Questions for owners of older dolls: 10+ years

I got my first bjd in 2008 from Volks.The original color of the resin was called beauty white. There has been some yellowing,but it's not a bright yellow like I was worried about when I first heard of it. It's a darkish yellow and it's not splotchy,so it just looks like a darker resin doll,or even an antique doll. When I ruined the head and bought a replacement from another company,I got it in yellow so it would match the yellowed body and it worked.
I didn't know the resin might get brittle over the years,but so far that hasn't happened to mine. I haven't noticed a difference between the old resin and new,but I just thought about it and maybe the new resin doesn't yellow as bad as the old. It makes sense because my doll from 2008 is the only one I have that's yellowed.
I don't do anything extra to take care of the doll,it's already yellowed and modified. I know there are things you can do to prevent some yellowing,like keeping it out of the sun and don't use untrusted sealants and paints.

 

I answered OP before but I thought it might be worth adding some updated/ more detailed information for anyone doing research into this topic. :-)

Subject #1 is a Volks oldskin normal doll made in 2003. (Dolpa 10 MSD Hewitt)
Subject #2 is a Volks pureskin normal doll made in 2004. (FCS MSD F-10)

Were you the first owner of this doll? - yes in both cases.

When did you purchase it? #1 - December 2003, #2 - mid 2004.

Do you believe in the fabled "radioactive green" that all resin supposedly turns into? I've heard of white resins turning greenish, but have not actually seen it myself. I only own one white-skinned doll whom I bought just last year, so I haven't given it much thought.

How yellowed is the resin? How brittle?
#2 is distinctly more honey-toned and deeper in shade than his original colour. That said, it is not an off-putting colour at all, at least to me. It still looks reasonably natural. (I haven't cleaned him or given him any de-yellowing treatment in at least 10 years, if I get any significant results when I do so, I'll update this post.) The yellowing also seems to have tapered off, he doesn't seem to be getting any darker/ yellower. He isn't brittle at all, and he's fallen a couple times (entirely my fault) with no ill effects.

#1 is actually much lighter and less yellowed than #2! (I also have another Volks oldskin head that is over 10 years old, and that one has barely yellowed as well, which leads me to believe that Volks oldskin yellows much less than their pureskin.) Before I cleaned him, #1 did look darker and yellower than before, but that turned out to be mostly his dirty coating of Mr Super Clear.
Here is a photo of doll #1 after I cleaned him in 2018 (15 years after production): Small Wonder(s)
Some info on the process of cleaning him, including a pic of the contrast between his bare resin and his yellowed, darkened coating: Removing yellowed coating from a doll’s face-up

#1 is still super sturdy and feels really solid (although some kind of glue used in his torso gave way several years ago and had to be replaced). Oldskin has always felt more sturdy than pureskin to me, although none of my dolls of any kind have ever experienced any breakage.

If you have a newer doll, do you prefer the resin quality of the older or newer doll? Since the question refers specifically to quality, I'll say that I'm perfectly happy with the resin quality of both my old and newer dolls. In terms of colour, I do have a slight preference for the fresher colour of new resin.

Do you take any extra steps in the care of this doll? I limit all my dolls' exposure to direct sunlight and extremes of temperature, although I do bring them out for photos if I feel like it.

 

I have several older Volks dolls, the oldest was made in the year 2000. Originally white, she is the color of buttercreme frosting now. She doesn't seem any worse for wear due to age. I appreciate older dolls, partly because they helped me overcome my fear of yellowing. That being said, I don't prefer one over the other; however, I do kinda feel sorry for older, unwanted dolls. Whenever I see an old, yellowed, cheap doll I always want to buy it so I know that it's in a good home. It's an impulse I have to keep very carefully controlled.

 

Were you the first owner of this doll?
Yes.

When did you purchase it?
2005/6.

Do you believe in the fabled "radioactive green" that all resin supposedly turns into?
I bought this doll with white skin, which is apparently "supposed to" turn green, but there's nothing green about it at this point.

