Glow Duration and Brightness for Water-Based

Matt Forbes / [email protected]
August 29, 2013
Glow Duration and Brightness for Water-Based, Solvent-Based, Vinyl and Powder Paints Across Manufacturers
Advertised
Glow Color
Paint Type
Surface Finish
Photographed
Day Color
7
8
9
10
11
Red
Hot
Pink
Hot
Pink
2
3
4
5
6
Pink
Red
Orange
Red
Orange
OB
SB
WB
WB
WB
SB
P
P
SB
P
P
WB
OB
WB
P
P
V
V
P
V
SB
WB
OB
OB
SB
OB
WB
P
WB
WB
WB
P
P
M
M
M
M
M
M
G
G
M
G
G
M
M
M
G
G
M
M
G
M
FG
M
M
M
M
M
M
G
M
M
M
G
G
Super Flame
Orange Red
12
13
14
Orange Orange Orange
15
16
Super Blaze
Red Orange
17
Hot
Pink
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
Red
31
32
33
Flame Blaze Blaze
Super
Super Super
Yellow Yellow
Yellow Green Yellow
Yellow Green Yellow
Green Green
Green Green
Red Orange Orange
White
Green Yellow
0 minutes
5 minutes
10 minutes
15 minutes
30 minutes
45 minutes
60 minutes
Note 1: Glow colors advertised as white generally glow green or blue-aqua. True white glow was not observed
using any of the paints tested.
Note 2: At initial time points, some paints appear to have a white glow color. However, it only appears white
because the color glows so brightly that it saturates the 15 second exposure time of the camera. Using #21 as
an example, where the first three time points appear to be white, the actual glow color at these times was a very
bright green. The same holds true for any other colors that appear to be white over the course of the first hour.
Note 3: The photographed day color of many paints does not always reflect the color that will be seen when the
paint glows under darkness. In addition, glow colors advertised by the manufacturers does not always match the
actual glow color seen under darkness.
Note 4: Glow colors were photographed in complete darkness using a digital camera with a 15 second exposure
at a distance of approximately 9 inches from the object. This exposure setting gave photographic results that
closely match what the human eye sees. Other exposure durations were tested (data not shown) but results
were less representative of what the eye sees.
Note 5: Powder-painted objects were tested by applying a base layer of white powder paint to 1 oz. lead egg
sinkers heated to 400 oF. Samples were then cooled to room temperature, heated again to 400 oF and had their
respective glow powder paint applied. For all other paints, a base layer of white Krylon enamel spray paint was
used before painting objects with their respective glow paint to a thickness of 1/8 of an inch.
Note 6: All test objects were exposed to sunlight for approximately 4 hours before being photographed in a dark
room. In previous testing (data not shown), no increase in glow duration was observed by exposing objects to
sunlight for longer than 1 hour. Full saturation for all paints occurs within the first 60 minutes of exposure to
sunlight. However, this can be accelerated by exposure to UV light (approximately 365 nm).
Note 7: Powder paints do not need an overcoat for protection against water, chipping or peeling. All other paints
require an acrylic or epoxy-based overcoat if used in an outdoor environment (fishing lures, lighting, etc.).
Note 8: Paint 79 and 80 did not glow. These paints had solidified upon opening the package from the
manufacturer. They were not in their liquid form and did not glow.
Note 9: UV-reflective powder paint reflects UV light, which can be seen by fish deep in the water column (fishing
lure applications). Since the human eye is not sensitive to UV light, testing for these paints was done with a
black light (365 nm) using a 1 second camera exposure. Results shown below demonstrate that the UVreflective paint makes the test object appear white. When exposed to a black light, UV-reflective powder paint
appears white whereas plain white paint appears as a blue-purple color.
1.5 hours
2.0 hours
3.0 hours
67
6.0 hours
12.0 hours
Photographed
Day Color
24.0 hours
Color Under a
Black Light
34
Advertised
Glow Color
Paint Type
Surface Finish
Photographed
Day Color
68
UV
UV
Reflective Reflective
White
White
35
36
Natural Yellow Green
Glow Chart. Chart.
37
38
39
White
Glow
Overcoat
Glow
Overcoat
40
41
42
43
44
Bright Yellow Green Green Yellow
Green Chart. Chart. Chart. Chart.
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
Aqua
Turqu
-oise
Blue
Ultra
Blue
Aqua
Blue
White
52
53
White Green
54
55
56
57
Pure
Blue
Blue
Blue
Aqua
58
59
Super
White
Blue
60
Violet
61
62
63
Violet Purple Violet
64
65
66
Blue
Violet
Aqua
V
V
V
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
WB
OB
OB
SB
WB
OB
WB
SB
WB
SB
WB
WB
WB
P
WB
WB
OB
SB
WB
WB
WB
WB
M
M
M
G
G
G
G
G
G
G
G
M
M
M
FG
M
M
M
FG
M
FG
M
M
M
G
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
0 minutes
5 minutes
10 minutes
15 minutes
30 minutes
45 minutes
60 minutes
1.5 hours
2.0 hours
3.0 hours
6.0 hours
12.0 hours
24.0 hours
Paint
No.
