Has anyone seen this!!! (whitening yellowed plastics)

[sideswipes brother]

Or better yet tried it!!

Looks good.

http://www.thetf.net/forum_posts-TID-13204-PN-1.htm

Ps. i apologise if this has been reported before.

[jgon2098]

I think it would be an interesting idea for the forum to have a thread where everyone can upload pics of their junk bits.

[jaydisc]

Or better yet tried it!!

Looks good.

http://www.thetf.net/forum_posts-TID-13204-PN-1.htm

Ps. i apologise if this has been reported before.

Sounds awesome! Who wants to test it?

[iceburn]

what's a H2O2?

[TheDirtyDigger]

Hydrogen peroxide. You can buy it in the supermarket if you want to go for that sexy blonde look Iceman. Also it's really fun to put on dead skin from a cut.

[iceburn]

ahhhhhhhh i always colour my hair. :P

[griffin]

I'd be worried about what it does long-term to the integrity of the plastic itself. Bleach is pretty harsh stuff, it could well be breaking down the bonds in the plastic, making it brittle or crumble away over time. If it doesn't affect the integrity of the plastic's molecular structure, it'd be a great fix. But if it does weaken the plastic, this 'short term fix' will be the scourge of the second hand market. You'll get dealers cleaning up their toys, get 'Mint' prices, and the toys crumble and break within a year of it being sold.

[kup]

I'd be worried about what it does long-term to the integrity of the plastic itself. Bleach is pretty harsh stuff, it could well be breaking down the bonds in the plastic, making it brittle or crumble away over time. If it doesn't affect the integrity of the plastic's molecular structure, it'd be a great fix. But if it does weaken the plastic, this 'short term fix' will be the scourge of the second hand market. You'll get dealers cleaning up their toys, get 'Mint' prices, and the toys crumble and break within a year of it being sold.

I agree it would need to have the plastic 'thinned' out since a layer of it would have to be removed. Its not just muck that makes it yellow, its the plastic itself that becomes that color so this technique must break down the surface of it.

Nevertheless it is an awesome alternative (assuming it works) to having a yellowed toy but the bad thing is that once whitened, it will be prone to yellowing regardless and I don't think it will be too healthy to have the same procedure done twice to the same parts.

I have a couple of junky toys I could try it on, like Dogfight and a junker Galvatron.

So what should I look for at the Super Market? I know that if I ask the checkout chick, she will have no idea.

[TheDirtyDigger]

Look for hydrogen peroxide in the health and beauty section. Best bet (and cheapest) is actually to go to the chemists. Chemists are also a lot more helpful than supermarket staff in general.

[kup]

Look for hydrogen peroxide in the health and beauty section. Best bet (and cheapest) is actually to go to the chemists. Chemists are also a lot more helpful than supermarket staff in general.

Would it be called Hydrogen Peroxide in the Beauty and Health Section or would it go by some brand name? Also what's it used for? I know women do crazy things to their skin and hair but acid? :eek:

[TheDirtyDigger]

Yeah just called hydrogen peroxide. I've seen it sold in a brown bottle but I can't remember the company bottling it.
Women do this stuff. You know the really, really blonde girls you see? Marilyn Monroe even used to put it on her nether regions to be blonde all over.

[Kyle]

Keep in mind that the yellowed plastic would already be weak and likely to be brittle. I have no problem of getting rid of a thin layer of the surface. But chances are the chemcial goes in much deeper than that, and would have long term effects inside the already weak and brittle plastic.

[kup]

Keep in mind that the yellowed plastic would already be weak and likely to be brittle. I have no problem of getting rid of a thin layer of the surface. But chances are the chemcial goes in much deeper than that, and would have long term effects inside the already weak and brittle plastic.

Yeah that is why I am going to try it on junker parts first to see how it goes. My Dogfight looks like he didn't survive the battle against Unicron so I will see if I can reignite his spark. He doesn't have much to loose and a lot to gain :)

[jaydisc]

I thought he mentioned that you have to buy a special mix of it and on the 2nd page i think he listed some retailers. I'd follow those links to get a clearer description of what you need before running off to the supermarket.

I'm super keen to see your results though!

[kup]

Sounds like he doesn't mix anything himself the acids he buys already has 25%-30% of the hydroger peroxide. I assume that no supermarket would sell concentrations of it so chances are that it will be that amount too.

