Hello to all my fellow plastic collectors, and past, present or future ebay customers. I am writing this guide to help all of your in CARING for your VINTAGE BAKELITE, RESIN, LUCITE and other PLASTIC treasures.  This guide will refer to all plastics I have encountered and have in my collections.

First we will talk about your bakelite collection if you have one, and all this will apply just as well to your OLD CELLULOID.  We are speaking about vintage original bakelite here, containing FORMALDEHYDE/FORMALIN in it's chemical composition.  This is of course, the most VALUABLE in general of all the plastics as a collectible, whether it be from the 30s, 40s or later.  It requires special care because it is an UNSTABLE plastic, meaning temperature, sunlight, exposure to perfume or other chemicals like smoke, will CHANGE it.  Some of these changes can be considerable damage, for example:

KEEP BAKELITE AWAY FROM TEMPERATURE CHANGES!!

If you have bakelite, particularly TRANSPARENT PRYSTAL, or JELLO bangles, are susceptible to CRAZING.  What is crazing? It's an internal fracture that may remain stable and small, or may get worse and spread, or even worse, ruin the entire piece by branching out until the whole piece has one large crack running around it, or many networked crazes that look like a spiderweb throughout. Certainly those pieces are expensive and you DO NOT want this to happen.This is a shame isn't it?? I have NO CLUE how this happened! It can happen to a piece even in a well taken care of environment. I think part of the problem with this piece of bakelite, is that it is painted inside, that probably lead to it's instability, again not sure. But that is an illustration for you, of what can happen to a prystal bangle in the worst case scenario.  So you must be extra careful with transparents and keep them away from air conditioners, and radiators, in a part of the room where the temperature does not vary too much.

No matter what color or transparency your bakelite is, it's best kept out of light as well, and away from the window, as pretty as it may look with the sunshine on it! The sun will generally DARKEN your bakelite, much like your skin.  Over the years bakelite changes colors.  For example, a Green now, was probably Blue, an Orange might have been Pink, Browns were in many cases, PURPLE and white is classic Cream Corn!  I sometimes refinish pieces, and get quite a surprise to see what color they were originally.  I don't do it often, as the dust is carcinogenic, breathing formaldehyde dust is not conducive to good health, so you must take precautions like wearing a mask and goggles if you want to sand any old pieces back to their original colors, but they must be kept out of light as much as possible, to save them from what is called "oxidation". The oxidation usually has a rule of YELLOWING your bakelite as noted above.  

You can't keep the air off your bangles unless you wrap maybe in soft cloth. DO NOT STORE YOUR BAKELITE IN PLASTIC CONTAINERS. I was taught this awhile back, it can make them craze also, and celluloid is also a no-no in plastic containers.  A WOOD BOX or ARMOIRE is a great place.  As I wrote in my guide to choosing plastic bangles, DISPLAY THEM and enjoy, in a safe environment. I use my China Cabinet as a dsplay case for glassware I collect, and bangles! It is behind glass and wood, away from the light. 

If you wear perfume, don't get it on your Bakelite, it can turn it another color or dull the finish on it, avoid wearing it in the hot shower, even though I like to do everything in my bangles and as much as it's fun to smell it, it's probably not a good practice as this is poisonous gas being released and you're inhaling it. Wear your other bangles in the shower because I've also heard it's not good to get them wet for long periods of time, although I never had a problem with it.

FOR ALL PLASTICS ALSO INCLUDING OF COURSE, BAKELITE, RESIN, GENUINE GALALITH VINTAGE, LUCITE, ACRYLIC COMPOUNDS, HARD PLASTICS AND MORE...EXCEPT CELLULOID POSSIBLY!

A wonderful way to POLISH AND SHINE ALL PLASTICS is with SIMICHROME POLISH.  I always laugh when anyone spells it SEMIchrome, is that like HALF a CHROME or something?  I tend to think if you can't SPELL IT, you've not even OWNED a tube.  Well all I can say is, if you have a collection of plastics, DEFINITELY for anyone who has a collection of Bakelite, YOU MUST have a tube of Simicrhrome Polish on hand.  I've had recent questions on whether you can POLISH your bakelite with it, because alot of new collectors don't realize and think it is just for TESTING because we all say tested with Simichrome.  Yes it does give a reliable positive test (PINK POLISH TURNS YELLOW WHEN RUBBED ON BAKELITE), but YES it is the BEST for restoring dull finishes, shining and taking out minor scuffs and scratches as well. People debate Simichrome testing gives FALSE POSITIVES for bakelite, well on the other hand, 409 has given me many FALSE NEGATIVES on pieces that are 100% bakelite! Not only that, but you don't have to worry about washing off Simichrome like you do 409 or I also want to mention some people test with DOW SCRUBBING BUBBLES, which you have to be careful to wash as it is caustic and will STRIP THE FINISH OF BAKELITE and I've heard that they changed the formula and it doesn't even work anymore besides, so don't use this.  Instead, with every test, you can POLISH your bakelite with SIMICHROME! You can find it at the hardware store, or right here on ebay, a tube is a must have investment.

You can polish ALL plastics except for CELLULOID to my knowledge with Simchrome.  It works well even on seamed HARD PLASTIC! Makes that white scratching that is characteristic of it's brittleness, look alot nicer.  Lucite comes to life, and my fabulous Resin pieces also look great if I shine them which isn't usually necessary because I have so many, I wear nothing often enough to scratch it up enough to require it, but I have tried all these plastics and have seen it really does a nice job. Turtle Wax is also good on bakelite and other plastics restoring shine and dullness to a bright shiny finish.

I don't collect much celluloid, only 1 piece remains in my hundreds of bangles, maybe 2! The best thing with celluloid is to keep it stored in the dark, away from heat and cold and chemicals in a non-plastic storage that breathes. I have my single entry I have left, in the China Cabinet!

I hope I have helped everyone learn a little more on caring for their PRECIOUS PLASTICS! Please continue to write to me, and ask questions, I love to hear from all of you and look forward to meeting you here on eBay!!

PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO VOTE IF I HELPED YOU LEARN HOW TO KEEP YOUR PLASTICS BEAUTIFUL AND SAFE TODAY!

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I hope to see YOU on my next winners list!

Hillary a_hill_thrill