Ends of Fate

So, got around to working on Kah’zzeh a bit.  I wiped his faceup and came to terms with just how yellowed he has gotten. The sealant was crazy yellow, so just removing that did wonders.  Beside Indar’e he looked like a yellow alien!

Decided to bite the bullet and give him a baking soda + peroxide bath… and I was amazed!  I couldn’t find the toothpaste I had bought for this experimental de-yellowing, but figured without it would be worth a shot.  The baking soda scrub itself helped to remove any remainder sealant (except for crevices, of course) and generally made him a tad shinier.  I let him soak an initial 2 hours while I left to go watch a movie.  When I got home, I was amazed by the change!  He was definitely a bit brighter than before, so I dumped it all out and started over again.  The second time I let him soak for 6 hours.  After the second soak, there was a subtle difference but still enough for me to be satisfied that “magic” was at work!  I compared him to his body and he was definitely paler and comparison, but again… very subtle.  I will say, if you just do the baking soda and peroxide, and scrub with a toothbrush, that alone will help take a thin upper layer off and give a fresh look.  I actually did not do this with mine, I just let him soak in a bath of the solution.

Beside Indar’e, again, he’s yellow but not orange-yellow.  And after the soaking, he’s definitely paler.  As you can see in the photos, there’s still a huuuuge contrast between these two.  Gonna definitely have to blush her pinkness pale, hehe!

I decided to wait on another soak until I could purchase the Arm & Hammer whitening toothpaste that was recommended.  I did some research and found that glycerin, an ingredient in the toothpaste, is a key ingredient in the plastic whitening solution used to de-yellow ABS plastics such as sewing machines and NES game consoles!  From my understanding, it helps the solution “stick” to the plastic and help to coat it.  So, I definitely wanted to try it on my resin.  Oddly enough, UV rays help to activate it!  I’m… kinda considering an experiment to see if this makes a difference with resin vs abs plastic… but if I do, it’ll be something like his hand or foot, lol!

In the meantime, I finally got up enough guts to sand a ding in his forehead out.  It was WAY easier than I was expecting it to be.  But the biggest surprise was how much of the yellowed resin came off immediately!  I had to sand past that point to really get the ding/gouge out, but it didn’t alter him noticeably and the resin didn’t change past that point.

Here, you can see just how deep the gouge was.  Still upset about this!  Was traveling to go see my sister and a family friend offered to give me a ride to the bus station.  Kah’z was in my purse, and when I sat down in the front seat, he tipped over.  No big deal, right?  Except I heard the loudest and sharpest thud!  I knew instantly something was wrong.  Snatched him up, and sure enough he was now sporting his first war wound!  Apparently the car had metal runners under the seat that extended an insane length forward into the front floor board when the seat was all the way back… completely exposed!

I was not happy.  Not at all.

Here, you can see the sanded forehead. The color is so difficult to photograph!  It shows much more apparent in person.

I’ve decided that what I would do is give him another good bath or two (pick up some of the toothpaste before I got home in the morning) to help bleach more of the yellow pigments.  Well, pigments in general.  And then lightly sand a layer from the resin all over to help refresh him.  The yellowing is worse than even I knew… I took him out in direct sunlight for the first time in a few years and he’s so yellow… he’s GREEN!!! O_O  Well, just that green hue feeling, lol~  But this way, the soaking will lighten tiny detail areas like the nose and mouth so I don’t have to worry about really sanding there. And a faceup will cover up the rest, hehe.

Today, I picked up the toothpaste before leaving work and he is now chilling in his latest bath.  We shall see what the results will be!