archive Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 I 've seen partial discoloration on some these Tomy 's but never the entire toy. What causes this? A chemical reaction to the styrofoam packaging? Sunlight? Ozone??? Is there anyway to restore the original color?. This also happens to Sir Galaxy sometimes too.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archive Posted January 25, 2003 Author Share Posted January 25, 2003 Could be some sort of surface oxidation from a contaminated or unstable batch of plastic... I 've seen several other "white" plastic toys suffering this same skin condition... I know what my wife would recommend: A solution of distilled water baking soda non-chlorine bleach detergent and some powdered cream of tartar deftly applied with a Q-tip. When it 's sparkling white again seal it with a light coat of Armor-All Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archive Posted January 25, 2003 Author Share Posted January 25, 2003 I had a verbot with the same skin cancer problem. I finally got sick of looking at it and grabbed a hacksaw. The yellowing had permeated all the way to the inside layer by layer. I believe you are correct on the chemical reaction between the plastic and Styrofoam packing. I believe this reaction is caused by heat I.E. attic storage. The Styrofoam heats up gives off a gas with an end result of white plastic yellowing. Only way to get the white back is to paint it. Sandpaper don 't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archive Posted January 25, 2003 Author Share Posted January 25, 2003 I agree with the styrofoam outgassing as one cause of yellowing as I have 'bots that never saw the light of day turn yellow. However U.V. light will also cause the same thing. I have a series of white robots IR12 RU12IM12 etc that are mostly yellowed. One of them had a vertical yellow stripe down the back so I asked the people I was buying it from about it. They said it sat on a window sill & the stripe was where the sun shone thru the gap in the curtain. I used an automotive deep cleaning wax read abrasive to polish it white again. Joyously I attacked more yellowed 'bots with no effect. Later cross sections & microscopic examination showed most had yellowed all the way thru. I think if caught early enough some "cancer" can be buffed off but in my experience most cannot. Of course I wouldn 't try this on a high dollar robot but then again they don 't seem to have this problem. Incidently I recently picked up a near mib Sir Galaxy that is whiter than the styrofoam it was packed in. Maybe there was a batch bunch? of bad plastic back then? Maybe a batch bunch? of bad styrofoam?' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archive Posted January 25, 2003 Author Share Posted January 25, 2003 About the yellowing Verbot. he one I have was white about a year ago it now has turned yellow also. But this was not because of the packing material he was displayed ' not boxed ' on a shelf. I also don 't think it is because UV light because the room is always dark. I also don 't smoke. It must be something in the plastic. The best to do is buying every year a new white one. I have some other white robots like Russian and they are still white after some years. The Sir Galaxy I have is also yellowed totally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archive Posted January 25, 2003 Author Share Posted January 25, 2003 On the completely yellowed toys: I thought about it and still think it 's the styrofoam in conjuction with enviromental circumstances. Perhaps a bad batch of plastic is possible but I doubt it. Staroid I from Epoch Mattel 's Sir Galaxy TTC Hearoid and the robots from Tomy at some time aquired the cancer. On the Tomy robots my case in point. Verbot Chatbot Omnibot and Omnibot 2000 all were canidates for the yellowing as the box inserts was styrofoam. Correct me if I 'm wrong but I 've never seen a yellowed Hootbot Spotbot Dingbot Flipbot or Crackbot. Same plastic as Verbots and Omni 's but these bots all had cardboard inserts.' At the time they were on sale in the shops I bought about 10 Sir Galaxy 's as part of the "Strategic Reserve". They are MIB. in styropor and as white as virgin snow. These must be about 18 years old. My-tentative- hypothesis is that either there is a filler in white PVC or there is a special elastomer-different from the one that is used in other colours that oxidizes. It is definitely the contact with the "air" that does it for sir G. as the one that is out on display has yellowed. Solution:? Anything that puts a shield between the plastic and the' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward28 Posted February 7, 2003 Share Posted February 7, 2003 My experience on yellowing is that plastics without photo stabilizers cause it. In the 80's a number of Bandai and Tomy robots lacked a chemical additive to stay stable. Once the toys get exposed to UV or photo-spectrum lighting the chemicals break down and yellow. Keep in mind that UV / photo spectrum light can come from fluorescent lighting. Fluorescent lighting can yellow, just as it can be used to grow houseplants and grow aquarium plants. Be careful :( I have found that if you have a robot that is just terrible and yellow you can take a chance for repair. Try using acetone (nail polish remover) on a lint-less rag and wipe the yellowed surface. You will actually eat away some of the plastic, but you will be able to remove the yellowing (on some robots). This is drastic medicine. If you apply too much acetone at once the plastic will soften. It does, though, dry quickly and re-“set” though when the acetone evaporates.Yet another separate problem is heat. If your toys are stored in rooms above 100 degrees F they will yellow too. In this case, though, the yellowing is much deeper and very difficult to fix. Keep your toys in cool surroundings.A final problem is that PVC just does not stay stable. I have found that this rubbery compound dry rots with age and is even less stable than traditional plastics. It almost “melts” with age.I hope that helps you out "Archive".-Edwww.robot-japan.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honestjoe Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 hi all...i have a short leg version of the galaxy robot and i"m convinced its the plastic alright as the foot is comprised of two sides joined together....one side is white the mating side is yellow...it has to be a deficiency in the plastic....later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.