HELP: Yellow sun stains on white furniture.

Submitted by OnTopOfSpaghettiii t3_z0tigj in DIY

I'm assembling a second hand piece of white furniture. It's been stained yellow on some front facing areas by sunlight, I need to uniform the color. The surface is vinyl-like, would paint stick? Do I need to sand the whole thing for it to stick? Or is there an easier hack to getting yellow discoloration off plastic?

Thanks a bunch!

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PineappleApocalypse t1_ix7ie21 wrote

Usually sunlight doesn’t cause a ‘stain’, it’s actually faded out some of the pigment so there is no stain to remove.
sanding and painting will work, though it’s difficult to get it looking like the original.

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OnTopOfSpaghettiii OP t1_ix7yh8l wrote

Makes sense, i suppose it just could be old plastic getting discolored. I thought sunlight because of the very defined lines of the discoloration. Posted pics of the damage on my profile

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ShanghaiNick t1_ix7i4i8 wrote

You need to know the material before making a stain come out or risk damaging the material itself. Photos can help ID the material.

Some materials will require spot treatment while others may want to have a uniform coverage to make the material all look the same.

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OnTopOfSpaghettiii OP t1_ix7ybcq wrote

Just posted pics on my profile. The furniture is cheap so probably plywood, but I don't know what kind of plastic finish is put on top!

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merakimela t1_ix7d47b wrote

Have you tried making a baking soda paste or bleach to see if the stains lift? Might save you the hassle of trying to paint it. For the baking soda paste I think it was mix the powder with a bit of lemon juice to form the paste and let it sit on the stains for like 15-ish mins before wiping it away with a cloth.

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OnTopOfSpaghettiii OP t1_ix7de35 wrote

I've tried a strong cleaner but not bleach yet. Hadn't thought of baking soda! Will try, thanks

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TOFFERKINDLE t1_ix96r4y wrote

Leave it out in the moonlight to balance it out

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ktka t1_ix9kmw3 wrote

Who are You, Who are so Wise in the Ways of Science?

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