It is interesting, it almost seems as he is making it up as his results look so superb, particularly that Fort Max on the second page.

If this works, its a revolution of sorts in toy restoration and the dude and his friend deserves the Transformers version of a Nobel price!

[Lint]

To prevent any serious damage to the plastic I would probably further dilute the supermarket bleach. Its a good idea to monitor your parts regularly and remove them the moment the bleach has removed all colouration. The longer it's in there the more unnecessary damage there will be to the plastic.

[kup]

Alright boys and girls. I have gotten the chemical and I am ready to place poor old Dogfight inside a home made CR tank.

http://www.geocities.com/wow_frostwolf/fun/cr2.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/wow_frostwolf/fun/cr1.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/wow_frostwolf/fun/cr3.jpg

Hopefully he will emerge looking like a newly protoformed 'con. Pray to Primus that he doesn't disolve inside the CR Tank!

[kup]

Dogfight is in the CR Tank and awaiting sunrise tomorrow.

http://www.geocities.com/wow_frostwolf/fun/cr4.jpg

With a bit of Energon and a lot of luck, he should be nice blue tomorrow :)

[liegeprime]

Or white heheheh. Am keeping tabs on this, Ive got 4 bots on the line up for restoration of their colors.

[kup]

Or white heheheh. Am keeping tabs on this, Ive got 4 bots on the line up for restoration of their colors.

Yeah it opens a lot of possibilities if it works. The_Damned is having some good success with white colors so I guess this is the 'colored plastic test'.

I noticed that in the photos, the camera flash makes Dogfight look less yellowed than he actually is. He is (was, I hope :) ) in much worse condition than the pics let on.

[dirge]

Might be needing some new stickers there, Dogfight! (:

[Vector Sigma 13]

I'd be worried about what it does long-term to the integrity of the plastic itself. Bleach is pretty harsh stuff, it could well be breaking down the bonds in the plastic, making it brittle or crumble away over time. If it doesn't affect the integrity of the plastic's molecular structure, it'd be a great fix. But if it does weaken the plastic, this 'short term fix' will be the scourge of the second hand market. You'll get dealers cleaning up their toys, get 'Mint' prices, and the toys crumble and break within a year of it being sold.

I share this concern also. I do look forward into seeing the end results however.

I wonder if just wiping the figure over with peroxide would work (edit- now ive read the article a bit more i dont think so)- this way you could avoid the prolonged exposure to the chemical and perhaps avoid risking the breakdown of the figures structure.

[MV75]

My concern would be that sharp edges in details might loose their edge and become rounded and make the figure look "melted".

See what happens anyway. I have a g1 breakdown I could try..... :)

[heroic_decepticon]

Kup, I eagerly await your test results! :D

***

I have little factual basis for saying the following, but I don't think the H2O2 is as corrosive as is suspected. From the other site's photos, it seems to only remove the yellowing but leave other colours intact. For example the black and red stipes on Jetfire's chest piece remained in their original colours.

Bleach or something more corrosive would have removed all colour quite completely. I think yellowing is a chemical reaction on the surface of the plastic and all the H2O2 does is produce or reverse the chemical reaction thus turning it back into its original colour. At the worse, it would thin out the plastic by a very minute amount.

***

I do share the concern that unethical sellers would benefit greatly from this and it is something to be aware of for people buying vintage TFs. However, if its a toy I already own, there is little to lose to subject it to treatment. If it turns yellow again after a year, it would only have returned to its original yellowed state anyhow.

I'm hoping to try this on my yellowed trypticon and jetfire parts!

[liegeprime]

Well its been a sunny day, So i bought meself a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and dipped one of my worse for wear TFs - RiD Prowl. Here's a pic of him when he first arrived after I migrated him here just this March '08. If he proves to improve with the treatment.... then my Actionmaster Megs will be next.

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb313/liegeprime/Transformers%20Collection/Othercollectibles176.jpg

[heroic_decepticon]

I've just read through the entire post on the other side and it all sounds rosy. He whitened his stuff about 6 months ago and they are still fine now.

gosh, I'm really quite excited by this since I discovered that a few of my vintage TFs turned a tad off white when I visited them in Singapore recently. :D

[kup]

Liege,

Did you disasemble Prowl? I am not sure how the the rubber and other non plastic parts would react with the Hydrogen Peroxide.

