UBB.threads Forums General Interest Restoration, Conservation, and Maintenance Forum HELP with light!

Hello all,
I am going to be moving my collection into it's own room and want to have everything out on display. There is only one window in the room and assuming that I cover that one propperly, can someone tell me what type of lightbulbs I can use in the room so that the light will NOT dammage inks (on documents) and cloth items (flags, etc.).
ANY help is much appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Johnny

That is a very interesting question Johnny!
You might find this of interest
click

I don`t think you need anything too exotic. Regular low wattage fluorescent lighting will be OK & be sure to use a diffuser. Many are supplied that way. What you need to avoid is direct lighting. Hope this helps.

If you go for fluorescent,like he says make sure you fit the diffuser.
Get a High Color rendering "Warm White" T8
Will bring the color up a treat.Length to suit your fixture.
Seiler (Yank in UK)

quote:

Originally posted by Johnny V.:
Hello all,
I am going to be moving my collection into it's own room and want to have everything out on display. There is only one window in the room and assuming that I cover that one propperly, can someone tell me what type of lightbulbs I can use in the room so that the light will NOT dammage inks (on documents) and cloth items (flags, etc.).
ANY help is much appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Johnny

Johnny, VERY interesting question and one I will be dealing with, hopefully quickly now. My room will be over 600 sq feet but there will be lots of other odds and ends in there as well like filing cabinets, desks, etc. I/we have 20 "can lights" embedded in the ceiling and will be using low voltge lights in those. I like the answers regarding the lighting. Never thought of that item!
Lloyd

I think I remember someone here saying that Halogen lights were bad for constantly displayed items. Don't know if this is true. JohnJ

Thanks for the help guys!
Johnny

Hello,

Light is always a problem for the damage that it does that is not noticed until years later.

Natural sunlight should be avoided or at least filtered through a thick curtain.

Halogen should also be avoided.

fluorescent lighting is better and is acceptable when used with UV filters. 3M makes a filter that is simply a tube placed over the bulb and not too expensive. They also produce sheets of plexiglass that can be cut and fitted over light fixtures.

If UV radiation can cause an Army dagger grip to darken, I wonder what else it can do to a dagger long term?

I have to think that indirect sunlight couldn't do that much damage to leather,wood, or any other material in used a dagger.

I just use reg bulbs 75 watt on track lights its not like I am in there 24 / 7 or the light are on all the time I don't spend that much time in my room to really give it a worrie I would be worried more about moths and dust over them but thats just me

Thanks again for the input guys.
I was primarially concerned about cloth items (such as flags) and since red is the color which is most quickly degraded by light, I wanted to be sure that I have the propper conditions for them.
Thanks again,
JOhnny

again unless your going to be in there 24/7 and have the lights drectly on it i would not give it that much of a thought i my self have 48 full manaquinns and 31 1/4 torso's

OK guys, but what about those new energy-saver "coil-style" lightbulbs, aren't those florescent? (and therefore BAD for a collecting room???)

all I have to say is unless the lights are going to be on 24 7 then I would not be that concerned I had my collection for long time and only light problem I ever had was from the sun light so unless your lighting your things up for long period of times and shining directly on them I would not give it much thought

what i use

and

last

I use track lighting with 75 watt floods and have never had any problems with cloth or anything else for that matter. The room is secure and has no outside windows so when the lights are off, it is totally dark in the room.

Macki, I think we need more pictures of your room in it's own thread.

Also florescent lighting in the display cases.

Thanks guys, I will stop stressing over it now!

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston has an incredible collection of paintings and documents on display. Problem is, it is an Italian villa that was brought over and reassmebled stone by stone, and literally enclosed in another building when it became a museum. All the windows have been fitted with special anti-UV panels to protect the paintings, as part of the will stipulated they had to hang where they were when old Isabella died. Now the documents are displayed in standard glass-topped cases, but have special cloth covers on the tops, which you remove to look at the documents and then put back so the light does not age them when they are not being viewed. That seem to me to be a pretty good solution.