How yellowed is the resin? How brittle?
It's not at all brittle, but hooboy is it yellow. So yellow that only very specific colors will work for the doll's faceup/wig/wardrobe, now.

If you have a newer doll, do you prefer the resin quality of the older or newer doll?
I see no difference in overall quality between them.

Do you take any extra steps in the care of this doll?
No.

 

This thread is great because I love to read about people enjoying their dolls for over a decade or buying older secondhand dolls and giving them a new home. It's nice to see people value the older dolls alongside newer ones!

To answer your questions, I have a couple of dolls that are over ten years old that I was the first owner of. Both are Volks pureskin dolls from 2007 and 2008, respectively. I store them in their boxes in my temperature controlled room, but they still have definitely yellowed some. For the most part, it's more of a subtle mellowing with less pink tones in the skin rather than overt yellowing, but in both cases they have parts that are more yellow. My SD10 Nono's hands are yellower than the rest of her, and my FCS F-04 MSD has one yellow foot It's a bit odd, I'm not sure if they were assembled with some older parts or a different batch of resin that didn't age as well?

I do have a 2016 Volks DSD Nono for comparison. Next to her big sister, you can see that the newer Nono has paler skin with more of a pink tone compared to the softer tone of my SD10 Nono, but it's not glaring. If I could wave a magic wand to restore my SD10 to her original tone I definitely would, but she's still beautiful and I probably wouldn't notice the color change if I didn't have a newer doll to compare her to.

 

Were you the first owner of this doll?
Yes.

When did you purchase it?
2008

Do you believe in the fabled "radioactive green" that all resin supposedly turns into?
Well, he's still pretty skin-toned so probably not lol

How yellowed is the resin? How brittle?
He's pretty close to how he was when I got him, but brittle-ness is something that I worry about as, as far as I know DoD is no longer around and I worry about replacement parts if something happens. He needs to be re-stringed...

Do you take any extra steps in the care of this doll?
I keep him out of direct sunlight at all times, and store him when I know I'm not going to be taking him out for a while.

 

I have a Unidoll Cupi Angel made and purchased in July 2007. I believe she is NS, French resin.

Were you the first owner of this doll?
Nope!

When did you purchase it?
I bought her in April 2019 from oobiedolls. I have no idea how many owners she has had in the past. I'd like to guess that she had one owner before she spent years being in storage with oobie, since she was in such great shape when I received her. She still has her factory faceup.

Do you believe in the fabled "radioactive green" that all resin supposedly turns into?
I'm a new doll owner, so I haven't seen any "radioactive" green resin, but I certainly think a doll can yellow severely.

How yellowed is the resin? How brittle?
She's yellowed, but it isn't horrible. It looks like her NS has just mellowed out. The yellowing is more clear if you look closely at her fingers and toes. I also don't know what you mean by brittle. Maybe I'm just new, but I've never heard that term before in reference to a doll.

If you have a newer doll, do you prefer the resin quality of the older or newer doll?
I don't own any newer dolls! I have my second doll coming straight from Little Monica and Mirodoll soon, maybe I'll come back and compare them.

Do you take any extra steps in the care of this doll?
She stays on display, away from the sunlight. Other than that, I don't do anything special.

 

Were you the first owner of this doll?
No (my avatar doll) I believe she's from around 2005 (B&G Sandra)

When did you purchase it?
end of 2012 or beginning of 2013 - very cheap ebay find but apparently she'd been on facebook for ages too - nobody wanted her as she has had her ears sanded off as part of a 'cat' mod! Her faceup seems to be original though and was undamaged.

Do you believe in the fabled "radioactive green" that all resin supposedly turns into?
maybe it happened to someone, somewhere, sometime, but not me!

How yellowed is the resin? How brittle?
She's not at all brittle, but she is very yellow and was when I got her. I have no idea of her history as she had no certificates or box (amazed she got to me unbroken in fact - she was just slung in a bigger box with some bubble wrap on her!)