Also where did you buy it? I only found mine at the Chemist. Woolworth didn't have any.

Just a couple more hours and I can go home to see what Happened with Dogfight.

Hopefully he hasn't been turned into a Blue milkshake :)

[heroic_decepticon]

Liege,

Did you disasemble Prowl? I am not sure how the the rubber and other non plastic parts would react with the Hydrogen Peroxide.

According to the site, it does damage or have an effect on rubber tyres and clear plastic parts.

[kup]

I got home and had a look at Dogfight. I am sorry to say that the changes were inconsequential (if any) :(

He is the same as before despite being exposed to sunlight for a full day. I put the parts back in the jar just in case it takes it a little longer and will see how it goes tomorrow.

So far I have noticed that the plastic integrity has not been affected at all and there is absolutely no effect on the stickers.

[The_Damned]

[QUOTE=kup;70897]
Also where did you buy it? I only found mine at the Chemist. Woolworth didn't have any.


i got mine from woolworths it was in the medicine aisle with panadol & bandaids the 3% stuff that is and it seems to working a treat

[liegeprime]

Kup:

I dissassembled him to as much as I could, BUt not up to the tires. Ive soaked him overnight now (thanks goodness it was sunny yesterday) Ive checked him and he is quite white now, but not as white as Id like it to be just yet so I left hom soaking still, well some parts only. Ive also added my Action master Megs. I bought the H2O2 from the chemist near my place. couldnt be bothered to go to Blacktown for it. Works like a charm IMO. But so far with the colored bits of fistfight ( Action master Soundwave droid companion) its done little for the yellowing. Oh and so far there is no damage I can tell/feel/ see on the rubber tires.

[liegeprime]

Okay so heres a pic now of my RiD Prowl. The whitening process has unfortunately whitened the autobot symbol as well, oh well that can be fixed with a little sticker anyways, Still not as white as I would like it, in real life ( doesnt show it in pics much) the yellowing is ever, ever so lightly traceable on scrutiny and some of the parts whiteness dont match each other, but hey it better, waaaaaaay better than it was before.

BEFORE
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb313/liegeprime/Transformers%20Collection/Othercollectibles176-1.jpg

AFTER
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb313/liegeprime/NovPurchase025.jpg

Will post megs next once he's boiled off his yellowing to a degree Im agreeable with. :D:D

[dirge]

Neil, I can fix you up with a Autobot logo. Remind me before next meet (or whatever).

[liegeprime]

Neil, I can fix you up with a Autobot logo. Remind me before next meet (or whatever).

Thanks!! :D:D 't would be an opportunity to bring RiD Prowl so everyone interested on how it went can view personally.

[loophole]

wow the looks heaps better lieger im impressed

[kup]

Congratulations, Neil! That is impressive. If you leave it in the Hydrogen Paroxide a few more days, would that whiten it up even more?

I am leaving Dogfight submerged a little longer as today doesn't count as it was mostly cloudy.

[liegeprime]

It probably would have whitened a bit more than it did, but Im a bit impatient. Actionmaster Megatron is back to his bone creamy white goodness, but his left arm and head needs a tad bit more soaking ( I just his whole body in). Unfortunately I would need a bit of repainting for his hands & hips as the purple cloring of these parts have started to whiten as well. Small price to pay to have it back to almost its pre yellowing goodness. Right now Actionmaster Shockwave is in the bath for overnight, hopefully its a sunny day tomorrow. :D

[turtle boy]

I'm a member of the tf.net. I read it, but thought that every one would have seen and knew of this method. Thats whay i never posted it. Also. I don't much like mixing forums all that much. It confuses me lol...

[kup]

Good News from the colored plastic front!

After leaving it for two days and one morning there has been considerable improvement on Dogfight. Almost all of his parts are now yellow free and the only one still showing discoloration are his legs (back of jet) but even so, its probably subtle enough not to appear on a photo.

I am going to leave that part in the Jar for a day or so more in case its possible to get rid of what remains of the yellowing but even if it doesn't, it is a considerable improvement!

[kup]

What do you guys think?

Before

http://kupscigar.com/fun/cr1.jpg

After

http://kupscigar.com/fun/result.jpg

[Kyle]

Looks AMAZING.

