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

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?

it's both IMO.
if the doll is only a year or two old but is bright yellow, then it is most definitely a damage. I consider that the owner did not take good care of it. OR it means the resin is very cheap.
but even if it is bright yellow because it's 10 year old, it's still a damage to me and should lower the value of the doll. it's a natural damage, but still damage. it's a sign of age and use and I would not want to pay full price even if the original faceup is still intact and it barely has a scratch. it's like when you sell a car or a house, if the paint job is 20 year old and the colour has faded, it will put people off.

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

when the seller isn't sure anymore if the doll is supposed to be white or normal skin. or if the colour is comparable to the teeth of a person who's been smoking for 30 years :-D or when it's starting to turn green-ish.

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

no. I know the colour would bother me and I would not be able to fix it AT ALL. proof being, I have tried and now the said doll looks like a cow!

 

I'm EXTREMELY paranoid about yellowing, to the point that I'll scurry for shade when I have my dolls out at public meets. On the other hand though, it's inevitable, so for me it's kind of like certain kinds of diseases. I'll try to delay it, but I've already accepted the fact that I can't actually stop it. I haven't given up, but I've made peace with it.

 

I agree with what a lot of people have already said: I'm fine with even yellowing. I think it's just part of having a resin doll. If I really wanted a doll, yellowing would not stop me. My only objection is when there is very uneven yellowing like a 'farmer's tan' - the arms being much more yellow than other parts of the body, etc. I probably wouldn't do much to try to change the yellowing other than a thorough cleaning. In all honesty, my BW dolls have yellowed slightly over the years, but it's so even and gradual, it's just fine by me.

 

Yellowing is inevitable, it's just part of owning resin dolls. Resin decays with time no matter what you do... even if you keep a box in a dark place in room temperature it will still yellow... maybe later than dolls that are being played with and left out a lot but it still will. I'm fine with that and it doesn't really stop me from keeping my dolls out and about even if I'm very careful when i transport them and never ever leave them in direct sunlight.

 

I like getting yellowed dolls. Because it can make the resin look better and its own color.

But if its that gross shiny yellow then I think its a "bit" damaged. But nothing that you couldn't try to fix.

 

i can tell now, after removing Mich's bodyblushing that he has yellowed over the 3-4 year's ive had him, and that probably because the blushing's msc took most of the light that came, But no.. it's not damaged, to me it signifies that it's a well loved doll. at least in my case. that i don't just put them away all the time. Ofcourse i cover them up at periodes and keep them high so the sun won't reach them. but i don't panic and lock them up.

Too much would be a little like my friends dolls who didn't turn yellow, but green. They look a bit eerie to me, but she loves them, and they're twice as old as mine so she's okay with it. And too much yellow would be very APPERANT yellow where a child would look and say Yellow as staing it's colour. But other than a subtle yellow doesn't bother me.

IF i'd buy a yellowed doll? Sure, if i simply loved the doll i would, no doubt about it really. but i would want pictures to see them then and not get a surprise really, because it then wouldn't be the doll i fell inlove with (ex. putting the company's picture of the doll instead of the actual doll) after that, i wouldn't mind them yellowing, i wouldn't notice really unless i could compare to a brand new one really.

If i'd fix it? If it was realyl bad, maybe? if not.. then no.. its a natural process like silver goes black and you only fix it when it goes very dark to make it shine again.. :3

 

I feel that yellowing is natural and something unavoidable. Just because a doll has yellowed does not mean that someone is uncaring of their doll. But if the doll has yellowed in a very short period of time, then it can be considered that the person did not care for the doll very well.

I'm not sure if i would buy a yellowed doll at this moment... I'd say yes for now, but i'd like to see a yellowed doll in real life before solidifying my opinion/decision.

 

Agreeing completely with Sahoma here .

I know yellowing is unavoidable to a certain extent (although I get the feeling that the resin used today can withstand yellowing a lot better than the resin used when I got into the hobby 6 years ago), but it does bother me and I take very good care in keeping my dolls away from sunlight. I have various dolls that I've had for years and that were made in 2005/2006/2007 or even earlier and to my eyes they haven't visibly yellowed, which I'm kind of proud of.

