So I have a heap of G1 figures in individual Ziploc baggies, packed carefully with their accessories and instruction booklets, in an opaque storage tub in my basement, near the dehumidifier. I always assumed that sunlight/UV was the prime cause of yellowing but...I'm not so sure anymore. I don't know if I'm going crazy or what but I swear some of them have just started turning yellow in the past couple of years!

For example, I opened a baggie-fresh Omnibot Downshift back in 2005 or so, barely handled it, etc.
I just pulled it out of the storage tub and it has a touch of tan to the once beautiful white plastic.  

Would this thing really go 20 years in perfect white condition and start to change all at once?

Are there any proven storage conditions for keeping TFs as non-yellowed as possible?

 

Yeah, I know...I'm careful too and yet still have a few things that turn in the dark. Downshift is pretty notorious for that.
I use an industrial grade peroxide to turn things white again. I work for a mold/air quality company so I have access to it.
I tested it out on a RID (01) Ultra Magnus arm that was completely brown and it turned a blinding white. I also had a Slugslinger that had turned and it fixed that too.
Now, the downside is that it strips chrome too, and of course paper stickers...but as long as you can disassemble whatever it can be fixed.

As for the cause, I wish I knew...I've had white toys in sunlight that never change, and white toys in the dark that do. It's probably the type of plastic...could be temperature related etc...

 

Great insight, signals3. So UV isn't the only cause then...That verification is helpful.
So is there anything that can be done to stop or slow the process? Should they be kept cold?  

I've heard mixed things about peroxide as a means of re-whitening...and that in some cases, the yellow comes right back. How long ago did you treat your Magnus and Slugslinger?

 

The plastic in the ziploc baggies could be too acidic for the figures over time.

I had the same thing happen to a signed baseball that was in a plastic holder in complete darkness.

It turned out the plastic touching the ball wasn't acid-free pvc and turned the ball yellow.

It's the same problem that baseball card collectors have with cards. They have to be careful to buy acid-free plastic to store the cards in or the white on the cards will yellow.

I imagine the ziploc baggies aren't made for long term storage of figures. Nor are they acid free pvc. I also imagine that it's possible for the plastic in the ziploc baggies to begin to break down over time which would possibly cause the figures to yellow.

 

temperature and maybe the acid in certain brand of ziplocks can do it as well, i've heard of lots of people having yellowing issues with figures in baggies

 

I believe I remember reading that it also had to do with the chemicals in the plastic to make it less flammable.

 

This would be my guess.

 

I'll never store any of my loose figures in zip lock bags. I heard to many issues doing it that .

 

Yeah, I don't know what makes people think it's okay to permanently store something that's only meant to store food very temporarily. There's the same issue with comic books, where if you store them in plastic bags not specifically created for that purpose, they break down over time and the acid in the plastic damages the comics much worse than if you stored them in no bag at all.

 

I've had pretty good luck with yellowing, and I think it's because my room is cold and half-underground. My window may look out at ground level, but at least my old toys are shiny and white.

 

Sometimes it can be down to pure luck and how the plastic batch cures over time. I've seen MISB Jetfires yellow that have been stored as if they never left the shipping box and shelved examples as white as the day they were made and the only real difference can be down to the plastic itself.

Long term curation/storage of plastics is reasonably well understood but still a recent thing, even museums struggle with what and how to preserve modern mass produced items for posterity because the nature of plastics tends to be to break down over time just like anything else. Our Precious wasn't designed to last unaltered forever.

But if you want to store in plastic bags as has already been mentioned several times by others you have to invest in the acid-free Mylar stuff - as serious Comic collectors do.

 

I have a few G1 (pre-rub, circle stamp) figures in boxes, but the figures are wrapped in bubble wrap and taped up. Is bubble wrap a safe contact plastic, or should I unwrap them and find a different storage method? THANKS!!

 

i picked up a minty white Red Alert in an ebay lot in 2010. in 2012 he went into storage (not climate controlled) while i moved to Europe, in a baggie. in 2015 after 2.75 years i moved back and got my stuff out of storage and he'd yellowed.

he went back into storage (not climate controlled) in June 2016 during a move, got him back late October, and i think he's yellowed a little more.

now i need to go do an exam on the bag.

i am pretty sure my Downshift is still nice and white, but i don't remember if he went into storage with Red Alert or not. i am pretty sure he didn't but am not sure.

IMO it seems to be a temperature/humidity issue; my G1 from childhood's been in baggies (and cheap baggies) for 15-20 years in my parents' basement with minimal to no yellowing when i checked them this summer.

-

 

Thanks, guys...I guess keeping toys in nice condition requires a doctorate in chemistry!  

How do you guys store your figures? Ziploc baggies seemed like and ideal solution because they kept everything together, dry and free from dust.

 

It's not safe, for the same reasons as putting plastic toys in bags that were not made for archival purposes is. So, yes, I'd unwrap them.

I put them in plastic storage boxes. Possibly not entirely safe either, yet at least the plastic of the box generally has little contact with the toys themselves. You can optionally also wrap them in acid-free paper in order to prevent scratching and the like.

 

So yours are unwrapped? How long have they been in that plastic storage box? How are they holding up?

 

With a few exceptions (rare chogokin figures, some of my diaclones) I just pile them up inside those boxes. They've been in there for three years, I think (I do take figures out from time to time, but rarely for more than a day). The boxes themselves are in a storage cabinet.

I haven't noticed any yellowing beyond what was there from the start.

 

plastics do this thing called off fuming, even in a plastic container without being sealed in plastic bags you will find they will need a breather once and a while, the plastic in the plastic bags can have some bad effects over time so its best not to put them in them as long as your not moving your toys around a whole heap plastic rubbing shouldnt be a issue.

i myself just keep my extra movie toys in a tub and i pull it out once every two months or so to let them breath lol

 

The acid in your zip lock bags is causing the yellowing.

If you're not using the factory packaging,

Use GT Zip Polypropylene storage bags.

The bags below can come with or without vent holes. The holes vent the fumes from the plastics that can contribute to yellowing. You can save money by buying the bags without holes and just make some holes in them yourself with a small sized craft store hole punch.

Use these to store toys:

Gtzip Search Results -- CreateForLess

GTZIP.com - Vent & Hang Hole 2 Mil Lock Top Zip ® Bags Wholesale

 

the venting is interesting because the figures at my parents' are in baggies that aren't sealed. i think the Red Alert that yellowed was in a sealed bag (need to go find him for an exam).

-