Are translucent Connexions less prone to yellowing than opaque ones?

[atompalace]

Just wondering because most of my opaque Connexions have gnarly yellowing (bummer ), but my translucent ones are fine.

I want to make sure my favourite Melon Soda V3 in particular keeps its colour (which it seems to have done so far! Quite sure it was kept in the same place as the other ones too); I like running it but don’t want to wear the shell out. Do any other Melon Soda V3/Keitai owners have yellowed ones or are they okay? Or translucent vs opaque Connexions generally - what’s your experience?

(I’m aware yellowing can be treated, but I’m not too pressed about working on my yellowed ones currently, unless anyone has Connexion specific advice.)

 

[Maskutchi]

Which color shells do you have specifically? I have a melon soda and mine also looks good. All my translucent ones look great too. I avoid white shells for this reason.

 

[atompalace]

Which color shells do you have specifically? I have a melon soda and mine also looks good. All my translucent ones look great too. I avoid white shells for this reason.

Apart from soda, I have yellow, blue and pink translucent V2s (all fine); I have varying opaque colours; white and light blue (yellowed), light and medium pink (very yellowed), then red and cherry red (fine) and green (can’t tell!).

I’d send a photo but they don’t show up the same as clearly as in person In any case given this info it‘s presumably a white colour plastic thing, they must make the other colours by mixing them with white. Hopefully that means the translucent ones are immune!

 

[Penguin-keeper]

I avoid white shells for this reason.

In any case given this info it‘s presumably a white colour plastic thing, they must make the other colours by mixing them with white. Hopefully that means the translucent ones are immune!

It's not because those shells are white, but rather because of the flame-retardant chemicals (bromide, if memory serves) typically used in the 1980s and 1990s rising to the surface of the plastic over time. This usually happens if the plastic was ever exposed to sunlight at some point, even if only for a few minutes.

It can happen to any colour of plastic from that era - I have an LCD game from the mid-1990s here, and its shell was originally neon orange but has gone from a funky neon shade to a slightly redder and less-neon one as a result of this. Admittedly, I don't know if the translucent shells use different flame-retardants, though - probably not. If you're not seeing it on translucent shells, it's more likely to be because the effect is (luckily) harder to see on vivid colours, as in the example of my LCD-game from just now.

 

[Maskutchi]

Correct, any color can turn yellow. I was just saying I avoid white in general as they are usually the first ones to look yellow in my experience.

Apart from soda, I have yellow, blue and pink translucent V2s (all fine); I have varying opaque colours; white and light blue (yellowed), light and medium pink (very yellowed), then red and cherry red (fine) and green (can’t tell!)

Actually when you mentioned melon soda I misunderstood you thinking the others you were asking about were milky shells too. I have noticed many milky Id shells have strong discoloration. As for opaque shells I still stand by my no white shells rule It is a curious thing as I would expect the translucent shells to age less gracefully too, but all of my translucent ones look great. As for opaque, my only one with discoloration is the pink roof on a v5.

(I’m aware yellowing can be treated, but I’m not too pressed about working on my yellowed ones currently, unless anyone has Connexion specific advice.)

How can it be treated? Does a wipe down with hydrogen peroxide work? I saw a post on Instagram of someone cleaning a yellowed opaque light blue tama deka by wiping with hydrogen peroxide and leaving it in sunlight for several hours. They didn’t go into great detail about the process, and someone on their post asked for more detail but the person never replied. The before-after photos looked great though.

This usually happens if the plastic was ever exposed to sunlight at some point, even if only for a few minutes.

I have been meaning to get a bottle of hydrogen peroxide to try it myself but was wondering about the sunlight part. Seems like a no considering what Penguin-keeper has said. So if anyone has info on cleaning/restoring I am interested to hear it too.

 

[The gotchi noob]

Which color shells do you have specifically? I have a melon soda and mine also looks good. All my translucent ones look great too. I avoid white shells for this reason.

Flame p1

 

[Penguin-keeper]

Correct, any color can turn yellow. I was just saying I avoid white in general as they are usually the first ones to look yellow in my experience.

