how quickly does white lego discolour ?

polarbomber

I have had a complaint from a customer that the white 2x2 plates they ordered are not new . As i only sell new parts from sets i part out , i assume that they have discoloured , i have a total of 42 plates in stock and they come from part outs dating back to march 2014 , i know lego white turns yellow over time , but would they discolour slightly in 12 months . I store my parts in grip seal bags and a pull out drawer system . Anyone else having problems with storing white bricks ?

budgetkids

I use a similar method to you and I have new white parts. None of which seem to be yellowing from what I have seen.
Also, I learned to never *assume* anything when it comes to retail/selling. I would actually reach out to them and ask. Could be how they were bagged and received some large scratches in shipping?

Chris

robernat

'New' white parts can indeed discolor slightly, particulary if in air sealed bags (I even had this with Blue), I even read a story from a seller who had 'heavely' discolored parts in a brand new set that was just issued by TLG (so not a set that stayed in his stock for years).
Now, there is a secondary issue that might cause this buyers aggrevation (if I may say it like that): Up to about a year and half ago, white parts where soft and warm yellowish white, in some 'plants' TLG is now producing white parts with another color tone: the cold 'grayish' white. This means that the vast majority of newer whites are looking more harder 'white' and *if* compared to the older colortone, people might conclude that the 'warmer' yellow parts are 'discolored', while as a matter of fact it is not true at all, it's just another colortone. Under certain light conditions the difference between the different colortones might be quite harsh and might lead a buyer to 'think' they are discolored, while in fact they are not, it's just a different mix of ABS.
TLG 'used to have only 1 supplier voor ABS, unfortunatly 'now' they have several, and color tone wise, this isn't a good move, so unfortunatly it is something we all have to live with...

I try to keep these colortones seperate, and if a buyer buys low amounts (so not full bulk) I'll always try to 'pick' the same colortone (if possible), just to avoid the problem, sometimes I even don't list full quantity for this reason, I sell out one colortone, then relist again the other colortone.

Your buyer really needs to compare the received parts against older sets (2-3-4-5 year old) and brand new sets as well to find out whether it's just a colortone issue or an actual discolorisation problem (again, brand new sealed 'zip' baggies may also be a cause, but only very slightly)

polarbomber

just checked and i can see a slight dif between warm/cold tones , will have to keep an eye out for that in future , thx jc

Stragus

Yes. I have also seen two "shades" of white in brand new sets, one can appear very slightly yellowish when seen right next to the other one.

Apart from that, always make sure your inventory isn't directly exposed to sunlight, obviously.

brickfeverparts

There is currently a *problem* with the coloring of the plastics in especcially white.

We had around 500 1x10 white plates, new from sets, and after a few months got more yello then yellow. I called a friend how knows a friend..... It happens more often as production is shifting all over the world at the moment.

So, its true, i still think seller should send new or refund, as for the buyer (although brand new) not useable i guess.....

budgetkids

Apparently I have not compared my white LEGO parts. I will certainly take a look now. I know they discolor over time but did not know there was a soft/warm white depending on the supplier. Interesting indeed. Thank you for educating me too!

Chris

Markyd7

Having set up in the last 2 years I've been really surprised at how quickly white can change. I've seen it a few times when parting out several of the same sets at the same time. Also see it with yellow a lot.
I normally send out a message before or with orders if there's off white parts. Have had one complaint when I didn't give a warning. But I couldn't blame them as I remembered how bad the part was.
As for scratches I seen some really bad ones out of new boxes.

Hoddie

It's pretty bad how several yellow pieces of the exact same type can come from the same set and be in visibly different shades.

OvertheBrick

Is it just the light or other factors cause the color to change over time ?

robernat

Colortone issues are in all colors, Reddish Brown has had 5 or 6 shades the past few years, yellow 3 (maybe a little less obvious), Red as well (more translucid), some Light Bluish Gray parts look more 'Light Gray' (particulary small Technic Parts like Bushes and Pins), even Transparant colors are not always of the same shades (even within one set), allthough they don't have the same composition (ABS type) as 'plain' colors. How the parts of the past 6 years are going to react to all different kind of environmental conditions is a big ?
Maybe these newer colortones will be more stable then the parts of the '80 and '90, maybe it will be worse overtime...

