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Can I Use The Sun To Charge Glow Art?
Click here to purchase our glow in the dark paint!
Click here to purchase our glow in the dark powder!
Can I use the sun to charge my outdoor glow painting, sculpture, resin casting etc.?
The easy answer to this question is that yes the sun will absolutely charge any glow in the dark material very well. That being said, there is more to consider when planning to use phosphorescent materials outdoors.
First, while the sun will charge your paint or powder to its full potential, it doesn’t instantly go from bright and sunny to pitch black outside. What happens instead is that the sun gradually sets and it doesn’t get really dark until pretty late in the evening. This is also assuming there aren’t any streetlights etc. to ruin your night vision.
Glow in the dark is true to its name. It requires DARK surroundings to be fully appreciated. It is true that lots of our colors are so bright shortly after charging that you can see them in even a well-lit room, but once the charging source goes away (the sun in this case) they quickly start transitioning from their brightest output to their afterglow stage. The afterglow is what is commonly referenced as lasting 8 to 12 hours for strontium aluminate pigments like the ones we sell. During this afterglow stage, you probably need to be in a very dark environment to see the glow at all. This is due to both the glow fading and the fact that your eyes are much more sensitive once they are adjusted to the dark.
So back to our outdoor glowing item. During the time between sunset and the time it actually gets really dark, the charging source has gone away and it’s not that dark yet. This means that you may not see any glow during this time unless you quickly recharge the item with an ultraviolet flashlight. If you were to not re charge it, then you would probably start to see the glow later in the evening once your eyes are adjusted to the darkness.
Second, volume matters. A wood table with a half inch of glow powder infused resin is going to glow brighter and longer than one or two thin layers of glow paint on a similar table. This isn’t to say that using glow paint outdoors won’t work, but try to stick to the brightest colors (aqua and green) and use several coats to build up the glow pigment. For example, using glow in the dark infused lacquer on top of a table instead of painting it with glow paint will give you the better result.
This post was definitely not written to discourage you from using phosphorescent materials outdoors. Instead, we want to set your expectations about the capabilities of glow in the dark technology so that you end up with the best result possible.
If you are wanting to get more glow during the time between sunset and when it gets really dark, we recommend picking up one of our 9 LED UV flashlights which can top of the charge of your glow art in seconds. For a more substantial charge we recommend these lights that are available on Amazon: American DJ Black Light Fixture, OPPSK UV LED Light Bar, Sunlite CFL Black Light Bulb.
If you have any questions or comments please leave them below or email us at [email protected].
How To Charge Glow In The Dark Paint
If you recently read about how a glow paint works, you know it requires a charge to work. The better you charge it, the longer it will glow.
But the question is how to “really” charge them, so they fluoresce?
Most people think that a glow-in-the-dark paint can be charged with “just” any light source. Some even believe its charges with a room light. And that’s actually true.
In my article about how glow paints, I said that it has glow pigments that take the light for charging, so Yeah, a light bulb does charge it. But I said one more thing, the power of the charge matter more than its duration.
So, a better charger can do the work in minutes than weak chargers can’t even achieve in hours. So, before learning about how to charge them, you must learn a bit more about chargers. By chargers, I mean light sources.
There are more than a hundred light sources globally, some approachable while others don’t, but still, we have like 50+ light sources that can be used as a charger.
We have plenty of options to charge with so many light sources available, but unfortunately, not all of them have the same power. Some light sources are more powerful than others.
With that being said, we can’t use any light we see and expect our paint to glow like the moon. We have to use a strong light source that can do the work in minutes and make it glow brightly for hours.
Some of the strong chargers are Direct sunlight, LED light, High wattage bulbs, Lamplight, UV Blacklight, etc.
Now, it’s no doubt that the sun is the best and biggest charger of these all, but due to the Ozone layer, most of its UV rays get reflected, making it second, right after a Blacklight.
Remember, the light itself doesn’t charge the paint; the UV rays inside it do. So, we have to look for a light source that gives the strongest UV rays. And what’s better than a UV Blacklight? These emit powerful UV lights that directly charge the paint in no time.
They literally do it so fast, and of course, why not since that’s what the paints feed on. This is the blacklight I use; you can get it a try. Believe me; you will be amazed at the results.
If you don’t want to get a blacklight, then have a high wattage bulb or an LED light; they work OK, but not as great. Now, take your light source and go close to your light. No need to touch it with the paint, but stand closer.
If you have a blacklight, charge for a minute or less, but do it for 2 minutes or more for other sources. Make sure to give an uninterrupted charge for the time period. Once you charge it all, wait for the dark, and BOOM, you will see it glowing.
If you don’t see any glow, upgrade your light source or apply it thickly to at least four coats. Still, if it doesn’t glow, get a better glow-in-the-dark paint.
Conclusion
In this article, I talked about how to charge a glow in the dark paint. To get your paint to fluoresce, you have to charge it properly. But most people don’t know about charging it; that’s why I wrote it here. If you like it, do share it with your friends and family.
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