Yellowing: Is it "Natural" or does it constitute "Damage"?

I don't mind yellowed dolls at all, in fact I find they have a nice 'antique ivory' look, which I love to paint.

I only find yellowing a problem if the doll is very unevenly yellowed, or if I'm trying to assemble some sort of hybrid and the head is markedly different in color to the body.

I consider it normal wear, really... but it's amazing to me how some dolls from the same release are so much more yellowed than others. I figure those people must have a lot of light in their homes/doll display areas.

Raven

 

I don't consider yellowing a negative feature. I mean, I'm careful with my dolls and try to keep them out of the sun, but I won't love them any less if they're yellowed. I consider it to be 'just one of those things' and I don't think it's 'damaged'

If it was a mould I really wanted, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a yellowed doll. I may try to fix it, if I felt the doll needed it, but probably not. Particularly if it were a very old kind of doll that wasn't made any more, I wouldn't want to ruin it :3

 

While I do try and take some precautions with my dolls against yellowing, I don't quite see it as damage. It is simply the way the material ages--things can be done that can speed up or slow down the process, but no matter what there will be some color change overtime simply because that's what resin does.

I can't tell you exactly what would be unacceptable/acceptable--I'd have to see the doll itself. On the whole, yellowing would not necessarily discourage me from buying a doll--especially French resin since it's pretty well going to yellow noticeably no matter what. My one French resin doll that I've had for the better part of three years now is definitely yellowed, but I still find him just as beautiful as he ever was. I don't feel the need to go out of my way to de-yellow dolls--in the case of the doll I just mentioned, I wouldn't want to damage his faceup (or risk damaging him, for that matter depending on what type of process you're talking about).

The one time I would find yellowing absolutely unacceptable is if someone was not upfront about it in a sales thread--it's definitely something that needs to be disclosed to potential buyers.

 

Some dolls turn yellow as they age and some do not so much. My dolls stay in their carriers in my rather dark house when I'm not playing or photographing them (which is most of the time), and yet some of the older ones have yellowed very slightly. It's not a problem for me; I love them anyway. I might buy a yellowed doll if it was a doll I really wanted and the price was adjusted to reflect the current condition of the doll. If I like the look of it, I would probably leave it as it is, if not, I might work on it to lighten it, or even dye it. "Acceptable" and "unacceptable" are totally subjective to me, depending on the doll itself.

 

I think it's just a natural thing that happens, I don't think it has anything to do with how well/poor you treat your dolls. I like taking my dolls out to do photoshoots, I don't like keeping them locked up inside and.... not doing anything with them for fear that they'll yellow. I think most dolls yellow over a long period of time, too. It's not just all of a sudden "MY DOLL IS YELLOW". It happens so slowly that, in all honesty, I hardly notice unless I'm comparing pictures.

I think "acceptable" yellowing is along the lines of when someone's taken proper care of their doll, maybe taken them out a few times, and they've become yellow over time. "Unacceptable" would be when you've got a doll owner who leaves their dolls out in the blaring sun, not really caring about the damage that can happen. Though, I assume if they want to do that, they're okay with the yellowing, and that it'd be "acceptable" to them.

If the doll was something I couldn't find new, yes, I'd buy a very yellowed doll. But chances are if it's something I can find new, with no yellowing - I'd buy it new. Even if it was $100-$200 more than the yellowed one. I'm not against having yellowed dolls - I've had most of mine long enough that yes, they have yellowed slightly - but I wouldn't buy a horribly yellowed one when I could buy a brand new one.

-and as for trying to fix up the doll - probably not. I think if I'm willing to buy it like that in the first place, I'm lucky enough and I'd leave it as is. I wouldn't want to cause any damage to the doll, since I'm not experienced enough to know how to do it~

 

Yellowing is totally natural and will happen no matter what, so I really wouldn't call a doll damaged unless it was severely yellowed (like the owner had them in direct light) or the yellowing was uneven (ie, leaving said doll in direct sun with clothes on and the resin under the clothes is really white while the exposed is very yellow or the parts are different shades).

If a doll had yellowed very well, I would by all means consider buying it if it wasn't too expensive. I wouldn't buy a doll I had to fix up a lot unless it came with a very very good price tag.