If you have a newer doll, do you prefer the resin quality of the older or newer doll?
No she's lovely quality resin, although her body sculpt is more basic than my newer dolls, because BJD fashions have changed over the years. I prefer her single joints as she is far sturdier a poser than my newer, double jointed dolls.

Do you take any extra steps in the care of this doll?
No - although due to her yellow resin she sits swathed from head to toe in lolita, so only her hands and face get dusty. None of my dolls ever see the sun though, including her.

 

My white skin Boy&Girl Sky is 11years old. I am the only owner of this doll, and compared to my white skin Fairyland Ante that's 9yrs-- Sky is a freaking banana. I kept him on display in my room the first 1-2 years I owned him before learning that sunlight damaged resin and that probably has a lot to do with the yellowing difference in the two dolls. I prefer the resin quality and aesthetics of my other dolls, but still love him regardless.

 

My oldest doll is probably my Unidoll Ark - since Unidoll went out of business around the time I started the hobby in 2011. I think he's probably 8 or 9 years old, and he doesn't look yellowed at all. I got him second-hand earlier this year, so I don't know how he's been stored all those years.

I have a couple of dolls that are very yellowed, mostly the white skinned ones. My light tan/coffee RS Feng (from 2011 or 2012) is a tiny bit greenish, especially compared to my older (second-hand) coffee RS Ian, who is a nice, warm, mellow sort of tan. I think Feng might be from a 'bad' batch, as I remember seeing some RS dolls around the time I bought him that were defnitely greenish, even when new.

I've seen pictures of 'beauty green' but I have no experience with that amouint of greening myself.

I read somewhere that some of the very early tan resins by Cerberus Project had a problem with turning brittle, but I can't remember where I read it.

 

I got my first doll 2008, a normal skin Soom Sabik. Maybe he turned a hint more yellow and lighter, but it's hard to tell since I have no Soom doll from recent years to compare. In my collection I have different skin colors and ages, not any of my dolls turned green. The only dolls which I could think of getting greener after many years might be Iplehouse tan and real skin, also Dollzone/Dollchateau white & grey and Luts tan - all those skins got a very subtle hint of green even when they were new. And I have the feeling that my white skin DZ/DC already got yellowed/green just after 2 years.

My oldest doll which I got second hand is a Volks from 1999, her color is still beautiful and even, no bad yellow parts, nothing green:

 

Right now, most of my dolls are 10 years or older. Except for my Esthy Peroth, all my dolls were bought second hand (downside of falling for sold-out limiteds).

As for the questions:

Do you believe in the fabled "radioactive green" that all resin supposedly turns into?
There were a couple of companies that had a few resin-mishaps in the past. As I recall the tan Kiss became unfortunately green after a very small time. The first fantasy colored Bambicrony dolls would lose their color after a while and some older white-skin CP dolls also have a tendency to get a slight green hue. Even back then this was considered 'damage'. It is NOT a normal property of resin, but rather caused by using wrong pigments or mixing them in wrong quantities. I haven't heard of any recent examples however. Through the years, companies have become much more knowledgable of what works and doesn't work when it comes to resin.

How yellowed is the resin? How brittle?
This me talking as a sculptor who uses resin to cast her sculptures: Yellowing is a natural property of resin. There are two things that cause this: Resin is a two-component material, and if left on the shelf, Part A, will slowly change from a water-like liquid, to looking like lemonade. The other thing that causes yellowing is the pigments added to give resin their color. Just like a picture exposed to direct sunlight will slowly fade, so will the pigments in resin, with reds being the most unstable and so most prone to fading.
UV-rays (and to a lesser degree heat) are the reason for color change and as such it can't be prevented, although the process can be slowed down by adding UV-resistant additives to the resin mixture.

In dolls, 'yellowing' rarely turns the doll into a banana. all the dolls I own have instead turned into a creamy yellow-pink color and all have stabilized after a couple of years. The color they have now is what they'll probably have in a few decades.

