How do you Restore Plastic scales

[TripleF]

I scored this Ontario Knife lockback and hit the scales with some FLITZ polish but it did nothing.

Any suggestions?

[knifeaholic]

To eliminate the fading, I have rubbed light oil like 3-in-one oil into the scales. Do that, wrap the knife in a paper towel, and let it sit overnight.

[bestgear]

Scott - I've used Meguiar’s Ultimate Black Plastic Restorer which is a plastic restorer that gives new life to exterior plastic on cars so I'm sure it would work fine on your knife handles. It can be found on Amazon for about $10. Hope this helps.....Tom

[TripleF]

Scott - I've used Meguiar’s Ultimate Black Plastic Restorer which is a plastic restorer that gives new life to exterior plastic on cars so I'm sure it would work fine on your knife handles. It can be found on Amazon for about $10. Hope this helps.....Tom

To eliminate the fading, I have rubbed light oil like 3-in-one oil into the scales. Do that, wrap the knife in a paper towel, and let it sit overnight.

Thanks fellas!!

[herbva]

Scott - I've used Meguiar’s Ultimate Black Plastic Restorer which is a plastic restorer that gives new life to exterior plastic on cars so I'm sure it would work fine on your knife handles. It can be found on Amazon for about $10. Hope this helps.....Tom

To eliminate the fading, I have rubbed light oil like 3-in-one oil into the scales. Do that, wrap the knife in a paper towel, and let it sit overnight.

Thanks fellas!!

Scott, I just use mineral oil. Someone here on AAPK told me about it. I just swab it on with a q-tip, let it sit for a few hours or overnight and when I wipe it off, the synthetic scales look great. Good luck and happy new year!

[TripleF]

Scott - I've used Meguiar’s Ultimate Black Plastic Restorer which is a plastic restorer that gives new life to exterior plastic on cars so I'm sure it would work fine on your knife handles. It can be found on Amazon for about $10. Hope this helps.....Tom

To eliminate the fading, I have rubbed light oil like 3-in-one oil into the scales. Do that, wrap the knife in a paper towel, and let it sit overnight.

Thanks fellas!!

Scott, I just use mineral oil. Someone here on AAPK told me about it. I just swab it on with a q-tip, let it sit for a few hours or overnight and when I wipe it off, the synthetic scales look great. Good luck and happy new year!

Awesome. Thanks! I had the 3 in 1 close so I've headed down that road right now!!

[rea1eye]

I think the oil application is a good idea but would use mineral oil ( you can buy it at your
local pharmacy). If you can, get unscented mineral oil or mineral oil for oral use
( old remedy for constipation). You should find it in the laxative aisle ( or in
the infant section- it can be used as an application to baby's bottom for diaper rash).
Mineral oil is a derivative of crude oil but more refined than 3 in 1.
Leave the oil on the handle over night. If you see improvement,but not to your
satisfaction, apply again.

If above does not work, you can try the auto black plastic mentioned but remember
it will probably rub off eventually ( at least it did so when I used it on my
car bumpers)

Good Luck,

Bob

Target stores:

https://www.target.com/p/mineral-oil-16 ... lsrc=aw.ds

[rea1eye]

Before / after pictures of knife I gifted this Christmas. Used mineral oil.
Proof is in the pudding

Bob

[Reverand]

I also use mineral oil, but more like the Karate Kid:
"Wax on, wax off".
I put a drop or two on the handle, rub it in with my fingers, then work it into the grooves of the plastic with an old toothbrush. Then I wipe off the excess. The handles look brand new within two minutes. And it seems to be a long-term solution, as none of mine have looked bad again later, going on 2 or 3 years.

[TripleF]

Above in OP, you can see my dilema.

I used 3 in 1 and this is the end result. Thanks fellas.

[Meridian_Mike]

Great job Scott!
Beautiful restoration!!

[Reverand]

It sure looks good now!

[orvet]

I have had good results using an automotive product called Black Again. It works well on most of the plastic type handles. It will work on Delrin to shine it up if it is not too badly softened by oxidation or sunlight. I got 2 very badly oxidated Delrin handles on a couple Craftsman knives that I thought were hopeless. A friend had told me about a product called Corrosion X, a product that is supposed to "kill rust and corrosion."
I sprayed those two knives with Corrosion X and let them set for a couple of weeks, tossed them on a workbench and forgot about them. I almost couldn't find them when I went back and looked because they looked so much better! It wasn't a perfect restoration job because the color had been altered already by the oxidation but the soft Delrin had hardened and it was definitely a usable handle after that.

I'm hoping to find another knife or two that are that badly oxidized and repeat the process taking pictures to document it so I can post the results for you.

I have used mineral oil on some oxidized knives, but found it was not as effective on heavy oxidation as it was on light discoloration of the handle. I think there are lots of oils that will do the same thing, and most of them much cheaper than a spray can of Corrosion X, which is I recall was about $25 last time I ordered it.

I'm sure there are any number of plastic restoration products used in the Auto industry that would work very well on knife handles also. I have used Armor All, but found the Black Again to be much more effective than Armor All. It seemed the Armor All would dry out quickly.

[Bluntedgenives]

I’ve tried the “separate but equal” technique to try to preserving my celluloid knifes. I have an inexpensive but hard to find Brownie Girl Scout Knife in my Scout collection. It’s handles are crumbling and pitting. I want most of all to save the inscriptions imbedded in the plastic on both sides. Ready to try anything to hold it together- even dumb stuff.

Has anyone tried coating the old material with epoxy, clear resin, super glue, clear varnish, or some other magic substance??

Bet someone out there has tried things to combat this.

Blundedgenives

[Mumbleypeg]

I’ve tried the “separate but equal” technique to try to preserving my celluloid knifes. I have an inexpensive but hard to find Brownie Girl Scout Knife in my Scout collection. It’s handles are crumbling and pitting. I want most of all to save the inscriptions imbedded in the plastic on both sides. Ready to try anything to hold it together- even dumb stuff.

Has anyone tried coating the old material with epoxy, clear resin, super glue, clear varnish, or some other magic substance??

Bet someone out there has tried things to combat this.

Blundedgenives

The OP knife in this thread is not celluloid. It’s delrin, with what some call “Delrin haze” which is readily resolved with some light oil (like 3-in-1). That won’t fix your celluloid and in fact may make it worse. Celluloid unfortunately is a “whole nuther beast”. Celluloid undergoes something known as outgassing. Once it starts to go bad, as it sounds like yours has, there is no stopping it or curing it. If it’s not already too far gone and you want to save the rest of the knife you will need to remove the celluloid covers and replace them with something else. Many have tried anything and everything to stop it but the end result is fatal to the knife.

There are literally hundreds of posts here on AAPK about celluloid. You can find more about it by doing a keyword search here for “outgassing”. For example viewtopic.php?t=78342

Welcome to AAPK. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Ken

[OLDE CUTLER]

Yes, you need to remove those outgassing celluloid covers immediately before it ruins the knife. There is no saving them now.