White Part Packs and White Removal MODs

[Ngoc Nguyen]

White parts age horribly.

That was what I learned upon taking out the 42043, 42040, 42096 out for look the other day. The white stickers cracked and fell off partially, and the areas not covered by stickers turned yellow. The cabin parts in 42043 even got a new set of stickers a year ago, but they still degraded.

"So this is my vow. All white parts will die." - Gorr the god butcher.

I plan to replace the white parts in my existing models with parts of other colors. I'm also thinking about doing that for upcoming sets with white panels, like the BMW bike or the Airbus. The white panels is one of the reason I hesitate to get the BMW.

To start off, I've isolated the white parts from the cabin of 42043 and put it here. 

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-117421/nguyengiangoc/42043-cabin-white-parts/#details

I intend to swap all of that into either orange or DBG.

 

 

Orange looks better and still fits the construction vibe, but some parts have to be replaced.

Edited July 17, 2022 by Ngoc Nguyen

[Johnny1360]

You have chosen quite the formidable task, as white has been rather extensively used, far longer than I can remember. Occasionally I actually like the used/weathered  look of some white pieces but yeah it can be amazing how fast it yellows, even when well cared for.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing some of the actual results.

[Jurss]

Don't know, but white parts from 42000 are still OK, even stickers (that was the time, I was applying stickers)

[Ngoc Nguyen]

11 minutes ago, Jurss said:

Don't know, but white parts from 42000 are still OK, even stickers (that was the time, I was applying stickers)

Those in my 42000 also yellows and their stickers peeled off twice. 

[howitzer]

For me the problem with yellowing is minimal to non-existent. I mean, I have some decades old white parts that are yellowed, but others of similar age are still almost as white as brand new ones. I've also had the Saturn V model sitting on my shelf for two years now and it's still perfectly white.

I guess it depends a lot on the local circumstances, I happen to live quite far in the north where UV light from the Sun isn't that big of a problem.

[thekoRngear]

You declared a war! Would be glad to see the white roof replacement mod for 42110 Defender. 

[nerdsforprez]

I am not sure where you are storing things....but white MOCs/set parts in my collection don't show what you're reporting at all. Course I really don't have anything pre 2012.....but still.  Wonder if this has been others experience as well.  

[Erik Leppen]

Isn't yellowing mostly related to UV light, or sunlight in general?

I have some white parts that have yellowed, to varying degrees, but nothing serious IMO. But I normally don't let models stand in direct sunlight for long periods of time. But, as pointed out by @howitzer, it may depend on where you live. I don't know.

In my experience, however, this problem is not really limited to just white. I have some LBG parts that almost look like they're old gray. But those are parts from I estimate somewhere around 2010.

That all said, I do like the orange cabin on 42043! (The dark-gray version seems a bit dull to me, personally)

 

[thekoRngear]

9 minutes ago, Erik Leppen said:

In my experience, however, this problem is not really limited to just white. I have some LBG parts that almost look like they're old gray. But those are parts from I estimate somewhere around 2010.

That all said, I do like the orange cabin on 42043! (The dark-gray version seems a bit dull to me, personally)

 

That also started to happening to my first 42110 unit (bought in Nov, 2019). Its LBG parts started to appear ever-so-slightly brighter!

Pure black 42043 cabin could look good in the first case pictured!

 

[Ngoc Nguyen]

I wrap my sets in bags and put them on shelves. I live in Vietnam which is a tropical country, so I guess my models get more UV exposure than those of folks living in the EU.

1 hour ago, Erik Leppen said:

That all said, I do like the orange cabin on 42043!

Indeed, I think I'm gonna go for that version as well.

[howitzer]

25 minutes ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

I wrap my sets in bags and put them on shelves. I live in Vietnam which is a tropical country, so I guess my models get more UV exposure than those of folks living in the EU.

Indeed, I think I'm gonna go for that version as well.

You might want to look into UV-opaque plastic bags, and I don't know what sort of light fixtures you have but I think some fluorescent tubes can also leak significant amount of UV, which could also cause the discolouration.

I've seen also old grey and blue parts which have significant discolouration but those tend to be very old (like 30-40 years).

[Ngoc Nguyen]

2 minutes ago, howitzer said:

I don't know what sort of light fixtures you have

My room has standard fluorescent light tubes.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Another assault on white panels!

LegoHoops did a full replacement with lime panels on the 42130.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

I took my 42052 B model out for a check today, and I found out that its white panels have yellowed all the same. This set has been wrapped in a plastic bag and put in a corner of the shelf, which means very little sunlight can reach it. Yet it still degrades.