As for how brittle these dolls become: Resin is a plastic. It is very durable and the color change has nothing to do with the other properties of this material. Older dolls are just as sturdy as new dolls. In a century, these dolls will be just as durable as they are today.

If you have a newer doll, do you prefer the resin quality of the older or newer doll?
One thing I have noticed is that many newer companies tend to use less resin to cast their dolls. The walls are thinner than the older counterparts. To be honest, I prefer older dolls in this regard: They are heavy, chunky and feel so much more sturdy because of that extra thickness.

 

I own quite a few dolls that are older than 10 years due to buying from estate sales or something on Ebay (which isn't all bad!) and Dollyteria or Mandarake. I have some Volks, and AI doll, some CP/Luts heads and a body, and an N Doll Miso in French resin. Some of them were made, I estimate, around like 2002 or so - making them old enough to drive! I've bought all of them within the last 4-5 years or so - so that answers the first 2 questions.


Do you believe in the fabled "radioactive green" that all resin supposedly turns into?
How yellowed is the resin? How brittle?
Not green. Some of them have mellowed out, but I don't mind the mellow yellow, because I don't think it looks unnatural. I myself am very olive toned, anyway.

I do have one doll, my N Doll, who is French resin, and she is definitely more yellow than the rest -- definitely jaundiced a little. I still think she's lovely, I just need to find the right set up for her to maximize her good qualities.

Surprisingly, they are not brittle, though. I can still wipe their faceups with the same stuff, I can still restring them just the same as newer dolls. If I drop them, they're just as likely to chip!

If you have a newer doll, do you prefer the resin quality of the older or newer doll?
No preferences, the resin quality is still about the same. And I have newer Fairyland resin to compare to the old CP/Luts stuff, too.

Do you take any extra steps in the care of this doll?
I spent some extra, extra time cleaning them when I first got them- because sometimes some of the yellowing is just layers of grime built up over the years.

 

I have a SD size doll that says what looks like “Shine 2004” on his head cap that has been boxed up for 10 years in a storage locker that burnt. He has no damage at all and is a nice smooth white colour, though needed a restringing. He was wrapped in plastic and paper and smelled of old books. lol

 

Were you the first owner of this doll?
No, I deliberately sought out older dolls via the second-hand marketplace here on DoA.

When did you purchase it?
Over the years, I’ve happily purchased many…right up until this year!

Do you believe in the fabled “radioactive green” that all resin supposedly turns into?
Not at all in my experience. For my own dolls, the ones that have changed color at all have merely softened into a natural looking tone. I did once see a “beauty green” olive-toned white Luts Chiwoo over a decade ago however, and that was not a pleasant color. But that was owing to a problem with the resin formula that was later corrected by the company.

How yellowed is the resin? How brittle?
Like I said before, not so much yellowed as mellowed into a color that is still natural looking and lovely. And I’ve certainly never encountered any brittleness in my fairly large collection, no matter how old the doll is.

If you have a newer doll, do you prefer the resin quality of the older or newer doll?
I’ve never found a difference. I have an old Volks from 1999 and very recent Luts. Both resins are equally high quality and lovely.

Do you take any extra steps in the care of this doll?
I treat all my dolls exactly the same, regardless of age.

 

My oldest dolls are from Iplehouse and dollmore. I have a Resinsoul too, but i don't ctually know how old she is, had her for quite a while too though.

Were you the first owner of this doll?
Yep, i bought my first boy 13 years ago :3

When did you purchase it?
Hmmmmm early 2008, i think around march?

Do you believe in the fabled "radioactive green" that all resin supposedly turns into?
No, My boy is yellow, my whiteskinned girl is greenish though. She's 1 or 2 years younger than my boy.

How yellowed is the resin? How brittle?
Very yellow, but skin ajacent coloured. don't know if he's brittle at all, haven't felt a difference. But there might be, but handling him from start to finish i might need a new of him to actually compare XD

If you have a newer doll, do you prefer the resin quality of the older or newer doll?
That's hard to tell, as i said i can't actually tell much of a difference in the quality from my new trinity to him. They feel mostly the same (he's smaller so feel more fragile ofc. but otherwise) Dollmore is the shit apperantly XD
My Iplehouse on the other hands has mostly aged like milk. She was hard to pose before, she's impossible now, restringing doesn't work and neither does sueding seemingly.

