Bakelite smell

[strangepair03]

Hi all,

I am wondering if there is a way to get rid of that stink that old bakelite items have?? I just recieved 5 of the black, screw top medic pill vials and they are bringing the funk. They are nice and clean, but I heard that the old plastics break down over the years.

 

Thanks in advance.

John

[aracin]

Order semichrome polish on-line. It is great for bakelite and won't hurt it. Actually its used to test bakelite. The polish is pink and when you polish bakelite it turns nicotine yellow.

[strangepair03]

Order semichrome polish on-line. It is great for bakelite and won't hurt it. Actually its used to test bakelite. The polish is pink and when you polish bakelite it turns nicotine yellow.

 

 

Any idea if the polish help get rid of that pungent stink?

[Bluehawk]

The odor cannot be dealt with except to isolate it. It is outgassing, and will continue to do so infinitely. It is outgassing nitrates, a compound sometimes used in polymers (plastics) such as film. This is not normal Bakelite.

 

A wise caution is to keep it together in some kind of container, not air-tight necessarily, separate from everything else you collect because the gas is and will be adverse to other kinds of objects.

 

The only measure I have ever heard of to lessen the smell is to keep it at a cool temperature.

[Bob Hudson]

Any idea if the polish help get rid of that pungent stink?

 

The Simichrome does clean the outer layer, but so will 409 cleaner. To be honest, I had never smelled stinky bakelite: it does have formaldehyde in it, but normally you have to rub it very hard to get even a whiff of a smell from it (that's one common test for bakelite).

[strangepair03]

The Simichrome does clean the outer layer, but so will 409 cleaner. To be honest, I had never smelled stinky bakelite: it does have formaldehyde in it, but normally you have to rub it very hard to get even a whiff of a smell from it (that's one common test for bakelite).

 

 

Perhaps the pill vials are someother kind of plastic??

[ColBob506]

Mayhaps they are hard rubber? like in old bowling balls,I have an old pistol with bakelite grips that have no odor I have noticed,I also have an 1892 manufactured Meridan with hard rubber grips,which look an amazing amount like the bakelite in both color and texture and they have a reek to them,just like my grandfather's hard rubber bowling balls.I am clueless about this,but hope to provide some input which may help.Try some baking soda made into a paste,smear it on let it sit awhle and rinse,can't hurt.

Sparrow

[strangepair03]

Mayhaps they are hard rubber? like in old bowling balls,I have an old pistol with bakelite grips that have no odor I have noticed,I also have an 1892 manufactured Meridan with hard rubber grips,which look an amazing amount like the bakelite in both color and texture and they have a reek to them,just like my grandfather's hard rubber bowling balls.I am clueless about this,but hope to provide some input which may help.Try some baking soda made into a paste,smear it on let it sit awhle and rinse,can't hurt.

Sparrow

 

 

 

Thanks ColBob, I'll let you know how it turns out.