[liegeprime]

That is an amazing improvement Kup!.... Ive set my Shockwave - Actionmaster in the jar for today and will leave him overnight to soak a bit more, I've also placed inside Abominus's head as it needed a bit of freshening up. Taken it out already and its quite an improvement! I will need a bigger jar though for my next project is Hungurr... after this Im done hehehe. This is a most useful thread. :D:D Very pleased with the results.

[kup]

I think this thing is revolutionary.

I no longer have the fear of god in me when it comes to toys becoming yellow as there is a way to reverse it!

The awesome thing is that it doesn't appear to affect stickers at all! Dogfight's stickers are in the same condition as before!

Now I am trying a junker Galvatron that had its whole back yellowed. Before I saw him as something to keep just for parts but now there is a possibility to fully restore him.

This is fantastic!

[heroic_decepticon]

liege, Kup, those are fantastic results.

I'll be trying this out over christmas, hopefully. :D

[i_amtrunks]

Those are some great results, such a simple solution for fixing up older discoloured toys.

If I wasn't repainting Silverbolt, I'd give him a "bath", he was yellow as Sunstreaker!

[kup]

Great success with Galvatron and it only took one day to do a part wich had considerably yellowed.

It seems that lighter colors de-yellow much quicker than darker colored ones such as Dogfight's blue.

[kup]

Dogfight is finally out of the CR Tank and back to an almost minty blue!

All that is needed for a full minty look are new reprolabels as his stickers are looking dodgy to begin with but the Hydrogen Paroxide did not affect them at all despite being submerged for days.

Before:
http://kupscigar.com/fun/cr1.jpg
After:
http://kupscigar.com/fun/df1.jpg


Before:
http://kupscigar.com/fun/cr3.jpg
After:
http://kupscigar.com/fun/df2.jpg

[Golden Phoenix]

Dogfight is finally out of the CR Tank and back to an almost minty blue!

All that is needed for a full minty look are new reprolabels as his stickers are looking dodgy to begin with but the Hydrogen Paroxide did not affect them at all despite being submerged for days.

Before:
http://www.geocities.com/wow_frostwolf/fun/cr1.jpg
After:
http://www.geocities.com/wow_frostwolf/fun/df1.jpg


Before:
http://www.geocities.com/wow_frostwolf/fun/cr3.jpg
After:
http://www.geocities.com/wow_frostwolf/fun/df2.jpg

Wow.
It's a miracle fix.
Let just hope it doesn't end up like soylent green

[jgon2098]

Absolutely magnificent.

Questions:

- The screws on dogfight? Were they 'de-rerusted' by the chemical? or were they new screws from a junker.

- Is the reaction more efficient in an air-tight environment. i.e. closed-lid jar or open-lid jar.

- Recyclibility of the chemical?

[kup]

Absolutely magnificent.

Questions:

- The screws on dogfight? Were they 'de-rerusted' by the chemical? or were they new screws from a junker.

- Is the reaction more efficient in an air-tight environment. i.e. closed-lid jar or open-lid jar.

- Recyclibility of the chemical?

Answers:

- The screws do indeed clean a bit but its hardly perfect, they still look worn and discolored so I had to sand the rust off and paint them silver. I have not seen any negative reaction in practice but theoretically, the Hydrogen Peroxide is very corrosive to metal.

- I have not tested this however the biggest factor to how quickly something de-yellows appears to be direct sunlight. The longer its in the Jar with Sunlight the quicker it de-yellows but I am not sure if maintaining an open jar will make any difference. Keep in mind that the liquid does heat up a bit due to the sun and evaporates and condenses within the jar. Having a closed lid would be best to maintain the volume of liquid for future reuse and avoid possible toxic vapor.

- I have used the same liquid for all of Dogfight's parts. At first I started out with putting them all at once but that had limited impact because some parts shaded others from the sun as well as the Peroxide sold locally being a much lesser concentration than what the Americans can get (Thanks to The_Damned for the tip :) ). Due to this, I did a couple of parts at a time for a day or two each (depending on avaliable sunlight). I have been using the same liquid this whole time and its equally effective despite several reuses. I have now moved on to fixing yellowed Galvatron parts using the same liquid with great success despite several reuses over more than a week.

