5 replies to this topic

[Skidmark]

Hi everyone! I want to display my favourite model on my computer desk in a spot that will see about 15 minutes of passing direct sunlight per day at sunset, so UV protection is a bit of a concern.
According to the product page,

Quote

These display cases are also guarantee against the UV sun rays.

This seems to have been translated, and I can't tell if they mean it protects the model from UV rays or they are just guaranteeing the acrylic itself will not turn yellow from sun exposure (a guarantee I have seen for plexiglass for other uses). I have asked BBR a more specific question about if the protection was tested and the results, which was forwarded to their case manufacturer, but it has been nearly 3 weeks now and they haven't responded to BBR yet. Does anyone know about this? Atlantic Case did get back to me with data on their own advertised UV protection, but I like the look of the BBR case more.

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[RustyTrust]

what did you get from atlantic please? i will have some pieces in cases on a place where there will be a lot of sunlight during afternoons so i started to sort this thing out just yesterday..

[Skidmark]

Atlantic Case said there is <1% transmittance between 200-365 nm, which includes UV-C, UV-B, and some UV-A. They gave me a graph showing transmittance across wavelengths too.

Based on my research there are UV-C, UV-B, and UV-A rays coming from the sun. The atmosphere blocks UV-C, and 95% of UV-B rays. Any standard windows you have will block the rest of the UV-B and some amount of UV-A, so it's UV-A that's the concern here (unless you have non-LED lightbulbs without any type of shade, as these emit their own UV rays). Past 400 nm, the radiation is visible light. Therefore it is probably unreasonable to expect to block higher wavelength UV-A without losing some visible light (i.e. a tint). As this is all a range of radiation, it turns out visible light does a small amount of fading too, so the only way to fully protect your model is to keep it in complete darkness all the time!

All acrylic and glass will block some range of rays, but most of the time they don't test or advertise this. So I suppose it's entirely possible that a Triple 9 case is just as effective at blocking UV rays and they just chose not to market it as such. I wish I knew.

[slartibartfast229]

It's also worth mentioning that some models - probably high end - are painted with the same paint as the real thing.
So it's possible that the paint used is already resistant to UV.
Just a thought....

[RustyTrust]

yes, that came to my mind. but i have my custom paint jobs. i will start using uv clear coats immediately, but i can still assume some yellowing will appear..

[slartibartfast229]

RustyTrust, on 09 January 2021 - 01:22 PM, said:

yes, that came to my mind. but i have my custom paint jobs. i will start using uv clear coats immediately, but i can still assume some yellowing will appear..

It depends on the colour you're covering.
I have used clear coats on paint jobs for many years, and it's really only white that can be badly affected (shades of Otto RS200 there!) .
So I don't use it over white - or over decals for that matter.
For white I tend to use 'appliance white', and the brand I use doesn't fade.
Unless of course the 'white' you want is more towards a cream shade.....