67
68
Paint
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
Abbreviation Key
Plain
White
OB = Oil-Based Paint
SB = Solvent-Based Paint
WB = Water-Based Paint
V = Vinyl Paint
P = Powder Paint
M = Matte Surface Finish
G = Glossy Surface Finish
FG = Fine Grit Surface Finish
Manufacturers
Manufacturer
Part No.
CSI Paint
Pro-Tec
UV Blast Seal Coat
Manufacturer
Part No.
Risk Reactor
Glow Inc
Glo Nation
Glo Nation
Glo Nation
Glow Inc
Pro-Tec
Pro-Tec
Glow Inc
Pro-Tec
Jann’s Netcraft
Glo Nation
Risk Reactor
Ready Set Glo
Pro-Tec
Pro-Tec
CSI Paint
CSI Paint
Jann’s Netcraft
CSI Paint
Glow Inc
Glo Nation
Risk Reactor
Risk Reactor
Glow Inc
Risk Reactor
Glo Nation
Pro-Tec
Glo Nation
Glo Nation
Ready Set Glo
Pro-Tec
Pro-Tec
CP2-35
Pink / PTDK
N/A
N/A
N/A
023025033105
Zinc Orange / PTZO
023025003542
023025003375
Zinc Red
023025003368
038110213300
N/A
CP2-03
GPM-O-28
023025003573
023025003344
023025031651
023025031675
038110213508
023025031637
Ultra Green V10
N/A
CP2-06
CP2-06
Yellow / PTDY
CP2-24
N/A
023025003566
N/A
N/A
GPM-Y-28
023025003535
023025003538
Cost Per
Ounce
$ 3.95
$ 6.49
Cost Per
Ounce
$ 20.00
$ 20.00
$ 5.50
$ 5.50
$ 5.50
$ 26.00
$ 7.29
$ 7.29
$ 20.00
$ 7.29
$ 6.49
$ 5.50
$ 20.00
$ 26.00
$ 7.29
$ 7.29
$ 3.95
$ 3.95
$ 6.49
$ 3.95
$ 20.00
$ 5.50
$ 20.00
$ 20.00
$ 20.00
$ 20.00
$ 5.50
$ 7.29
$ 5.50
$ 5.50
$ 20.00
$ 7.29
$ 7.29
Risk Reactor: www.riskreactor.com
Glow Inc: www.gloinc.com
GloNation: www.glonation.com
Pro-Tec: www.csipaint.com, available at sporting goods retailers
Jann’s Netcraft: www.jannsnetcraft.com
Ready Set Glo: www.readysetglo.com
CSI Paint: www.csipaint.com, available at sporting goods retailers
Paint
No.
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
Manufacturer
Part No.
CSI Paint
CSI Paint
CSI Paint
Pro-Tec
Pro-Tec
Jann’s Netcraft
Pro-Tec
Pro-Tec
Pro-Tec
Jann’s Netcraft
Jann’s Netcraft
Glo Nation
Risk Reactor
Risk Reactor
Glow Inc
Ready Set Glo
Risk Reactor
Ready Set Glo
Glow Inc
Ready Set Glo
Glow Inc
Ready Set Glow
Glo Nation
Glo Nation
Pro-Tec
Glo Nation
Ready Set Glow
Risk Reactor
Glow Inc
Glo Nation
Glo Nation
Glo Nation
Glo Nation
023025031156
023025031590
023025031613
023025003313
023025003177
381101 (048)
023025003351
023025003320
023025003337
038110213409
038110213607
N/A
CP2-10
CP2-23
Ultra Blue
GPM-A-28
CP2-00
GPM-W-28
N/A
GPM-G-28
N/A
GPM-B-1
N/A
N/A
023025003597
N/A
GPM-V-28
CP2-09 / PPSB-09
Purple / PTHP
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Note: Paints 23 and 24 are the same materials. These were tested in duplicate to assess reproducibility between
test objects. Glow durations and brightness levels are comparable between the two test objects.
Manufacturer’s claims for glow duration reflect conditions in which their tests were carried out under. The purpose of the results shown here is to compare multiple products under the same conditions (exposure to sunlight, thickness of paint and photographic exposure time).
Cost Per
Ounce
$ 3.95
$ 3.95
$ 3.95
$ 7.29
$ 7.29
$ 6.49
$ 7.29
$ 7.29
$ 7.29
$ 6.49
$ 6.49
$ 5.50
$ 20.00
$ 20.00
$ 20.00
$ 23.00
$ 20.00
$ 26.00
$ 5.50
$ 23.00
$ 5.50
$ 23.00
$ 5.50
$ 5.50
$ 7.29
$ 5.50
$ 23.00
$ 20.00
$ 20.00
$ 5.50
$ 5.50
$ 5.50
$ 5.50