@weberemmanuel
Breaking sunlight exposure is probably the most influencing issue that causes certain colors to discolor, it has been particulary noticed on sets of the late '80 and all the way through the '90.
But it's not the only factor...
There does seems to be other factors that somehow causes chemical reactions in the structure (toplayer), because how can one otherwise explain that unexposed sides (in builded condition) also get discolored. If seen so many bricks in bulk lot's that where discolored ALL sides (even the bottom side), so clearly that can't be caused by sunlight only, as the part would never have the same exposure on all sides (and when cutting the part up, the 'inner' plastic is still it's original color).
It's just one of those things that happens with ABS... (and certainly NOT only LEGO)

brickfeverparts

@RobErNat it is an ABS coloring chemical thing for sure.
In fact, if you have a certain reaction within one specific part, all the parts in that *drawer* can be infected with the chemical reaction, leading to quite cool discoloring processes

Jiries

It's pretty bad how several yellow pieces of the exact same type can come from the same set and be in visibly different shades.

I been aware of this on the Red colours too as some look very red older type and newer soft red colours. Correct me if I am wrong about the red colour ones.

polarbomber

the problem was scratch and chip damage , i will just have to be more careful when packing orders .
ref colour here is a pic of my technic space shuttle arm totally white while the parts exposed to the sun are totally yellow

Teup

the problem was scratch and chip damage , i will just have to be more careful when packing orders .
ref colour here is a pic of my technic space shuttle arm totally white while the parts exposed to the sun are totally yellow

I think it must be something else... That technic lego is probably slightly different plastic. Check the insides of the arches, I bet they are just as yellow as the areas that were exposed..

I always use sun exposure to bring parts back to their original colour. Have done that many times and not a single time did that cause the part to worsen instead of improve. I don't know what the deal is with the belief sunlight exposure yellows parts but it's quite persistent..

I have seen parts that were partly discoloured and remained white on bits that were covered up, so it must be true there is some kind of light effect. Maybe artifical light causes it and sunlight cures it?

Stragus

@Teup The UV rays provide the energy to break chemical bonds, triggering or speeding up chemical reactions. In an oxygen-rich air environment, it breaks the existing bonds to form bromide dioxyde which has a yellowish-orange color.

Of course, if you have the Lego submerged into some other solution, the UV rays may provide the energy to completely different chemical reactions.

Jiries

At Teup,

Your last paragraph matched on one of my 6659-1 Shell Tanker set with the white slopes now very yellowed while very white where the 2x2 black round plates resided on it. It was on the shelf during the time in Cyprus and here. Must be from the Cypriot high indoor heat and strong daylight while here was in a less bright room. First time I heard of using the sun to bring it back so would it work on my set's white parts?

Teup

@Teup The UV rays provide the energy to break chemical bonds, triggering or speeding up chemical reactions. In an oxygen-rich air environment, it breaks the existing bonds to form bromide dioxyde which has a yellowish-orange color.

How oxygen-rich is oxygen-rich? :P I do it both indoors and outdoors and both ways the light bleaches the parts nicely.

At Teup,

Your last paragraph matched on one of my 6659-1 Shell Tanker set with the white slopes now very yellowed while very white where the 2x2 black round plates resided on it. It was on the shelf during the time in Cyprus and here. Must be from the Cypriot high indoor heat and strong daylight while here was in a less bright room. First time I heard of using the sun to bring it back so would it work on my set's white parts?

I had something similar with a futuron monorail I bought recently. Maybe ambient lighting in low doses causes yellowing (not sure if that applies to artificial light too/only) while direct sunlight exposure gives it the bleaching effect? I recommend it, it is a semi-permanent solution; it does not stop the yellowing in its tracks (yellowing will continue to proceed) but it does make a permanent difference. I covered up half of a white boat hull 5+ years ago and gave the other half sunlight expose, then removed the cover. The difference between the sunlight half and the other half is still very clear today, even though both halves have continued to yellow since then. The half that I covered up is pretty much tan by now :P

Jiries

Interesting and it a shame that white Lego bricks become a victim of yellowing and no way to stop it.

Stragus

@Jiries There are ways, you can lock down your creations in airtight glass cases filled with nitrogen.