[kup]

Note on the 'before' pics since the Camera flash masks a lot of the discoloration:

- The light blue on the body and tailfin was actually a light creamy green
- The dark blue was a very dark green (almost army), particualrly the legs and front back of jet.

The after pics are pretty accurate however.

[liegeprime]

Here's an update on Megs and Shockwave. When they first arrived - Megs is really dissapointingly yellow and Shock is like grey.

Before
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb313/liegeprime/Transformers%20Collection/Othercollectibles172-1.jpg

After
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb313/liegeprime/Whitening002.jpg
Megs came out pretty good, although his left arm and head still needs a bit of soaking , meh i can live with it for now.

Shockwave isnt as purple as he used to be yet, but I didnt wanna overdo it so I just took him out after a day in soaking.
note: photo's taken without flash
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb313/liegeprime/Whitening003.jpg
here's what megs looked like when in the bottle
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb313/liegeprime/Whitening001.jpg
Id prolly be looking for a bigger bottle since my bottle wont fit Hungurr, preferably with a glass lid as well so that there be no shadows castneeding more time in the soaking solution.

[kup]

That's fantastic results Liege!

I particularly like how your Action Master 'Shakwave' turned back to 'Shockwave!' :p

I pulled my toys apart before placing them in, that way I don't have to soak parts that I don't have to and can concentrate on a piece at a time. It seems that the more pieces the slower the process and the side that faces the sun, is also the more succesful. Because I am now doing a piece or two at a time, the Jar is more than enough even for large toys such as Galvatron.

[GoktimusPrime]

Would need to fill a bath tub to soak Fortress Maximus. :p

[kup]

Would need to fill a bath tub to soak Fortress Maximus. :p

Not if you disassemble him :)

http://www.geocities.com/wow_frostwolf/tf/fortmaxwaspx.JPG

[liegeprime]

Not if you disassemble him :)



Uhm no!:eek: Thank goodness my Brave Max isnt yellowing. Id hate to do that, plus the fact that I wont be able to put it back the way it was. Im still sticking to my plan of a wider jar for Hungurr as im soaking him ... whole, couldnt be bothered to dismantle him :p:p

[jaydisc]

I'm going to do my Fort Max chest piece. Can you guys details what you bought? And did you just eye the 30% mix? How did you achieve this locally?

[liegeprime]

Jay,

Just buy in my your local chemist. Me I bought

1 bottle of 400ml Hydrogen Peroxide - 10 volume 3% w/v (brand: Gold Cross, there was no other brand they were selling :()

and that's basically it. Well, you may wanna find a big glass jar with a lid so it can accommodate big pieces for soaking. Other than that all you need is a sunny location in your property and lots of sun.:D

The peroxide is reuseable just keep the bottle lidded as since your basically exposing it under sunlight some evaporation does occur but the lid keeps it all back in.

[jaydisc]

Thanks Liege. So you used it straight out of the bottle? No diluting/mixing?

[kup]

Thanks Liege. So you used it straight out of the bottle? No diluting/mixing?

It's already heavily diluted compared to the one that Catilla originally used, that is why we have to keep the toys soaking for much longer but it is equally as effective.

Short answer, no. Use the liquid as it is out of the bottle but you may need more of it and a large enough clear glass jar depending on the size of the parts/toys.

[jaydisc]

thanks guys.

[MV75]

I went into coles and bought some H.P. for ~$3 for 200ml (half the cost of the chemist), and did some lego.

It came out fine, definitly whiter, and I had left it for 13 days. Yep, that long and it's ok so far. :)

[TheDirtyDigger]

Anyone doing this just take note...
It destroys chrome completely. Absolutely eats the stuff.
As one of my Red Alerts two front wheels discovered.:o

[kup]

Anyone doing this just take note...
It destroys chrome completely. Absolutely eats the stuff.
As one of my Red Alerts two front wheels discovered.:o

Yeah I imagined so as its supposed to be very corrosive to metal. I always try to pull apart the figures as much as I can before bathing them.

[G1Optimal]

I don't know if this is of interest and apply to plastics used in toys...
but, i thought i would post the link anyway.