 

I too consider yellowing something that naturally happens over time due to the nature of the material. IMHO, it becomes "unacceptable" from a buyers point of view when the yellowing is either greatly accelerated (i.e. the doll is unusually yellow for its age due to being displayed by a sunny window all the time), or is uneven in a very noticable way, such as is possible with french resin especially. But if you're buying a doll that is several years old . . . it is going to be yellowed to some degree no matter what!

As for buying a doll hat has yellowed a lot, it depends on the type of doll really. Very noticably yellow french resin I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. However, some dolls actually look better to me after they've yellowed. I recently bought a NS CP doll from '05 and he is such a lovely color. But when I bought a NS CP doll new in '05 I found the color to be way, way too pink -- so yellowing actually can help "mellow" very pinky resin and make it a more pleasing color, IMHO.

 

This is just a theory of mine, but it seems to hold up as far as my dolls go. I think a lot of the yellowing is caused by MSC and other sprays that are used to coat dolls. The resin itself seems to me not to change color permanently if preventative measures are taken. I keep my dolls out all the time, but not in direct sunlight. Every few months I clean them with whitening toothpaste and they return to their original color.

I would probably purchase a doll that had some yellowing, but I would try to remove it as much as possible. I don't think I'd like looking at a doll that was a funny, yellow color. I don't expect older dolls to be perfect, but a 'sickly' looking doll just doesn't appeal to me. Maybe if it was a limited I might be a little less critical, but I couldn't afford a limited in the first place so I'll never have to worry about it! LO!

In all honesty, as much as these dolls cost, I'd want one in the best condition I could find.

 

I too think yellowing is a natural progression of resin. I have several fairly old dolls that are very yellow and I like them as much as my brand new paper-white Raphael. It does pose a problem when it comes to option parts (my SwD Myu and Magie definitely can't use newer hands since the color is so noticeably different) but other than that it's not a big deal.

The yellowing issue HAS prevented me from considering any doll made of French resin, however. The fact that it yellows so much quicker AND unevenly is a big negative to me. Bambicrony colored elves are lovely but since after a year it seems every piece is marbled and a different color than the others, I will never add one to my collection.

 

- Do you feel that yellowing is just a natural feature of resin, or does it constitute a damaged doll?

A certain amount of yellowing is a natural feature. Obviously if the doll is extremely yellowed - like the resin examples where someone took pieces of junk resin and left them out in the yard through sun, rain, temperature for weeks, then posted the severely discolored results - or if the doll has other signs of damage besides simply being yellowed, that's a different story.


Is yellowing a sign of a well-loved doll, or is it a defect that signifies improper care?

See above. A certain amount of yellowing is to be expected. An extreme amount can signify poor care, especially if a fairly new doll has yellowed very quickly, the yellowing is extreme, or there are other signs of damage like scratches.

- When does yellowing cross the line between "acceptable" and "unacceptable"?

It really depends on the type of doll and the price. Yellowing to me would be "acceptable" if
- the yellowing was commensurate with the age and to some extent with the material of the doll (i.e. french resin has more tendency to get yellow; a doll that's 5 years old would naturally be yellower than one that was 5 months old)
- the yellowing was fairly even instead of having head visibly yellower than body, or splotches of yellow here and there like a disease
- alternatively, if I was planning to dye, blush, paint over, etc. the whole doll then yellowing is obviously less of a concern


- Would you buy a very yellowed doll? If so, would you try to "fix" it? Why or why not?
Depends a lot on the price and what I planned to do with the doll. I've bought fairly yellowed dolls because they were cheap, such as a Volks SD for a total price of 350 or under, and because the yellowing was within my tolerance threshold instead of being, to me, ugly. I doubt very much that I'd try to "fix" the yellowing because I'm less likely to buy a doll needing tons and tons of work (my time is limited), but if I got a really good deal on a doll that was extremely yellow or had a head of different color than the body, I might try to clean it with the oxy methods, etc.

