Not mine but another example
It’s crazy
From the same person
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Wow, this is surprising. I don’t think I have any GMK sets that are yellowing, but I should investigate.
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Hmm, I haven’t used my GMK Hennessey set much but I’m betting they will likely yellow like you have shown.
After seeing this thread I figured I better check my Bleached set out. I did have it on a couple boards so far & it sat on display for awhile. Not in the view of any windows, but not protected from the light they let in. Thankfully my set has yet to start yellowing it looks like! Makes me really wonder if this issue is just down to plastic quality? Bleached was being produced in the right time frame to have some sets made from the usual plastics GMK used & some made from the plastics they got after the shortage began.
Sorry about the potato pics, but just wanted to show my set has yet to start yellowing. The bottom picture in particular is a really good comparison. I have never used the 6.25 space row yet & only have had the 7u space row on display.
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If you’re willing, try to put the keycaps submerged in hydrogen peroxide solution in sunlight. It should take a day to get em back to original color. This is how we clean old yellowed LEGO (ABS). Although, it is very odd how these are yellow after only a few weeks. It takes LEGO years of exposure.
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This method does work (also with UV lights instead of the sun) but the strength of the plastic will severely deteriorate. It can even warp and make it even worse than before aswell if you leave it for too long.
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The plastic becoming brittle & messed up is something I’ve worried about with retrobrite. Never knew for sure if it did deteriorate plastics or not, but had a sneaking suspicion it did. Thankfully I’ve only used retrobrite as last resort to restore plastics.
Try putting UV film on your window. It also has an added benefit of keeping the heat down in the summer.
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Might have to also do with the harsh Australian sun, all the pictures sent are from beautiful Sunny Australia.
I’m going to Do a test, will report back.
Enter next to f13 (never used)
Enter by the window
And a meme for you guys
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According to hbheroinbob himself, Bobas switches should not become discolored. May be worth following this topic about Boba U4 plastic aging on r/mk.
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Geezus, those are super yellow. I wonder if the bottoms are as discolored.
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As weird as it sounds, I can’t think of a better explanation than what Paul is saying there - yellowing to that degree is not gonna happen on its own - especially not on the time-scale of weeks or months.
The only plastic I’ve seen discolored that bad is stuff that’s been sitting out in the elements or in abandoned buildings for multiple decades. Seems like there has to be some chemical accelerating the reaction - and I’m not convinced Bobas would turn that color even if left out in the desert for thirty years.
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Agreed. It’s bizarre to see something yellow this quickly.
The person who posted the switches photo claimed they don’t smoke or vape and the switches were soldered in their board the whole time under keycaps… and not like stored on their car’s dashboard in Abu Dhabi or something.
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Makes me wonder if they were exposed to something before (or maybe after) they got to the user.
If the bottoms are as yellow, I have to assume it’s some kind of corrosive atmospheric phenomenon.
Perhaps a super small batch was unintentionally produced with subpar plastics, and they were hoping no one would notice.
I think that’s the most likely scenario; very unlikely it’s just UV.
Maybe the switches were stored in a combined keyboard and bromine storage facility? heh
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well heck
A little more detail; the discolored one was by itself in the jar I had been keeping a set of 68 in - the rest have been in one of my keebs. The normal one next to it is from that set. The jar was sealed but not exposed to much light.
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Here is a relevant thread that can answer some of the questions.
hisstankcom/forum/g-i-joe-toys-vintage-discussion/374611-yellowing-discoloration-explained.html
ABS plastics can yellow even when not exposed to sunlight due to oxidation. This oxidation can be accelerated due to higher temperatures (hot room in Australia or greenhouse effect in a glass jar) or plastics that do not have enough anti-oxidents mixed in (some GMK batches yellowing faster than others)
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Making an entrance with some relevant, useful information - ya love to see it. Welcome - and thank you!
This makes me want to get a grommet press for my jar lids; to put nice, clean “breathing holes” in them.
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