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I hate to open this can of worms but injected molded plastics such as washer bottles, wire straps, etc…. were no more “yellow” than newspapers were when they were first printed. Before starting ECS I worked as a systems engineer for factory automation and robotic systems. One of my accounts was a company called RUSTIQUE ENTERPRISES in St. Charles, MO. They manufacture building components that incorporate plastic injected molded parts in their product lines. They had huge containers of pea sized plastic pellets (of various colors) that were used to form their siding materials.
I took an original 1969 Firebird washer bottle to my business contact (actually a good friend) and asked him how hard it would be to re-manufacture them. He gave me quite a lesson on bakelite and celluloid plastic materials. He said the type of plastic that was used to make these components tended to yellow and crack over time. That type of aging would be normal for the type of celluloid material that was used to make these “cheap” items. I have replacement GM washer bottles from 1986 that have turned yellow over the years. If you look at the replacement bottles manufactured by Kent Q., he has to add tan pigment to his bottles to get the desired “aged” look. By doing so, it totally changes the “bubbled/aerated” look of the natural clear plastic material. Take a look at an original bottle. It has tiny bubbles trapped inconsistently throughout the plastic. The “yellowed” reproduction bottles are dense and without the “correct” trapped molded bubbles, due to the addition of tan coloring in the plastic. Check it out and you can see the differences for yourself. Original plastic components were not “yellow” when they were first formed and injected. Time was the resulting factor for that particular feature and look!

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