I have seen some yellowed dolls for sale (mostly french resin) that I've rejected because I could get the same doll less yellowed and/or cheaper from another seller. I'm probably not going to pay 800-900 dollars and up for a yellowed doll unless it's a Bermann or discontinued Dollshe or something very much in demand like that. If a doll was super rare I'd probably jump on a yellowed version of it rather than pass it up entirely. But I've seen sellers trying to get 800 bucks for a yellowed french resin doll when someone else is selling the same doll in better condition for 650. Guess which one I bought?

 

very interesting! I know i'll be doing fairly regular cleaning and upkeep to make sure my doll is at her best, but it doesent sound like yellowing can be prevented that easily, so we shall see! I'd like to think if I can prevent it, I would

 

- Do you feel that yellowing is just a natural feature of resin, or does it constitute a damaged doll? Is yellowing a sign of a well-loved doll, or is it a defect that signifies improper care? Yellowing is natural and sadly inevitable but I think certain things depict whether or not it is a well-loved doll or a poorly cared for doll.

- When does yellowing cross the line between "acceptable" and "unacceptable"?

Acceptable to me: Have had for a long time, light yellowing (you can still tell what skin tone the doll was originally), taken proper care of, and not left in the sunlight or overly exposed to cigarette smoke. (I know that for some bjd owners avoiding cigarette smoke can be impossible.)

Unacceptable to me: Carelessly left outside or in front of a window for long periods of time until the doll's skin color is a "warped" sickly yellow -or- puffing smoke into the doll's face until it is severely yellow.

These terms only apply when the owner is selling the doll. If they own it and have no intentions of selling it then they can do whatever they want; it's not my business.

- Would you buy a very yellowed doll? If so, would you try to "fix" it? Why or why not? I don't think I would unless it was very lightly yellowed and I couldn't buy it new; price is also a big factor for me. I might buy and fix a severely yellowed doll if the owner didn't want it anymore and was selling it cheaply enough. I think that when reselling a yellowed doll the price should always be taken into consideration because of it.

 

- Do you feel that yellowing is just a natural feature of resin, or does it constitute a damaged doll? Is yellowing a sign of a well-loved doll, or is it a defect that signifies improper care?
-Well, seeing as most people say that yellowing is either from sunlight or oxidization of the resin...There's not much you can do. Especially if it's oxidization since what're you gonna do? Play with your doll in SPACE? :'D So as long as it's not too too yellow in regards to the doll's age then it's not damage or improper care.

- When does yellowing cross the line between "acceptable" and "unacceptable"?
-As I said above if the doll is more yellowed than it should be for its age. Obviously FR yellows quicker but if it's a doll that's only 4 months old and yellower than a lemon(ha ha how would that even happen?!) it's unaceptable to me.

- Would you buy a very yellowed doll? If so, would you try to "fix" it? Why or why not?

Depends on the mold. I'm not gonna buy a FR doll that's a standard release that's yellowed when I can buy a new one. I might be more willing to buy a limited doll that's yellowed but even so....mehh. I'm not a huge fan of yellowing in general so I'd rather buy a new doll ^^; I hate doin' work on dolls so...yeah.

 

Interesting topic, I was thinking about this myself a few days ago when considering selling one of my boys.

- Do you feel that yellowing is just a natural feature of resin, or does it constitute a damaged doll? Is yellowing a sign of a well-loved doll, or is it a defect that signifies improper care?

Personally, I think it's a nature of the material that our lovelies are made of. I've done enough looking around with the dolls to notice that yellowing is just about inevitable with all dolls that are played with. The process can be slowed and it can be sped up, depending on the care that's taken of the dolls and with which kind of resin they're made of.

I don't really know how to answer if it's a sign of a well-loved doll vs. improper care. If you've got a doll with just a banana yellow arm, I think that indicates bad care, but if its even I would think that its a well cared for doll actually. I don't know, there are a few factors to consider, such as: where there's yellowing, is there other damage, evenness, etc.

- When does yellowing cross the line between "acceptable" and "unacceptable"?

-- When its unevenly yellowed and just looks like a lemon in some parts to cream in other parts. Or if a doll has a "farmer's tan" There can be gorgeous yellowed dolls. It all matters if its even or not.