I have bought dolls with varying degrees of yellowing. One was a Leeke Honey who fell into the "can't tell if it's NS or WS" category, I've since determined that she was old white skin from before Leeke WS became paper white, and she had mellowed into a pretty ivory that wasn't bothersome or even noticeable at all unless you put a brand new WS next to her, so I didn't do anything about it.

Then I managed to get my hands on a Unoss, that was "slightly yellowed" according to the seller. She was dark yellow on one side where she had been catching sunlight on top of a closet for years>.>. Also her faceup was a mess and badly sealed. I cleaned her and then spend days sanding every bit of her. I managed to get the severely yellowed parts back to a much more natural color, but gave up after a week or so and after much deliberation put her up for sale (not just for the yellowing). Then I spent some time sanding her further on the buyer's request until she was actually pretty clean and no longer noticeably yellow, and taking a big loss on the price. So yeah, that one I certainly considered "damaged".

I got a NS Littlefee girl that looked a bit yellowed (as in more peachy than pale pink) compared to my brand new LTF, but in that case I didn't mind because it just made her look a bit healthier, like she had been playing in the sun a lot.

I have a limited SDF head from a few years ago that is noticeably yellower than his hybrid body and it slightly bothers me, but I don't want to wipe his faceup and try sanding him and he's absolutely perfect for the character so with him I tolerate it, also because I'm not sure if I could find an unyellowed head of that sculpt by this point.

And I just acquired my dream doll, a Feeple girl of about 4 years old, and I was warned that she had turned "ivory". I was expecting a color like Soom's cream white, but she is in fact more like the color of butter, which stands out more because she wears white a lot. This is purely age related yellowing and not due to light exposure since it's perfectly even. I'm in the process of giving her a thorough cleaning and I want to attempt sanding her, because it does bother me on her.

I have to say I got all my significantly yellowed dolls for prices quite a bit below market value, and I wouldn't have paid full price for a noticeably yellowed doll, except maybe for my Esther, since she is so hard to find nowadays. Even for her I wouldn't pay a price above original retail if she wouldn't be absolute top condition though.

 

- 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?

Actually I don't mind yellowing at all. I think that the age of the doll should be visible. For me it kinda shows how dear the doll is - it has lasted for all those years and it's no way I count yellowing as damage. Especially if it's because of the age of the doll...

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


Uh... I don't know. I'm so new in this hobby I haven't came across of the situation where yellowing has been unacceptable...

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

Only if it's full doll or if I have a very yellowed head. Like I said, I don't care the yellowing at all. Only the mold matters for me. Maybe I would give it a simple soda bath but I wouldn't maniacally try to fix 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?
I'd say that yellowing alone is not a damage. In fact, it's to be expected with objects made of plastics. On the other hand, uneven or premature yellowing may show defect as lesser quality resin (like the one usually used in forgery). But taken alone, yellowing is really acceptable. For instance, being a classic videogames enthusiast. When I see a yellowed Super Nintendo deck or Dreamcast controller, I'm not thinking: "What a cr*p, that should go to garbage", I'm thinking "That is SO vintage, I love those!"

- When does yellowing cross the line between "acceptable" and "unacceptable"?
I'd say taht yellowing crosses the line when it's premature and/or very uneven yellowing, because, as I've said, yellowing is a normal sign of age and Vintage stuff is cool to me!

- Would you buy a very yellowed doll? If so, would you try to "fix" it? Why or why not?
I'd say yes, I'd buy an older yellowed doll, BUT I'd buy it WHOLE and EVENLY YELLOWED. I would not buy an older yellowed head to put on a new body and vice-versa because color match would ben an issue. That said, I would not try to "fix" it. I'd probably wipe the faceup and the body blush and ask my girlfriend to make an other one for me, but I'd do it for most of the second hand dolls I'd buy (the exception being a doll with a customization I love and being one of the major reason for the buy).

 

Sorry double post :S

 

- 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 believe it's natural to resin. Yellowing doesn't mean a doll is damaged, it just means a doll is old or improperly stored or displayed. (It's really up to the owner if they want their doll to be a near mint collectible or a yellowed play toy)

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

I don't mind yellowing.