[howitzer]

6 hours ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

I took my 42052 B model out for a check today, and I found out that its white panels have yellowed all the same. This set has been wrapped in a plastic bag and put in a corner of the shelf, which means very little sunlight can reach it. Yet it still degrades.

This almost calls for a some kind of experiment. Like take a bunch of identical new white parts and put them in different kinds of surroundings: one on a shelf without any protection, one in a plastic bag next to the first, one in a non-airtight but dark container, one in an airtight container, one in a fridge, one in an airtight box in a fridge, and so on. Then take them out after some time (six months? year?) and photograph them in identical lighting and background, then compare the results.

[Toastie]

1 hour ago, howitzer said:

This almost calls for a some kind of experiment. Like take a bunch of identical new white parts and put them in different kinds of surroundings: one on a shelf without any protection, one in a plastic bag next to the first, one in a non-airtight but dark container, one in an airtight container, one in a fridge, one in an airtight box in a fridge, and so on. Then take them out after some time (six months? year?) and photograph them in identical lighting and background, then compare the results.

That would be a very nice experiment, indeed!

As per the reports from @Ngoc Nguyen: What is the min/max temperature in your storage/display environment? Any idea on humidity? Is there, besides the fluorescent lighting, any direct sunlight? Bags come in so many varieties ... just bagging up things may not work. Temperature is one issue for sure. "Weathering" in my place is happening everywhere, white is seriously affected. So is "old light gray", and whatever color the old "tan" bricks were, before there came tons of tan shades (I am color-blind).

So what is happening here is: Temperatures between 14°C (winter) and 30°C (summer), humidity all over the place, lighting is from four roof windows, during summer almost always pulled down shades. 

I do not experience break down though ... stickers are simply gone - and I never apply them since >15 years now.

And: As they don't break down - I like weathering. It adds a touch to the never taken apart MOCs and MODs; I am pretty much into trains. There is no shiny nice and clean train out there. They got work to do :D

All the best,
Thorsten

[Ngoc Nguyen]

The war against white parts rages on.

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-118825/nguyengiangoc/42145-white-parts/

[grum64]

I had the same yellowing problem with my 8461 Williams after it had sat on the shelf for around 18 months. It was out of direct sun. I replaced them all with new beautifully white parts but 6 months later they were yellow again. This has happened with all my sets with white parts, on display and boxed. Irked I most certainly am.

[Toastie]

Just out of curiosity: Is white the only ABS color that "yellows"?

I am asking because I am a) color-blind and b) a Train Head. Trains are never ever "white" or whatever, when they have left the photography stage, i.e., 5 min after that and then going to do work. So any carriage that puts on some weathering is highly appreciated here

Nevertheless, the whatever color (tan?) bricks of #10017 (My Own Train series from back then) have turned way darker over the decades - and I like that, as I can see that - but this discoloring issue is certainly not restricted to white. It is most clearly discernible on a "white background", contrast is key - but all colored ABS pieces do "discolor", simply because the ABS structure changes over time and not so much the color carrier, whatever it is. The brighter the color, the more visible it should be. So on black bricks discoloring should remain invisible. 

Aging, or putting on some patina - why not? We like it on copper - and so many other things ...

Best,
Thorsten

[Ngoc Nguyen]

5 hours ago, Toastie said:

Just out of curiosity: Is white the only ABS color that "yellows"?

All colors degrade, but some look worse when degraded than others. Degrade white is the worst. Degraded DBG and yellow look least bad.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

The entries on Rebrickable are disabled. I'm gonna put them on Bricksafe.

[langko]

Interesting to hear peoples different experiences with the white parts. I personally only have 1 white model, its about 2 years old and doesn't have any signs of yellowing/degrading as yet... Its kept out of direct sunlight as is pretty much all my models.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Since Rebrickable removes my mods, I'm gonna put them here.

https://bricksafe.com/pages/nguyengiangoc/white-parts

Also new entries: 42040 White Parts and 42040 No White Mod.

[2ndgen]

On 7/21/2022 at 1:43 AM, thekoRngear said:

You declared a war! Would be glad to see the white roof replacement mod for 42110 Defender. 

I did a black roof for the 42110, if that's the sort of thing your looking at doing ? 

[thekoRngear]

1 hour ago, 2ndgen said:

I did a black roof for the 42110, if that's the sort of thing your looking at doing ? 

Yupe! Would really appreciate that.