Why do some SNES systems turn yellow, but others don't?

[VG_Maniac]

I'm sure this question has been asked many times in the past, but I'm too lazy to go digging for old threads. This is something that I have wondered for a long time, and since I buy and resell games and systems on Ebay all the time, I constantly have a bunch of SNES systems laying around. Some of them are completely yellow, some of them have no yellow at all, and there are others where only half of the system turned yellow (either the bottom half or the top half). I've even seen SNES systems where everything turned yellow except for the sections around the cart slot and the controller ports. I really don't understand why this is...especially why some systems only turn half yellow. It's as if half of the system was made out of a cheaper kind of plastic than the other.

I remember when I got my SNES system when I was younger and it turned yellow just over a matter of a few years. I kept it in as best of shape I could, and I had it inside a cabinet where it wasn't exposed to open air, and it didn't collect as much dust. However, I had a friend who's SNES system was always out in the open, was always getting extremely dirty and dusty...but it never turned yellow, while mine did. Anyone know why that is?

[Porksta]

IIRC the yellowed ones were later in the lifecycle and thusly made with cheaper materials.

[Leo_A]

IIRC the yellowed ones were later in the lifecycle and thusly made with cheaper materials.

Mine from 1995 still has its original color. And I've never heard of the redesign yellowing, which was produced during the end of the console's life.

I'm pretty sure it's generally the earlier production runs of it that tend to yellow.

[Aussie2B]

Mine is from '93, possibly early '94; never yellowed. I also have a model 2 that hasn't yellowed, and a spare model 1 (no clue what year) that didn't yellow.

I heard that it was some fire resistant property added to the plastic that made them yellow, but who knows if that's true.

[Rickstilwell1]

Nintendo has all kinds of stuff that yellows. Even the Wii's white plastic on the controllers can yellow. My 3rd party rechargeable battery pack has some yellowing on the back already.

"But sometimes, its cause their cat peed on it..." just kidding.

[Zing]

The real answer is that certain chemicals in the plastic turn yellow with age as they are exposed to oxygen and release gases of their own. Most people agree that it is the flame retardant agents in the plastic. The amount of these chemicals varies widely between batches of plastic, which is why some systems yellow and some do not. It is also why some parts of a particular system will yellow, but other parts do not.

It appears that only the original SNES parts are prone to this. The slightly updated version of the original style (text on eject button moulded instead of painted, two rubber feet on bottom instead of four, cartridges do not lock) is made with a different plastic that does not yellow. We could call this "model 1.5". Also, The "model 2" does not yellow.

Some people with the "model 1.5" may have yellowing parts because some systems were made with a mixture of 1.0 and 1.5 parts.

[Darko]

Pretty sure the chemical that causes the yellowing is bromide. It was added as a flame retardant to my knowledge.

My original model yellowed (slightly). I have one that I picked up in a lot last year that I kept because it looks perfect. I'll have to look at the systems and figure out if one is the 1.5 version.

[Parodius Duh!]

They use ABS plastic on the early models (flame resistant plastic basically) which is notorious for breaking down and turning colors if its a Grey, White, or very light shade of color. Happens to anything made from ABS, you might have an old GI Joe Storm Shadow figure or other white figure thats pretty damn yellowed at this point in time. Especially if the system was kept in an area where the sun would be beaming on it often (EX: near a window), UV Rays break it down 100x faster.

[obesolete]

I have a yellowed machine as well.

I think it might have to do with atmospheric conditions as well, as mine has only recently turned yellow when I moved into my new house. It could have to do with humidity, temperature, etc.

I also have several games that have yellowed or half of the shell has yellowed.
My Dracula X has just recently yellowed which made me rather unhappy.

[Parodius Duh!]

I have a yellowed machine as well.

I think it might have to do with atmospheric conditions as well, as mine has only recently turned yellow when I moved into my new house. It could have to do with humidity, temperature, etc.

I also have several games that have yellowed or half of the shell has yellowed.
My Dracula X has just recently yellowed which made me rather unhappy.

Absolutely. Humidity will nuke your SNES stuff to a nasty yellow shade as well....Thats why most systems and games kept in a basement for years usually end up yellow or orange (seems to me the carts turn a more orange color and the system/controllers yelllow)

[skaar]

NES Consoles detect evil and change colour in the presence of a non-believer.

[Lucifersam1]

Not so sure about that (RE: point in life-cycle). My parents bought ours the Christmas it came out (or perhaps the following Christmas), and it turned yellow. Then again, they used to smoke a pack a day each! Maybe it's cigarette tar, or something.



IIRC the yellowed ones were later in the lifecycle and thusly made with cheaper materials.

[Lerxstnj]

It happens to vintage white guitars too. Something with the chemicals in the paint over time.

[skaar]

I'm waiting for someone to post the 20 other times this has been discussed and lock the thread, honestly.

[Aussie2B]

For curiosity's sake, does anyone happen to know the transition point between the SNES model 1.0 and 1.5?

[Leo_A]

For curiosity's sake, does anyone happen to know the transition point between the SNES model 1.0 and 1.5?

I'm not even sure what a SuperNes model 1.0 and a SuperNes model 1.5 is. This is the first I've ever heard such terms used.

If you're talking about the redesigned, slimmed down version of the console, that was released in October 1997 in the United States and was produced and distributed for North America at least into 1999 (I believe the Super Famicom version lasted well into the 2000's in Japan, alongside the early 90's Famicom revision).

Edit - Nevermind, I just saw Zing's post. If it helps any, my SuperNes was purchased new in late 1995 and is what you'd consider a 1.5 revision. I'd say it's safe to say that the transition happened somewhere around 1994.

[Boltorano]

For a long time I didn't think my original SNES was yellowing, it has never suffered from the systemic whole-part yellowing that happens with those early models, but once I started using it regularly again it seems to be yellowing on the side that faces the window in the room I currently keep it in. It's near the middle of the room but there's a clear path between it and a large window w/ a thin lace curtain over it.

I no longer have the box and messed up the exterior by putting some screws back in the wrong holes when reassembling it about two years ago, so I don't worry about it too much.

[Lady Jaye]

I'm waiting for someone to post the 20 other times this has been discussed and lock the thread, honestly.

Indeed, the search engine is your friend. Typing "yellow" and "SNES" is guaranteed to yield results in 0.985252363 second (*your mileage may vary). Even better, you can even do an advance search and select only relevant subforums (in this case, "Classic Gaming" and "Technical and Restoration Society").

And voilà! Here's the results:

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=146065
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144468
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=131745
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=82633
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77222
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77222

Etc., etc.

We oughta publish a book called "Fun with search engines". To quote GAC in one of the forementioned threads: "Let's lock this thread before it turns yellow!"