Pens fading exposed to light?

[AlohaPens]

Hi Everyone,

My wife just got me a beautiful wooden 30 pen display case. It has three layers, each holding ten pens, with the top layer beneath a transparent lid. I love the way my pens look in that top layer, but am worried about them being exposed constantly to light, so, I'm nervous about keeping the pens in that top layer, where they look so good. Is this something I should really be concerned about?

Thanks,
scot

[Blue Note]

Hi Everyone,

My wife just got me a beautiful wooden 30 pen display case. It has three layers, each holding ten pens, with the top layer beneath a transparent lid. I love the way my pens look in that top layer, but am worried about them being exposed constantly to light, so, I'm nervous about keeping the pens in that top layer, where they look so good. Is this something I should really be concerned about?

Thanks,
scot

Unless there is some sort of UV protection built into the lid, I would be concerned. Light is very destructive. Keeping the display case in an area free of direct, harsh light might be adequate, but I would recommend being very careful with valuable pens.

[fountainpenkid]

That sounds lovely! With light exposure*, it depends on the type of pen: pens made of celluloid, hard rubber, and to a lesser extent acrylic, should not be exposed for prolonged periods as would happen in that case. Metal and wooden pens (depending on finish) would be fine.

*I'm assuming you mean sunlight, not artificial light; the latter would be harmless.

[AlohaPens]

OK. Thanks. My pen are all resin or ebonite, so sounds like I should be careful.
I'll certainly find a place for it out of direct sunlight, and maybe keep a pad over it when I'm not choosing pens. I also wonder if there are so UV-blocking overlays that might help ....

[Chrissy]

I would ensure that the case is never placed in direct sunlight or the wood will also fade.
Maybe you could make yourself a velour cover that fits on the top to protect it from light?
Or maybe even a complete throw over cover that covers the whole case? That's how antique wooden table tops are protected.

[TFarnon]

I would take a look at how the glass is affixed inside the case, and if it looks removable, swap it with an identically sized piece of UV protective glass. I know that framing stores usually have UV protective glass available for immediate purchase or special order. That way you could still have a nice view of your pens and keep them protected from UV light (which is the component that does most of the damage). In the mean time, you could do as art collectors and museums used to do, and lay a dark, dense cloth on top of the case. Paintings used to have curtains that could be drawn in front of them. And yes, just keeping the case out of direct sunlight will help a great deal. Paintings and other rare objects kept in windowless hallways are far better preserved than those displayed in sunlit rooms.

[AlohaPens]

Thanks for the good ideas. We do have a local frame shop that could probably do the trick. In the meantime, the box is under a second level on my desk, fairly well isolated, and for extra caution, I put a notepad on top. I just slide the box out when I want to select the day's, or otherwise new, pen from the top.


Scot

[wingwiper]

I would definitely keep for example Waterman red/black, blue/green, even black ebonite, hard rubber pens away from UV. I have a couple Watermans #7's I had close to sunlight that faded and had to polish (lighly) back up

Yeesh

[Cyril]

I learned from a antique pen dealer Sun light and the water causes lot of damages to the HRBC ( Volcanic ) Pens.
I think sunlight is the living energy around us and it makes lot of changes to the "matters" around us and pens and the inks are no exception.

[Seattleite]

Do you know if you have low-e glass in your windows? Pretty effective for both UV-a and UV-b radiation, and pretty standard in newer structures. You are in Hawaii? It may be code there.

Bob

[Aurelius]

I would take a look at how the glass is affixed inside the case, and if it looks removable, swap it with an identically sized piece of UV protective glass. I know that framing stores usually have UV protective glass available for immediate purchase or special order. That way you could still have a nice view of your pens and keep them protected from UV light (which is the component that does most of the damage).

Another, and cheaper option, would be to replace the glass with a piece of plexiglass. Most plastics absorb the harmful UV so that would stop it before it got to your pens.

[TFarnon]

I'd forgotten about the UV protective properties of plexiglass. At the very least, it shields against UV-B. Once you mentioned it, I remembered the light box shields we had for visualizing ethidium bromide stained DNA gels. It's been over 10 years since I worked with that stuff, so I vaguely wonder how they do things now. I know that safer options were just reaching the market at that time.

But back to UV protection, yes, plexiglass works well. The only downside is that it scratches easily. On the other hand, it's fairly inexpensive and easy to work, so if a plexiglass lid got scraped up, it wouldn't be a big deal to get a new lid to replace it. Or you could probably just remove it, polish out the scratches and reinstall it.

[Jon Szanto]

But back to UV protection, yes, plexiglass works well. The only downside is that it scratches easily. On the other hand, it's fairly inexpensive and easy to work, so if a plexiglass lid got scraped up, it wouldn't be a big deal to get a new lid to replace it. Or you could probably just remove it, polish out the scratches and reinstall it.

I'm just guessing, but the case the OP mentions sounds very much like one of my pen cases:

Photo from Main Street Pens / Ron Zorn

If this, or similar, it seems you could simply put a piece of plexiglass on the inside of the case beneath the existing glass, giving UV protection without need for worrying about scratches. Just another option. BTW, I've never noticed any issues with the pens and I've had it for a number of years, but it also has never been anywhere near direct sunlight.

[AlohaPens]

Glad to see a bunch of like-minded thinkers here in how to protect our pens! Thanks!

scot

[Wahl]

This is how I display my pens, inside a bookcase, with glass doors, but my study/office room stays in the shadow, behind curtains to protect my pens, books, and furniture.

[FredRydr]

One sad day years ago, I left a Lamy 2000 in the sunlight and it faded so badly I never saw it again.

[AlohaPens]

This is how I display my pens, inside a bookcase, with glass doors, but my study/office room stays in the shadow, behind curtains to protect my pens, books, and furniture.[/QUOTE]

I have a new aspiration. Nice! And it must be fun to open that up and select the right pen for each occasion.

-scot