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

I'd love to own one! I expect the price to reflect the yellowing though. I only pay full price for new, unused dolls.
I may try to restore a doll but it depends on how yellowed it is. I probably wouldn't try to fix a deep, evenly yellowed doll. I would probably try to fix a slightly yellowed or unevenly yellowed doll.

 

I just recently bought a Narindoll that has significant yellowing. I think she is very pretty having been purchased from the Pepstar artist. However I'd still like to see if the yellowing can be removed. I've read conflict articles on whether or not it can actually be done.
So can anyone tell me, can the yellowing be removed?
If so, what is the best method? help please!!

 

- 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?
A little of both? If a doll is really old, some yellowing is expected. But if a doll is not all that old, and very yellowed, that could be problematic.

- When does yellowing cross the line between "acceptable" and "unacceptable"?
I would prefer yellowing to be even. I think it would irritate me more if it was uneven.

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

If I was buying a full doll, if it hasn't yellowed to a color I find unpleasant and it's even, that would be fine with me. If I was buying a doll for hybriding purposes, I might fuss more over the lack of yellowing for resin matching purposes.

 

- 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?

It is natural sometimes. Other times, it's due to too much sun or light exposure--and possibly improper care, but not always. Whether natural or not, it needs to be disclosed when selling a doll. And it is damage of a kind... as in aging affects anything, making it no longer "as new."

- When does yellowing cross the line between "acceptable" and "unacceptable"?
That's up to the individual. Some people really dislike any hint of yellowing, others find yellowing acceptable. Personally, I think some even yellowing can be just fine. But if it's uneven or is very obviously yellow and no longer even in the range of a natural skin tone... then that would be not so great to me.

- Would you buy a very yellowed doll? If so, would you try to "fix" it? Why or why not?
Not if it was SUPER-yellowed. If it looked ok, and it was even, and I really wanted the doll, then I'd go for it.

 

I don't mind even yellowing, especially if it's not a bad shade. Like a nice mellow tone. But if my doll were to become bright yellow, over a short period of time, when I don't put my dolls in the sun, then I would consider there to be a problem with the quality of the resin.

 

I see yellowing as a natural process. Yes there are things that can be done to prevent a doll from yellowing as fast but it will still happen. My first doll came with a pair of spare hands that have been kept in a box since I got her, so I can still that she's yellowed quite noticeably. This doesn't bother me though, because it makes me remember how much fun I had doing those outdoor photoshoots and just how much I've played with her over the years. I'll have to blush the spare hand now to be yellow not pinkish so that it will match, but I wouldn't want to attempt to remove the yellowing.

I've always been worried about having a white-skin doll yellow because if I bought a white skin it would be because the character was supposed to be that pale. So I may take more care with a white doll for that reason.

As for when yellowing becomes unacceptable, I've never come across a doll I would find unacceptably yellow. It's something that depends on personal preference. To some people Fleur, that first doll, would unacceptably yellow since she's a much deeper and less shade but I wouldn't try to change her.

I would buy a very yellowed doll if I liked how they looked. None of my characters have a defined skintone so if they were more yellow it wouldn't make a difference. If I was trying to make a hybrid then yellowing would of course make a difference. Oher than that, as long as the yellowing is declared in the sales thread, it wouldn't change how likely I'd be to buy the doll.

 

I think it's damage as its something the doll did not originally have. Most dolls yellow slightly, but if it was very yellow and had been exposed to camera flashes and bright light then it's the owners fault and is damage.

 

I'm not really all that afraid of yellowing...it's bright vivid glaring sun 365 here, so unless I keep him in a lead lined box, it's bound to happen before too long

 

I just got my first Yo-SD from the marketplace. She arrived and it was love at first sight. I especially LOVE her warm, kind of peachy skin tone. It looks like she has been playing outside in the sun and has a nice glow.
Then I realized that this lovely color that I like so much is actually the "yellowing" that the seller described in her post.

So apparently it is considered a "minus"- but I really really love the color!

When I got my BBB Sprite, she was paper-white. I left her in the sun on purpose to yellow, and she turned a wonderful, antique ivory color. I find it much more attractive than the stark, paper-white that she had been.

So what are your thoughts about yellowing? Is it always bad? Am I the only person who thinks it can actually look pretty nice? Have you ever yellowed a doll on purpose?