Yup, it looks hideous! That and grey, going by other products.

How can it be treated? Does a wipe down with hydrogen peroxide work? I saw a post on Instagram of someone cleaning a yellowed opaque light blue tama deka by wiping with hydrogen peroxide and leaving it in sunlight for several hours. They didn’t go into great detail about the process, and someone on their post asked for more detail but the person never replied. The before-after photos looked great though.

I have been meaning to get a bottle of hydrogen peroxide to try it myself but was wondering about the sunlight part. Seems like a no considering what Penguin-keeper has said. So if anyone has info on cleaning/restoring I am interested to hear it too.

Look up "RetroBrite" in order to learn more about the process, and keep in mind that you'll have to apply a sealant afterwards otherwise the yellowing will return quite quickly.

Obviously, I do have to note that younger members need to stay far away from this - it's not something for the inexperienced!

 

[The gotchi noob]

What?????????

 

[Penguin-keeper]

What?????????

Basically, what's being alluded to involves the use of chemicals to reverse a different chemical process, and is NOT to be messed with or taken lightly.

I'm on the older side of the fandom and understand the process, and even I wouldn't want the hassle.

 

[atompalace]

Thank you both for the knowledge!

So dark shells can technically yellow too? (But don’t show up as readily!) Must be handy being a collector of navy or black shells I prefer pastels unfortunately!!! But I prioritise playability over a pristine shell. All the same it’s nice to keep them looking fresh. I wouldn’t dare leave a Tama in direct sunlight these days whereas kid me didn’t think twice!

Actually when you mentioned melon soda I misunderstood you thinking the others you were asking about were milky shells too.

By milky do you mean translucent but less so (as in melon soda) than translucent as in clear coloured plastic?

 

[Maskutchi]

So dark shells can technically yellow too? (But don’t show up as readily!) Must be handy being a collector of navy or black shells

Honestly I don’t know. I suppose yes as mentioned by Penguin-keeper. None of my shells show aging (except a little bit of the v5 roof I mentioned). I primarily collect transparent shells. I do have a few dark colored Connection shells. I made an exception to my rule, and I do have one white shell in my collection, a glow-in-the-dark v4. It still looks white. I think only the back panel is white plastic, while the front is glow plastic + white paint. I am not the first owner, and honestly I imagine someone putting it in sunlight to charge the glow in the past. I also am thinking of when I take my tamas on a drive in the car or out back to our garden patio. It is usually shaded, but it is still outdoors and now I’m worried about them ever seeing the light of day again.

Not the Connection line, but I noticed that purple shells do not age gracefully too for some reason. Specifically the pastel purple shell backs on color tamas (any version). If you do an eBay search you will likely find some that have turned a pinkish-brown.

By milky do you mean translucent but less so (as in melon soda) than translucent as in clear coloured plastic?

Yes I know there is a milky white Connection shell. I believe there is a pink Japanese release too. Possibly others? I don’t have them. I’ve only seen a few of the milky white ones in photos. The ones I have seen looked okay, but I didn’t dare to get one.

I’m curious what is your storage method? As a kid I threw my few tamas into a big plastic storage bin with other toys. From 2014 till 2020 they lived in a cardboard shoe box (probably my worst method). Now I store mine in plastic boxes with dividers. One space for each tama. Always in climate controlled areas (not in a garage or attic, etc).

I read up on the retro-brite and it is basically hydrogen peroxide + some other additives, and their directions say to put it in sunlight for several hours after application Since my tama has a very small area of discoloration I will try it soon with just regular hydrogen peroxide as I saw in the instagram post. I will report back if it worked or not

I gotta start building that tama basement I always dreamed of

 

[The gotchi noob]

Basically, what's being alluded to involves the use of chemicals to reverse a different chemical process, and is NOT to be messed with or taken lightly.

I'm on the older side of the fandom and understand the process, and even I wouldn't want the hassle.

Im talking about the thing you said that was hideous the retro Brite could be really bad. my town has a store called Ramsey whatever store I saw those type of consoles there next to an Atari 2600 that was looking brand new.

