Looking for opinions: Yellow'd ABS paste options

[JDDMichael[TK]]

Before I start, I just wanted to say that I have the absolute and utmost respect for all of you that have taken this journey ahead of me. While I am trying very hard to maintain a sense of "fun" in this process, the ever resident level of terror I have with every decisions and every step is pronounced and always threatens to make this more stressful than anything else. It doesn't help that I am very much a "second attempt" kind of person... First attempt is routinely lackluster compared to the second draft. I have already made plenty of mistakes I probably could have avoided with just a BIT more digging.

 

With that said, I am in the process of putting in shims on my kidney plate and ab plate (in an attempt to keep the center line, well, centered). I discovered during sanding this weekend that the ABS paste I used for the seams is slightly yellow (think sweat stain yellow) compared to the base ABS (sorry, no pics at the moment since I am at work)... I am not sure if it is because the paste is "old" (I have been adding to my initial jar that is weeks old and sitting in acetone fumes all day every day), rather than making a new batch of paste). Regardless, it sanded BEAUTIFULLY but looks ugly... Or at least obvious in sunlight.

 

Rather than panic, which is my initial impulse, I am trying to measure my options. I don't see deep sanding to remove (lower / bury) the base paste as an option, although I suppose I could try it once I establish whether a new batch of ABS paste will be less yellow.

 

I am entertaining the possibility that some of the UV damage solutions out there might also give me some improvement in this case. I am also entertaining the idea of using some Rust-oleum Automotive Gloss White spray paint just down the yellowed seam. My hope is that the base color matches the white well enough and that the dithering of the edges of the spray help blend in any differences.

 

Ideally I was inclined not to spray the whole suit if I can avoid it. In my mind all I see are scratches and flaking and mess... I figured a very focused paint job may solve my problem.

 

I have been poking around looking for previous conversations about this but I didn't find anything that stood out as directly applicable, so I figured I would ask you all directly.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

I wouldn't suggest painting it, JD.  Finding the correct color of white may be difficult, and it could make it stand out even more.  Making up a new batch of ABS paste is certainly an option, but you would have to remove some of the existing paste before doing that.

There are several different commercially available products that can remove the yellowing, which hopefully someone can weigh in with, but I have heard really good reviews on Trooperbay's Armorwhite.  Even though you will only need a small amount for this project, it may come in handy later down the road.  Here is a link to the product:

 

https://trooperbay.com/trooperbay-armorwhite-plastic-whitening-gel

[JDDMichael[TK]]

Just wanted to do a quick follow-up in case this comes up for anyone else. I did get the whitening paste for my overall tool-kit and gave it a try on the yellowed paste seams. Unfortunately it didn't touch the discoloration at all.

 

What I determined from comparing the kidney seams with the ab seams I did with a fresh jar of paste is that this was wholly and completely a fail on my part. By the time I used that first jar of paste on the kidney shims it was several weeks old and I had effectively scorched the ABS I had in that jar. My fresh batch made absolutely beautiful white paste and the ab shims blend nicely.

 

For my part, sometime after Halloween I'll grind out the yellow paste and re-do it. Should resolve that minor issue.