White buttons turned yellow...
#12
Banned
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Enid, OK
Posts: 8,273
NO, actually some of the old plastics and bakelite would actually releases gasses when stored in air tight containers. Others were damaged by sunlight...OLD white buttons that are not mother of pearl really do not hold up at all! you can paint them, but if there is already a chemical break down going on who knows what adding MORE chemicals might do to them!
#14
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: High Entropy Zone
Posts: 1,247
Synthetic materials (especially early polymers) decompose over time. What the buttons were stored in, if they were exposed to heat and light, etc. make a huge difference. Unfortunately, trying to bleach them just compounds the problems.
If the buttons are something you are trying to use on something you are going to wash a lot, I wouldn't think painting would be the best option. It might work if you are using them for something decorative.
If the buttons are something you are trying to use on something you are going to wash a lot, I wouldn't think painting would be the best option. It might work if you are using them for something decorative.
#15
Banned
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Enid, OK
Posts: 8,273
Originally Posted by ghostrider
You could always try soaking them in Polident (denture cleanser). Couldn't hurt...may help. It works to clean the insides of antique bottles that have been buried in old bottle dumps out in the woods.
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 601
New plastics off gas as well. Those gases can change the color of things, including some hand-dyed fabrics. That's why I don't use plastic to store my fabrics.
Originally Posted by jaciqltznok
NO, actually some of the old plastics and bakelite would actually releases gasses when stored in air tight containers. Others were damaged by sunlight...OLD white buttons that are not mother of pearl really do not hold up at all! you can paint them, but if there is already a chemical break down going on who knows what adding MORE chemicals might do to them!
#19
Depending on how many you have....and how old they are... you might look at eBay.... could be worth something to someone. Or just bottle them up in an old Mason jar, or a crystal glass of some type, and enjoy them on the shelf as a "Memory of Mother". (I would think that bleach may "melt them".)
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