Glow information

GLOW-IN-THE-DARK PIGMENT / POWDERS AND PAINTS

IMPORTANT: BRIGHTNESS AND CHARGING INFORMATION

 The strength, brightness and length of time of the glow is affected mainly by two aspects.

1) LIGHT SOURCE FOR CHARGING (VERY IMPORTANT)

Charging to a Good Brightness

(in the shortest time, approximately 1 minute)

 • Direct Sunlight (pure and not through a glass window or reflected)
• Blacklight Tube (long traditional tube or new energy saving ultraviolet type)
• UV LED's
• Cold cathode UV tubes

Charging to Reasonable Results

(after long charge time of 10-20 minutes)

 • Fluorescent Bulbs - (long standard common tubes)
• Compact Fluorescent or CFL – spiral, tube (common power saving bulbs)

Takes Very Long Time to Charge

(with poor results and not recommended)

 • Incandescent - standard light bulb (not the power saving type but the old type that has a filament wire)
• Blue/Purple LED's (not Ultraviolet specific ones)
• White or coloured LED's

Very good results can be achieved with the new ultraviolet blacklight, low energy bulbs that plug in to a standard light fitting. These are readily available from ebay and well worth investing in.

2) COLOUR SELECTION

The actual colour of the glow affects the brightness and length of glow time seen.
The brightness / length of glow occurs in the following colour table order, from best to least.

All the colours have a well defined colour and work effectively. They can clearly be seen in total darkness once effectively charged and the eyes and brain are accustomed to the light level.

Glow Colour Table

(brightest to least bright, including glow time)

• Green (considerably brighter than other colours)
• Aqua
• Yellow
• Orange
• Blue
• White
• Pink / Lavender
• Red
• Purple / Violet

USEFUL BRIGHTNESS INFORMATION YOU NEED TO KNOW

 • Item will show at its brightest level for up to 20 minutes once effectively charged, depending on the colour, and then settle down to a duller brightness for many hours.

 • Once the initial brightness has dulled the item will need to be viewed in a totally dark room.

 • Any ambient light will greatly take away the glow perceived by the human eye.

 • The human eye that has moved in to a dark room from a bright room will not see the glow as well as from a dimly lit or dark room until the brain adjusts for the difference.

 • It is also advisable to use the blacklight bulbs, as no major light change is experienced by the eye between the light being turned on and off.

Pigment Particles and Background “Dots” when Glowing in the Dark

 • The glow in the dark pigment particles remain as particles (crystals) in the paint and do not dye the carrier liquid (varnish/paint). They do not dissolve in the paint.

 • Bright white backgrounds are less likely to show the speckled appearance that can occur due to gaps between the particles.

 • Additional layers also help fill these speckle gaps.

 • White background will also reflect the glow, improving performance.

 • You should avoid using on dark backgrounds as poor results will occur.

 Glow In The Dark times.

Once charged well and viewed in total darkness glow in the dark items can glow for many hours.

Green is the stronger glow though in glow in the dark colours, with aqua being second best. Down to red and violet\purple than can be just a few minutes. Please see the chart above.

Paints may glow for 15 hours plus (depending on the colour).

However over time this gets weaker and towards the 8+ hour time (depending on colour) whilst it is still glowing you would probably not see it with the human eye. After the initial high glow period (which depends on the colour but usually from 5 to 20 minutes) most will settle to a duller glow that can be seen for many hours but only in total darkness.

I do not want to make claims that mislead my customers in to thinking they glow at the full brightness for a stated number of hours, as many conditions (including charge method, charge time, viewing location and amount of ambient light) effect this period, so I do not state times in my adverts.

My items glow as well, if not better, than from any other supplier.
Glow in the dark items can be charged over and over again almost an unlimited amount of times,

 They can keep being used, charged and viewed for over 10 years.