 

[Penguin-keeper]

So dark shells can technically yellow too? (But don’t show up as readily!) Must be handy being a collector of navy or black shells

Honestly I don’t know. I suppose yes as mentioned by Penguin-keeper.

Yeah, some darker colours can end up looking weird or like they've been stained!

I read up on the retro-brite and it is basically hydrogen peroxide + some other additives, and their directions say to put it in sunlight for several hours after application

At one point, here in the UK (where the RetroBrite technique was created), there was a particular brand of hair-dye that worked out-of-the-bottle for RetroBriting, amazingly enough - at one point, some stores were having all of their stock bought up by people who wanted to restore the shells of all of their old consoles and computers.

Im talking about the thing you said that was hideous

You should have been able to infer the context from the rest of the thread - that's why the forum offers the ability to quote text. But, to put it another way, what I said was "Yellowed plastics that were originally white look particularly hideous! ".

the retro Brite could be really bad.

I advise staying VERY far away from such things unless you REALLY know what you're doing. And even then, it's probably best to just stay away from it anyway!

 

[atompalace]

Honestly I don’t know. I suppose yes as mentioned by Penguin-keeper. None of my shells show aging (except a little bit of the v5 roof I mentioned). I primarily collect transparent shells. I do have a few dark colored Connection shells. I made an exception to my rule, and I do have one white shell in my collection, a glow-in-the-dark v4. It still looks white. I think only the back panel is white plastic, while the front is glow plastic + white paint. I am not the first owner, and honestly I imagine someone putting it in sunlight to charge the glow in the past. I also am thinking of when I take my tamas on a drive in the car or out back to our garden patio. It is usually shaded, but it is still outdoors and now I’m worried about them ever seeing the light of day again.

That’s great going!
I was going to say that surely someone must have put the glow in the dark Tama in the sun, though I thought about it and any of my glow in the dark stuff I’d always shine a lamp or torch onto actually, so unless you put it in the sun I suppose we’ll never know.
Also, maybe your Tamas would like a mini deckchair and parasol for the patio

I’m curious what is your storage method? As a kid I threw my few tamas into a big plastic storage bin with other toys. From 2014 till 2020 they lived in a cardboard shoe box (probably my worst method). Now I store mine in plastic boxes with dividers. One space for each tama. Always in climate controlled areas (not in a garage or attic, etc).

Not sure in childhood but generally in a box in a drawer. Possibly with some light but not convinced. A few years ago I shifted them to a pencil case, sandwiched between fabric (and no pencils!!!). They’re yellowed on the bottom so I might have accidentally had the case open with tamas upside down, or maybe they were all left out by kid me. Unsure! I keep the pencil case in a dark cupboard now!

At one point, here in the UK (where the RetroBrite technique was created), there was a particular brand of hair-dye that worked out-of-the-bottle for RetroBriting, amazingly enough - at one point, some stores were having all of their stock bought up by people who wanted to restore the shells of all of their old consoles and computers.

That’s hilarious Which brand?? Does it still work?

 

[Maskutchi]

Also, maybe your Tamas would like a mini deckchair and parasol for the patio

Funny you mention this. I thought about this as a stand once. I didn’t get one in the end though.

 

[atompalace]

Funny you mention this. I thought about this as a stand once. I didn’t get one in the end though.

View attachment 8372

You should!!!

I’ve been thinking about Tama stands/seats a lot lately. Considered getting a mini deckchair myself, but I really want to be extra and make tiny rococo princess chairs for them

My easiest DIY Tama stand solution though was making origami boxes out of small paper squares, which worked a lot better than it sounds like it would!

 

[The gotchi noob]

Funny you mention this. I thought about this as a stand once. I didn’t get one in the end though.

View attachment 8372

I have a chair for DS games I lost it though

 

[Penguin-keeper]

That’s hilarious Which brand?? Does it still work?

I don't remember which brand - only that it was an own-brand specific to the store in question (which was a place called Boots, if I'm remembering right). I don't even know if they make it anymore!