I have a glass cabinet in my living room where I keep my TF collection. Since it's near a window facing East, it often receives the full glare of the morning sun on a clear day. I know sunlight causes the plastic to yellow, so how concerned should I be? We've all seen characters like Groove and Jetfire look like they've been urinated on, but is that the case for all recent Transformers? I thought perhaps the different quality of plastic would prevent discolouration. Will we still see Classics Jetfire and Astrotrain's paint jobs eventually succumb to the power of the sun?
I think it's probable. Some of my BW figs I kept on a window shelf when I was at Uni have yellowed horribly, particularly Magnaboss, I don't think it's much to do with the quality of the plastic, just that UV will mess it up given half a chance.
They will. Star Wars collectors have had white Clone Troopers discolour, so I'd avoid displaying light-coloured toys in sunlight, and to a lesser extent, ordinary houselights.
to be as protectiv as you can this is what a ideal collector room should be. *No sunlight. Use dark drapes and spceially curtaisn to block out sunlight. *Som sort of fan or climat controll divice, This is only requierd for those ppl that live in very hot places. You can always open the window a bit if you hacve big black drapes to cover the open window. *Use correct lgihtbullbs unsure what they are called. * Keep the Door open into the collector room to get air to move around and dont get closed in.
Yeah, you should definitely do something about the direct sunlight. I heard AFA cases are UV proof. I wonder if there's a way to UV proof your windows or even the glass cabinet. I myself keep my curtains shut all day long, but that's mostly because I'm even less tolerant towards sunlight than my toys (thanks to my desk and my computer facing said window...you try doing anything with a computer while sun is shining straight into your eyes!)
I have a Spychanger Jazz that I've kept in my car for about a year. The top of the car mode has very slightly started to discolor.
Plastic quality, vintage or modern, has nothing to do with it. Anything is subject to the powah of the sun and those UV rays. Indirect exposure is one thing, but if they're getting tans every single day, you're asking for discoloration and yellowing.
Actually, ideally any collection room (for anything, not just toys) should be kept cool and at moderate humidity. As for lightbulbs - I don't have any knowledge on that, but I would think that compact flourescents at really low wattage would be good. Someone suggested that the glass in the cases could be protected. I think that's entirely possible. They tint glass for car windows, don't they? Or hell, they sell vinyl that one can use to "tint" one's own car windows.... ...now I'm thinking I should invest in some of that stuff.
I'd move that cabinet if I were you, or see below. Yes, there is a plastic film that you can buy and put on the windows, which blocks UV rays. It could also be used on glass cabinetry, if you're so inclined. Most home improvement stores carry it, as it is supposedly more energy efficient. I'll see if I can dig up an example or two. EDIT: Well, online I was only able to find this at Home Depot. There are also plenty of professional companies that can do it as well, but it's extra $$$.
Thats true. I read an article about yellowing and even oxygen can get in the plastic and start a chemical reaction that can yellow plastic over time.
What about white paint? Would that yellow too? It'd be a bugger for any custom white paintjobs to turn yellow.
Direct sunlight on it will fade it and could warm the plastic enough to make it yellow. White paint will yellow, but probably less if its not in direct sunlight.
Quoted for the use of the word "powah" (and correctness) I haven't heard of white paint yellowing, but it wouldn't surprise me if it did.
I've got that film on my windows, in combination with blinds. I use the blinds to allow light in, without direct sunlight, and the film handles the rest. I think it actually keeps the room cooler in summer and warmer in winter, too. At least, it appears to help a little.
Oxygen is a funny thing - needed for much of the life on Earth, but quite flammable, toxic if too highly concentrated, and it destroys everything. The latter is what you're talking about - oxidation. Rust is iron oxide, for example. This is also why you hear a lot about vitamins and foods with "antioxidants" - natural chemicals that ****** oxidation. Fundamentally, nothing lasts forever. Many books are printed on acidic paper and become brittle over time, to the point where they will literally crumble to dust in your hand. That doesn't mean that you should just give up - the idea is to stretch out the life of things for as long as you can, particularly if it's really valuable.