MATCHBOX Superfast restoration: 1G Dodge Challenger (Yellowed Plastic Restoration Tutorial)

Hello and welcome to DieCastRestos where today  I'm focusing on this Matchbox Superfast 1G Dodge Challenger, and showing you how to remove  the yellowing from the white plastic roof. This particular example was sent in by long time  channel member Tony, and aside from the yellowing needs a serious polish to the metal base, and  a general tidy up. You can always tell it's a casting sent in by a viewer when I've taped their  name to the bottom to thank them now. Cheers Tony! The Challenger came in

two distinct versions  with this sort being available in the Superfast mainline between 1976 and 1981. Here's what I'm  aiming to recreate today and how it should look. And this is a real 1974 Dodge Challenger that  the casting is based on. When it joined the Matchbox Superfast line in 1976, the Challenger  replaced the ungainly Mod Rod fantasy piece. Up to 1981 the casting was always painted red,  had a white plastic roof with a clear windscreen fitted, chrome interior that incorporated the  h

ood scoops, and an unpainted metal base. For 1981 only it was recoloured to light blue with a  red plastic interior. It was otherwise identical. From 1982 it was altered slightly gaining  a large central cast hood scoop but losing the plastic duo. The base was modified to  give it a hot rod stance with a raised rear. The body was amended slightly at the  wheel arches to allow for bigger wheels. It was also given side exit exhaust pipes. There  are a lot of variations to this casting which I'll g

o into in another edition when I tackle it. I  will add that it did last an incredibly long time in the mainline though through until 1998. With  this lump of fluff taken out of the wheels, it's little wonder that Tony's car didn't roll at all  well. It looks a bit like loft insulation to me. The casting is based on the 1970 to  1974 first generation Dodge Challenger. It was based on the Chrysler E-platform  and positioned to compete against the Mercury Cougar and Pontiac Firebird at  the upper

end of the pony car market. The Challenger was offered with almost every  engine available at Chrysler's disposal, ranging from the 3.2 litre slant 6 to the 7.2 litre RB  V8. It came as either a hard top or convertible. It was nearly identical to the slightly smaller  Plymouth Barracuda, which with the exception of the 1971 car, differed only at the front by having  two headlights instead of the Challenger's four. By the time of its arrival, the pony car segment  was already in decline. Sales fe

ll dramatically after the 1970 model year. Little changed on  the 1971 car and 1972 offerings had options significantly cut back. They did receive a new  grille which was carried over to the 1973 and 74 cars. Sales did rise slightly for the 1973  model which also had rearranged taillights. But it was pulled midway through the 1974 model  year with a total of 165,437 built. Now here I need to be a bit inventive with polishing the  base. As I wanted to reuse these wheels and they were firmly clamp

ed into the base I needed to  protect them from the polish. So I covered them in tape which looks a bit unusual here. Dodge revived  the Challenger name in 1977 for a Mitsubishi Galant Lambda-based captive import. This lasted  until 1983. A third generation Challenger arrived in 2008 which incorporated many of the design  cues from the 1970 original. This car has been the most successful Challenger generation  but it is due to be discontinued in 2023. So the basis of today's video is to be a bit

  of a guide on removing yellowing from plastics. This model was suffering badly from a yellowed  roof and windscreen. I have in the past used hydrogen peroxide liquid and left the afflicted  piece in a pot in the sun on a windowsill. I did have reasonable results from that method  but it was a little too slow for my liking. So while the painted body dries after receiving  a coat or two of Tamiya TS-8 Italian Red, which looks gorgeous and really suits  the casting, I begin my new method. Here I

have 40 volume 12 percent cream peroxide.  I pour an amount of this across the connected roof and window pieces. This is laid on some cling film  plastic wrap and is brushed across all surfaces. It is then wrapped up. Here I have an expertly  modified plastic food container in which the wrapped plastic sits. I've purchased a USB powered  UV LED light to speed up the un-yellowing process. I leave this switched on for a few hours, so in the meantime I wash the wheels in Citadel  Gloss Nuln Oil and

clear coat the painted body. And here's how it now looks, with some footage  from earlier inset for comparison. It's not done yet though. I'm still to polish it and some of  the discolouration may have been ground in dirt. I wasn't really sure whether I should UV then  polish, or polish then UV? I'll try it the opposite way another time. But it proved that the  Polywatch wasn't quite up to scratch in removing all the blemishes. So I turned to trusty old  Autosol metal polish to do the hard graf

t. It came out looking great and the final dunk in Astonish  wood floor polish is all this piece needed. So here are all the pieces  that make up the Challenger. Last to be completed but the first  to be inserted is the roof section. There are a couple of little nubs  inside the body that help position it. The interior piece follows then the base comes  after which is secured with two 3mm M2 screws. So here's how Tony's donated Lesney Matchbox  Superfast 1G Dodge Challenger appeared earlier. The

roof became my main point of focus in  this restoration aiming to return it to a pure white. It otherwise needed a polish  for the base metal, a rechromed interior, fresh coat of red paint, and re-trimmed wheels.  Plus the wheels didn't turn well owing to a load of fluff caught up in the axles. So let's  take a look at it now. The UV and polish combination has worked wonders on the white  roof. The transparency looks better too. There's been a real Improvement in the base plate  which included

the grille and taillight sections. The interior has been re-chromed to original  standards plus that chrome has also been used to add the foil trim back onto the wheels.  The Tamiya TS-8 Italian Red totally suits the car as well. Everything just came together very  nicely on this Challenger. So if you enjoyed this restoration or picked up some UV-related tips,  please leave the video a like and leave a comment. If you'd like to support the channel you can  do so by signing up for YouTube Members

hips or via Patreon. And of course, don't forget  to subscribe. So that's it for now. All that leaves me to say is thank you for watching and I  will see you again for the next one. Bye for now!