of these have even permanently ruined the part appearance.

For years, I have used WRL191S oil for a superior (in my opinion after working on tens of thousands of reels) synthetic oil.  I accidentally spilled some on a black plastic spool.  After wiping it off, I discovered it looked nearly new.

So I figured that after it had a chance to dry out further —- it would go back to discolored, faded, and white.  Well, a week later, it still looked like new.

So then I tried it on a few more spools.

It was actually spooky how well and how easy it worked.

I guess one could drop the whole spool into a vat of the WRL191S —- let it soak for a while —- then wipe it down.

But what I do is just brush on the oil with a flux brush —- let it set 10 minutes while working on the rest of the reel.  Then wipe it dry and reassemble the spool innards.

I couldn't figure out why this worked so much better than anything else actually designed for the purpose of bringing plastics back to life.

Only thing I could figure was that it is designed to penetrate into steel cables in harsh salt & fresh water conditions —- and stay in place to protect the cables.

So far, it hasn't harmed one spool or crank knob —-

And it is quick and dead simple to use —- plus safe.

Here is a DAM Quick 330 whose spool was actually more faded and discolored than the example I put beside it for this photo.  It has now been over a month and a half —- and still looks new.  It is from the PNW —- and used primarily in salt water —- and had never been serviced completely since new 60 years ago. Client's father bought it for him when it came out as new in '64.

It is possible that other less expensive oils with some sort of penetrating qualities may also work as well.  I don't know.  But this sure works!

Best, Fred

[Benni3]

Looks good,,,, I have been using 3m plastic polish it came out in 1995 it's not as good "epa" but with a drill and pad,,,little elbow grease in the hard to reach areas it pops,,,,,

[jurelometer]

Just a quick note about rejuvenation.

When a plastic oxidizes from UV and other environmental exposure, it undergoes a molecular transformation.  I am not a chemist, so I don't want to try to dive too deeply into this, plus the exact transformation will vary based on the material. But in general, the plastic will become more crystalline, lose molecular weight, and microfracture. If the damage is at the very surface, the effect will be cosmetic - that typical faded chalky coating.  Once the damage penetrates far enough, this decomposition eventually ruins the part.

To my knowledge, there is no way to undo this degradation.  Your options for surface damage are some combination of removing the damaged material, applying a chemical that masks the damage from a cosmetic perspective, and/or applying a UV inhibitor to shield the product from some of the future UV exposure.

I would guess that this particular product is basically masking by filling in the microfractures  with an oil or other liquid creating a smooth appearance with less white light reflected- a cosmetic rejuvenation.

This is not to say that cosmetic treatments are not worthwhile, just that they will not undo any of the  decomposition that has occurred, and if the product does not leave any UV inhibitors (reflecting UV light) it will not prevent future degradation. Also, some oils will actually accelerate the decomposition of some plastics. There are tables for this from plastics manufacturers.  It looks like 191s is a synthetic hydrocarbon oil plus some secret ingredients.  Nylon tends to be more compatible with synthetic oil, so for "graphite" (actually fiber filled nylon) parts, maybe less of a risk.  No idea about Bakelite or whatever plastics are used in classic spinners.

Since Fred have been using 191s for many years now, he has some useful data on the risks and rewards for this particular product with the plastic parts that he works with, but I would suggest that in general, we might want to exercise caution on treating plastic parts with random liquid chemicals.

There are some plastic "rejuvenation" and/or protection products on the market that might be worth taking a look at.  Stuff like 303 Aerospace Protectant, and those car plastic restoration products.  One issue is that they usually don't have any material specific information,  just a claim along the lines of "works with most plastics".  I contacted one of the manufacturers once and got back a pretty useless response.

-J

[Vintage Offshore Tackle]

Fred, where can I buy the WRL191S?  My search turned up Jaymor 191S.  Is that equivalent to the WRL?

Thank you,
Randy

[oc1]

I agree with Dave.  But the oil penetrated into the oxidized surface can be mechanically removed because it is softer than the polymer and not really bonded to anything.  It just sits there in the crevices.  It might look good on the shelf for a very long time.  But, wear, handling or washing will slowly remove it requiring reapplication.  The important thing is that it seems to last longer than other oils.  I suspect the reason is that the Jaymors has little or no volatiles so it does not dissipate or dry.

[foakes]

Fred, where can I buy the WRL191S?  My search turned up Jaymor 191S.  Is that equivalent to the WRL?

Thank you,
Randy

Yes, that is it Randy —-

If you want, just let me know and I'll send you some to try.

I'm about ready to buy another gallon pretty soon, anyway.

Best, Fred

[jgp12000]

I accidently did this with synthetic Lucas Reel Oil on a faded blue Dolphin Level wind.
It made it look new again,been 3 years now.330 looks like it's 64' again,your work always looks great!

[JasonGotaProblem]

I did this with TSI. Looked great for a few months now it's faded again.

[Lunker Larry]

For faded Shimano Tekotas' and Penns I rub in SuperLube, let it sit while working on the reel and then buff up. Brings it back to life. Not sure of the longevity though.

[Vintage Offshore Tackle]

Fred, where can I buy the WRL191S?  My search turned up Jaymor 191S.  Is that equivalent to the WRL?

Thank you,
Randy

Yes, that is it Randy —-

If you want, just let me know and I'll send you some to try.

I'm about ready to buy another gallon pretty soon, anyway.

Best, Fred

Thank you Fred.  I will order some from Jaymor.

[Midway Tommy]

303 Aerospace isn't that much superior to ArmorAll. They have similar, but not the same, ingredients. Both look good for awhile but both will breakdown fairly quickly when exposed to real world light & moistures.

[jurelometer]

303 Aerospace isn't that much superior to ArmorAll. They have similar, but not the same, ingredients. Both look good for awhile but both will breakdown fairly quickly when exposed to real world light & moistures.

As I understand it, these UV protective products work by providing a sacrificial layer that absorbs UV rays instead of the surrounding material. Sort of like sunscreen for plastics . Just like sunscreen, it needs to be reapplied at intervals (hopefully not as frequently as sunscreen ), and does nothing for existing surface appearance unless it includes extra ingredients for this purpose.

I could find next to nothing on ingredients for 303 and ArmorAll. My standard trick is to check the SDS, but 303 contains no ingredients that require listing, and ArmorAll contains only one.

No experience myself with either product.

-J

[DougK]

use Armorall and 303 on my plastic canoe hulls, as Tommy says, they have to be reapplied every couple of months. Both produce a better look and a slicker hull (good for going faster) but it don't last.
On a Kevlar canoe which is epoxy rather than plastic, use Meguiar's Marine Wax, with much the same results.
Now I have a large basement, some of the canoes get stored indoors, and the protectants only need to be applied at beginning and end of season.

I've used 3-in-One oil on worn plastic reels, it seems to hold up quite well. Need to try the Jaymors as well.

My DAM 220 spool actually cracked some years ago, bought a fresh one off ebay..