SDS Stunt Helmet yellowing & cracking

[Firefoxm31]

do you smoke? or anybody in the house......niccotine(sp?) does this to walls, doors, anything really..just a crazy thought... there is good news though, that Mister Clean Magic Sponge cleans it right up without super harsh scrubbing, well at least walls...never had to try it on ABS, or Styrene

 

[Jediwannabe]

No Sir. I'm a tofu eating, yoga practicing Southern Californian. No smoking in my house.

Originally posted by Firefoxm31@Dec 29 2005, 07:13 PM
do you smoke?  or anybody in the house......niccotine does this to walls doors anything really..just a crazy thought  there is good news though    that mister clean magic sponge cleans it right upn without super harsh scrubbing

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[Kerr Avon]

Looks to be showing up where the plastic had the greatest deflection during the vacuum forming process. If you look at areas that have little deflection, does it look like that is staying white. Maybe the plastic used yellows the more it's 'worked' or weakens it so it yellows faster there.

 

[Jediwannabe]

The yellow does look to be focused to those areas I noted. The yellow at the tip of the frown almost looks like it reacted to the paint of the frown. That was the first yellow spot I noticed. The other ones came later.

Originally posted by Kerr Avon@Dec 29 2005, 07:17 PM
Looks to be showing up where the plastic had the greatest deflection during the vacuum forming process.  If you look at areas that have little deflection, does it look like that is staying white.  Maybe the plastic used yellows the more it's 'worked' or weakens it so it yellows faster there.

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[exoray]

My guess is that there is a possibility that it was slightly overheated while getting ready to form, as well as the added abuse of being formed that accelerated the yellowing...

It could also simply be a defective sheet of plastic, unless of course we start to hear more and more cases pop up...

 

[zorg]

that looks very disappointing, i would contact AA straight away with your concerns,

its simply not acceptable, dont try and fix it yourself without talking to him first.

tell him the conditions in which it was kept so he cant use that as an excuse.

i would not accept anything less than a replacement or refund

good luck

 

[Clutch]

zorg took the words right out of my mouth

 

[Jediwannabe]

Tonight I have sent an email to AA explaining the situation as well as the care I have taken to keep the helmet pristine. I'll let you know what happens.

 

[temponaut]

Please do let us know how AA responds. I have both the SDS Stunt and Hero helmets. No sign of yellowing yet... but if it's happening to you, then it could be just a matter of time before it happens to the rest of us.

By the way: What number is your helmet? Was yours made in an early run?

 

[Jediwannabe]

My Stunt is #118

 

[StarWars Collector]

My stunt is 73 and my hero 15. No problems whatsoever. And I DO smoke.

 

[temponaut]

Thanks for posting your helmet numbers.

It sounds as if the yellowing isn't simply a matter of aging and/or exposure to the elements; as some others have pointed out, it may be related to overheating or stress where the styrene was most deflected.

Whatever the case, I'll be very interested to hear what AA has to say about this... :confused

 

[JBReplicas]

It looks like heat damage to me too, is it sitting over anything that generates heat at all?

 

[DrStranglove]

Wow. I have never seen that happen to plastic that quickly. I will be interested in seeing how AA deals with this.

 

[Apollo]

118 would make that what, the second or third batch?

Regardless of what the problem is Andrew should send a replacement.

Needless to say a lot of people will be watching to see how this will be handled.

 

[Jediwannabe]

Just my twin stack of Marshal 30 watt amplifiers and my Fender American Strat. My music has been known to be hot but I don't think it generates heat.

That is a poor attempt at a joke. There is no heat source around.

Originally posted by CommanderCody@Dec 30 2005, 03:29 AM
It looks like heat damage to me too, is it sitting over anything that generates heat at all?

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[Kerr Avon]

Well, here's hoping he'll stand behind his product. I'd think if that the item in question had been exposed to a radiant form of heat the entire surface would be more yellowed rather than just areas with a lot of bending or working.

 

[Jediwannabe]

OK this sucks I have found a crack near the yellowing.

Unfortunately, I cannot get my camera to focus that close to read it but it is slightly visible between the yellow spot on the tip of the frown and the yellow spot below it to it's 4 O'clock. If you traveled left from the center of the blue vents you will see it. It looks very faint and I just used dish soap and water to try to clean it in disbelief.

 

[Lello999]

Hmm, poor You

Well, I checked mine (#3xx or something like that) and now yellowing here as well (but it seems I´m quite a lucky guy concerning yellowing - have a DP CA ST here and it is still more than white, no yellow at all)

Hope AA helps You

Domenik

 

[imaginager]

Jediwannabe,

In your position I would phone SDS. I don't have international on my Verizon cel but spoke with a rep a couple of weeks ago to get the cost/min.: 60 cents.

All things considered, I would take clear pics of the problem, email those to AA, ask him to name a convenient time to talk, and then call him. For such an investment, it's worth the ~$20 it may cost to speak to him, directly.

Think back on any environmental factors that may have affected it since you've owned it. Was anything sprayed onto the surface, even accidentally?

Since there is a crack, the plastic may, at some point, have come into contact with a solvent, which may cause both discoloration and stress corrosion cracking.

Allan