Why Super Nintendos Lose Their Color: Plastic Discoloration in Classic Machines (http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/189)

[jaydisc]

That was quite good. He seems to agree that Peroxide is the best:


Despite numerous demonstrations of this technique and a seemingly sound theory behind it, the jury is still out on whether this method harms plastics or color pigmentation in the long-term. Be that as it may, this technique is currently the best, least-destructive method we have of reducing yellowing in ABS plastics.

(emphasis mine)

[16364279]

will definately give it a go

[Lordy]

Nice changes there. I see someone did a test with their Jetfire in the link in the first post. Might pull apart my Jetfire and do the same. Boost the value of it :)

[kup]

I have noticed that when its really cold like the last few days, it doesn't work so good even if it was somewhat sunny.

I think that the effect that the sun does is heat the peroxide a little bit gradually and that is at least one of the key elements of making this work.

[TheDirtyDigger]

It seems to do some damage to rub signs as well. I assume because of the metal content.

[Seraphim Prime]

I have to say that I haven't tried this, but just wanted to give a word of warning.

If you see bubbles, it's probably a sign of a chemical reaction happening - either because the reaction creates gas, or because it creates heat, causing the H202 to boil.

So it's likely that not only are you bleaching the plastic, you're changing it's chemical structure.

As it was said, most-effective least-damaging (not no-damaging) method.


Hydrogen peroxide bleaches hair because it kills it (essentially). The plastics used in TFs are just another (albeit slightly more complex) form of carbon-chain structures. So, knowing what it does to hair, you've got to think carefully about what it is doing to your treasured TFs.

Just thought I should throw that word of warning in.

[kup]

I have to say that I haven't tried this, but just wanted to give a word of warning.

If you see bubbles, it's probably a sign of a chemical reaction happening - either because the reaction creates gas, or because it creates heat, causing the H202 to boil.

So it's likely that not only are you bleaching the plastic, you're changing it's chemical structure.

As it was said, most-effective least-damaging (not no-damaging) method.


Hydrogen peroxide bleaches hair because it kills it (essentially). The plastics used in TFs are just another (albeit slightly more complex) form of carbon-chain structures. So, knowing what it does to hair, you've got to think carefully about what it is doing to your treasured TFs.

Just thought I should through that word of warning in.

Thanks for the warning but the percentage of actual Hydrogen peroxide that you can buy in Australia is so low per bottle that we are yet to see considerable damage if any.

I had Galvatron legs soaking for well over a week in bright sunlight with it covered in bubbles for most of the day time and its structural integrity was not compromised but much of its yellowing was gone. Yeah the bubble are caused exactly by what you indicate as there is a form of chemical reaction happening there but its consequences are not visibly negative, on the contrary.

The real down side that I see with this method is that even if you succeed 100% in regaining the original color back - The plastic is a lot more prone to yellowing again. That happened with my Dogfight a couple of months after I pulled him out and was well away from sunlight.

[16364279]

i read the whole thing lol..
very interesting



I don't know if this is of interest and apply to plastics used in toys...
but, i thought i would post the link anyway.

Why Super Nintendos Lose Their Color: Plastic Discoloration in Classic Machines (http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/189)

[dirge]

The fact is that TFs from 1987 & 1988 are especially prone to this - Dogfight, Needlenose, Slugslinger and Triggerhappy are great examples. The grey plastic used on many Decepticons of this era is especially prone - which is why Needlenose & Slugslinger have so many problems ):

[primatives]

So this thing works but only temporarily??? Kup did your dogfight go back to the original yellow? Did anyone else who whited their transformer experience the same thing with their transformer? please let us know

[TheDirtyDigger]

I've done a Seaspray, Red Alert and Getaway. Still all good.

[liegeprime]

So this thing works but only temporarily??? Kup did your dogfight go back to the original yellow? Did anyone else who whited their transformer experience the same thing with their transformer? please let us know

Nah, the figures I have treated hasnt yellowed again ...yet but then I am aware now this time how to avoid ( sunlight exposure) or belay the process ;). My collection room only gets bright light but no direct sunlight. My figures yellowed before coz I left em quite exposed back in Phils and my mom didnt know about the sunlight factor. When I came back to collect them last year I was quite surprised to find that the shut wooden window where the collection was facing in my old room was changed into a translucent glass one making my room all bright and sunny:eek::eek::eek: for about 2 years to the day I got back which hastened the process, luckily this process has proven to impede it .... for now.