@Teup That's an interesting experiment! I read somewhere that Lego has experienced with different formulas how to integrate the flame-retardant bromine, which could lead to variance between results... Also note that a regular cloth will still let a significant percentage of UV rays through.

polarbomber

ref my space shuttle , 2 years ago i broke it down and bathed it in hydrogen peroxide in direct sunlight for 2 weeks , then rinsed with clean water , it reverted to new white colour , since then its been stored in attic and returned to its present yellow . I don't think there is a permanent fix .

Jiries

Another interesting knowledge from Polarbomber. If the whites always become yellow then we have to live with it. I have some yellowed bricks being sorted separately from good whites ones. Remember is only a Lego and not gold or diamonds! I would use them for my inner parts future projects while the pure white ones would be for outside parts. Plan to make a 3 storey Cypriot house with a double cavity wall so older bricks are inner walls and new or good used ones for outside parts. Nicked bricks would be used for connecting the cavity walls on every foot length. I had sold a lot of older, some nicked 2x4 bricks to a buyer in Canada last year which he had a similar plan to build something and want those for inner parts. I notice that any old dusty 2x2 to 2x10 sized bricks with nicks or scratches found from car boot sales do improved after sonic cleaning and become good again except the nicks and deep scratches.

As Polarbomber said about the attic. I stored all the white new and used bricks in the attic and I do hope the new white ones won't turn to yellow despite no daylight there.

Hoddie

I store my white/yellow parts in opaque black tubs. Fighting a losing battle but I think it helps a little.

Graham

Just FYI - I while back I was informed of why color tones "change" - particularly noticeable are White, Yellow, MSG & Reddish Brown.
Whereas TLG used to color all the plastic in Denmark, and ship the (pre-colored) ABS granules to the other plants. They now use Pantone as a reference, each plant produces and/or sources raw ABS locally and colors "on-site" - the raw ABS will have a different base hue, due to all the different factors in production of the ABS.
As LEGO parts/sets are produced in 4 countries and minifigs in China - you can expect variations in hue, couple that with changes in production runs and/or supplier of ABS - not a good situation for us - but a major cost saving for TLG = more profit, NOT less expensive sets!

Dark Red is an exception - whereas TLG have Dark Red and New Dark Red the community does not make the distinction - "old" Dark Red is much brighter than the "dusky" New Dark Red

I try to match tonal differences in orders but it is becoming more and more difficult.

Perhaps a site-wide notation would be beneficial? @Admin

Jiries

I had a darker red than normal on a 1x1 plate so I put in the comment field since it show a lot against normal dark red ones. When someone order such colour I always make sure they are identical but fine if only order 1 piece.

Tyredocter

Bizarrely have discovered fly spray can make white plastic models hidden away from the spray turn yellow. Also usually my white Lego that has gone yellow is from the 'seventies though is more of a cream. If you plan to store Lego would recommend avoid contact with spray chemicals in the room, strong daylight and keep them somewhere dark in a sealable Tupperware tub with locking flaps. Heat is the enemy of Lego too as it can warp and even discolour it. We are all super careful with our Lego so are in no way are saying your stupid, you must be either getting contaminated stock or it's something you are doing that your not aware off in the storage area. Also find new Lego from other countries than Denmark are slightly different as one model has odd coloured cylinders in it's engine and they came from the bags inside the box. So it's either foreign licensed Lego or some contaminant, hope this helps.

Hoddie

I keep my white pieces in a black UV sealed box but I'm not sure I see the point any longer. You can buy a new Lego set off the shelf in a Lego store and receive anything up to 5 different shades of yellow and brown within it. If Lego's QC has slipped, I'm not sure how sellers here can realistically be held to higher standards.

Tyredocter

In case anyone doubts me about foreign licensed Lego in the box, it says the Lego is made in Denmark then lists the other countries where it's made. Danish Lego from the 'seventies is on a different level of quality to the modern stuff. Have noticed the Star type Lego found in Click Brick and MY sets is about the same quality as proper Lego. Have noticed too that some bits are well made this must be Danish the rest or at least some is the same quality as the Star brand. To prove my point bought a Lego Racer Hotrod which came with four different Lego tyres all moulded differently despite being the same size and width paired for front and rear! As least with copy Lego it comes from one country so the quality is the same all the way through!