Do you take any extra steps in the care of this doll?
No.. i give them a wash from time to time, the older ones needs a new face-up by now, thats about it.

 

Were you the first owner of this doll?
Yes and no. All of my resin dolls are over 10 years old, so I have multiple. 4 new from company, 4 secondhand.

When did you purchase it?
Between 2009 and 2013, with the one in 2013 being at least 8 years old when I bought her.

Do you believe in the fabled "radioactive green" that all resin supposedly turns into?
I believe in the beauty green that some old batches of resin from certain companies turns into. I have seen an unevenly "pea greened" old Iplehouse tan girl. It wasn't particularly pleasant looking but her owner didn't seem to mind. None of my dolls have turned green at all.

How yellowed is the resin? How brittle?
My ~2005 girl is very noticeably yellowed. I'm not sure her resin has changed since I got her though and I've had her for almost 8 years. I wouldn't say any of the others are obvious and noticeable, but surely they are yellowed by now. The change was probably just so gradual that I never saw it. I don't feel like I need to comment on brittleness since everyone else in this thread has debunked that.

If you have a newer doll, do you prefer the resin quality of the older or newer doll?
n/a I can't claim to have a newer doll at this point in my life but I am worried about how yellowed my dolls will look next to my new WS girl who I am waiting for. I will just have to wait for her to yellow a bit so she fits in with them.

Do you take any extra steps in the care of this doll?
I am even less careful with older doll than newer dolls in terms of sun exposure. I don't leave my dolls out of their boxes often, but I honestly don't think they'll change too much from now so I'm more willing to leave them out overnight. I should be more careful in terms of broken parts though because I'll never be able to find the part, let alone a good match, for them if something breaks. I haven't broken a finger yet but they'd just have to live with a glued finger if it did happen.

 

I have a Doll In Mind who is well over 10 years old. He is still in great condition, has never been restrung or modified in any way. He has yellowed somewhat but still looks great. He was however boxed for many, many years. I am his one and only owner. He is now on display.

Were you the first owner of this doll?
Yes.

When did you purchase it?
I won him in a raffle and cannot for the life of me remember when.

Do you believe in the fabled "radioactive green" that all resin supposedly turns into?
I've seen other types of dolls degrade in this way, but my BJD has not.

How yellowed is the resin? How brittle?
Yes, he has yellowed but I'm not sure if he is brittle. He certainly doesn't appear to be.

If you have a newer doll, do you prefer the resin quality of the older or newer doll?
No, he seems like a good quality doll.

Do you take any extra steps in the care of this doll?
Nope, he's on display with the rest. They are all taken care of though, however I do let my kids handle them so I'm not too precious about them. My kids are very careful though, as they have been raised with my collection of dolls.

 

.

 

I am the first owner of most of my oldest dolls,
from 2009-2012 I'd say are the oldest set.

No dolls turn radioactive green with rare exceptions, don't fret. Luts had a White to Beauty Green batch back in like 2008, and EARLY Iplehouse tans could go pretty weird if exposed to UV but that's because reds fade out. I have had ONE doll out of over 30 turn greenish and she was from a company that was folding at the time. Unidoll. She went from creamy to rancid butter greenish yellow so I sanded her down and overdyed her back to a lovely NS and shes fine.

My most yellowed doll is probaby my first release FL MNF Seorin from 2008 or so, he was secondhand and has single joints. He has a gorgeous olive/golden skin tone. It's not brittle at all.

I have de-yellowed several dolls via blushing or dye and it perks them right up. My Pukipuki got carried on many vacations and so I dyed the pinks back into her faded resin and she looks brand new again.
I promise you all, Yellowing isn't the monster you fear.