Fluorescent White Pigment
|Activating wavelength: 365nm (black light)
Emitting wavelength: 510nm (vibrant white)
White under regular light
Pure inorganic, no fillers, 4-6 microns
Glows only under black light, not in the dark
Fluorescent vs. Phosphorescent
Phosphorescent (glow in the dark) pigments store light and release it slowly
as a glow. Fluorescent Pigments convert light from one wavelength to
another. Which makes them "glow" if the proper light is applied.
Fluorescent pigments are defined by their activation wavelength, which
determines what light is required to make them fluoresce and their emission
wavelength, which is the color at which they fluoresce.
Typical hardware store fluorescent safety paints are typically designed to
convert near-visible ultraviolet light (around 400nm) to the visible spectrum in
red, orange, or yellow. This allows them to appear neon in sunlight and
also under most white light bulbs.
Clothing detergents include a similar near-visible UV fluorescent pigment
which allows your white clothes to look vibrantly white.
Glow Inc. brand fluorescent pigments are different in that their activation
wavelength is tuned to 385nm which is the exact wavelength of typical black
lights. This prevents them from fluorescing at all in regular white light.
In fact, they are almost invisible in most mediums in regular light.
However, they are brilliant under your typical black light.
Mediums and Base Coats
The efficiency of fluorescent pigments is determined by the ability of light
to get to the individual particles and the ability of light to get back out of
the medium. Therefore, clear mediums are by far the most efficient.
Some opaque mediums can be used, but will be dimmer.
Glow Inc's fluorescent pigments should be compatible with most paints and
other mediums. However, we always suggest you try a tiny sample before
mixing or using a large batch of new components.
Like phosphorescent paints, a white background will also improve brightness
for thin or low concentration applications.
The more pigment you include in your medium, the brighter it will fluoresce.
The typical ratio is 3 ounces per gallon. Note: We suggest 2 pounds
per gallon for Phosphorescent pigments. Since you use considerably less to
get the effect, fluorescent pigments are actually cheaper to use.
Due to the high cost per volume of fluorescent pigments, it is industry
standard to add up to 2-parts filler, typically a clear pigment, to most
generally available fluorescent pigments. This practice made it difficult
for Glow Inc. to find a source of pure fluorescent pigment. The pigments
provided by Glow Inc. are 100% pure.
You can mix fluorescent colors to create almost any hue. However, keep
in mind that fluorescent colors are considered "Projected Light" or "Additive
Color", not standard "Reflective Light" or "Subtractive Color". Therefore,
it has its own mixing rules.
For example, the 3 base colors for reflected light is Red, Yellow and Blue.
With these 3 colors, you can create any other color. For projected light,
including fluorescent pigments, the base colors are Red, Green, and Blue.
Mixing Green and Blue creates Cyan, Turquoise or Blue-Green.
Mixing Red and Blue creates Magenta or Purple.
Mixing Green and Red creates Yellow.
Mixing Phosphorescent and Fluorescent
You can mix phosphorescent and fluorescent pigments into the same medium.
If you paint this over standard opaque paint, you can literally get 3 different
effects depending on if you a viewing in the light, in the dark, or under black
In order to get smooth, equal dispersion in the medium, small particle
pigments, including these fluorescent pigments, need to be "wetted".
To wet, add 1 part pigment to 1 part medium. Mix thoroughly to form a paste.
Now add an additional 2 parts medium and mix thoroughly. Repeat as needed. Now
add this thick mix to your full medium and stir thoroughly.
Fluorescent pigments will attract water from the air. This water will
not effect its characteristics and only becomes a problem if mixing with a
medium where water causes issues.
This water will create what appears to be dark spots in the raw pigment.
However, this is not an issue once the pigment is mixed into a medium.
You can use an oven at 200F to remove the moisture if needed.