- Would you buy a very yellowed doll? If so, would you try to "fix" it? Why or why not?
-- I might, if I don't like the color of said doll. Also if its uneven I would DEFINITELY try to fix it.

But that's just me.

 

Well, yellowing *is* natural for BJDs... but there are some times when yellowing gets out of hand due to poor decisions of an owner... or to a bad resin mix from the company, things like the first set of coloured Bambicrony dolls which had uneven yellowing very quickly, and which was showing up on multiple owners' dolls. Or tan dolls that get noticable green tanlines after one quick outdoor photo op. When you get a doll from a previous owner you expect them to tell you the condition, including whether it's yelllowed, but I feel like some owners of novel skin colours were somewhat blindsided by something they were never even informed they might expect, which really stinks.

It's not a problem with the vast majority of BJDs though- generally people know how to treat dolls to minimise yellowing, and are aware that it's something that will eventually happen to their dolls. It's not a defect any more than a doll having average seam lines, or blushing eventually chipping around joints. It's just part of the hobby.

 

It is not something I would obsess over. My first second hand doll (fourth one I received) has certainly yellowed quite some, but I do not know how old he is and he wasn't the normal colour for those dolls to start with. When his elastic snapped and his legs ended up on the table, a peek at the resin under his torso joint showed exactly how yellow he had become. Did I care? Well, it looks odd for an albino to be a little yellow but I think he looks quite fine like that.
My dollzone normal-yellow doll is about a year old, has been in the sun, my room is rather well lit in the day time too (in fact, there is no time where my room is not lit somehow) and he has gotten darker because of yellowing, but I think it actually makes him look nicer ^^ Am I wierd? Maybe to some. I have no problems with yellowed dolls

 

- Do you feel that yellowing is just a natural feature of resin, or does it constitute a damaged doll? Is yellowing a sign of a well-loved doll, or is it a defect that signifies improper care?

I feel that it's natural, and that it's a sign of a well-loved doll. I don't think it signifies improper care, unless I knew that the person who had it just left it out in the sun for no reason all of the time. But playing with it, it's going to yellow eventually. And I think it's a sign that the doll is well-loved. Definitly. : )

- When does yellowing cross the line between "acceptable" and "unacceptable"?

I don't see yellowing as acceptable and not acceptable. It's not important as long as you love your doll. That's what really matters.

- Would you buy a very yellowed doll? If so, would you try to "fix" it? Why or why not?

Yes, I sure would. I don't mind imperfect dolls, and yellowing isn't really one of the bigger problems a doll could have. As for "fixing it"...I dunno. Depends on how much it bothered me, I guess. But I'd probably just leave it alone.

 

Yellowing is in fact natural. For some resins, it take longer to yellow. But resin, will always yellow one day. It doesnt constitude damage, why would it? Its mere natural process.

How would yellowing be unacceptable? It just happens. End of story.

I dont like yellow bjd's. They do have bjd tones of skin out there in yellow...but it isnt for me, nor would I bother buying it yellow. Fixing it? Naaah.

 

- Do you feel that yellowing is just a natural feature of resin, or does it constitute a damaged doll? Is yellowing a sign of a well-loved doll, or is it a defect that signifies improper care?

I feel it's most definitely a natural feature of resin, as resin ages from prolonged exposure to air, it is inevitable. However, while I think progressive yellowing is natural, there are things you can submit your doll to which speeds up the yellowing process - high heat, prolongued sunlight - and I think extreme yellowing from this kind of treatment is less natural, just like how our faces will wrinkle with time, but smoking, sun exposure and drinking will speed it up in a less natural fashion.

- When does yellowing cross the line between "acceptable" and "unacceptable"?

I don't believe yellowing in itself is unacceptable, but I feel that uneven yellowing is. For example when the doll's face/hands are shades darker than the body, or patches of more yellowed resin.

- Would you buy a very yellowed doll? If so, would you try to "fix" it? Why or why not?

If it was a sculpt I loved that I can't find or afford brand new and it was going for a cheaper price, I'd definitely consider it. If when it arrived it was unbearably yellow, I'd probably try to fix it, so that I'd be able to have it with my other dolls and not look jaundiced.