Lightfastness of acrylic paint

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Rainbow
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Lightfastness of acrylic paint

Post by Rainbow »

A customer has asked about having UV glass with an acrylic painting. It's my understanding acrylic paint isn't susceptible to light damage, but I could be wrong so I'd be grateful if more knowledgable souls could advise. Thanks.
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Re: Lightfastness of acrylic paint

Post by Not your average framer »

It depends upon the light fast rating of the particular paint. Some cheap acrylic paints are not always all that good. I'm fussy what I use for acrylic paints for hand finishing and the light fastness ratings are easiest to find from most manufactures colour charts. I also like to mix acrylic paints and Craig and Rose chalky emusion of the same colour together to make the acrylic paint go a bit further and to make the resulting mix into a much more matt paint, which looks and feel better. The added acrylic adds more durability to the chalky emulsion and the chalking emulsion often appears to increase the opacity of the acrylic paint.
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Rainbow
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Re: Lightfastness of acrylic paint

Post by Rainbow »

Thanks, Mark. My customer wasn't the artist so it won't be possible to find out which manufacturer's paints have been used unfortunately. All I can say is that it's not a recent painting, but whether vintage paints were more/less lightfast than today's paints, I don't know.
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Re: Lightfastness of acrylic paint

Post by Steve N »

You can't do any harm to it if you do use UV glass on it,
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Re: Lightfastness of acrylic paint

Post by prospero »

I have never known a painting done with acrylic paint to fade. Same with oils.

Inferior quality paints will more likely flake and drop off so lightfastness is the least problem.

Using UV glass is probably a bit unnecessary. It's a good idea to glaze them though as they are
a PITA to clean. Don't ask..... :roll:
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Re: Lightfastness of acrylic paint

Post by Not your average framer »

I also have never known an acrylic painting to fade. I have seen lots of then which have been framed unglazed and this seems to be very much the normal thing to do. Acrylic paintings usually have a bit of impasto so they would not be normal frames touching the glasing, because they look a bit strange with the impasto touching the glazing.

Unless the costomer has said the it is to be glased, I would think that it would be best not to glaze it at all.
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Re: Lightfastness of acrylic paint

Post by Rainbow »

Many thanks for all your comments. : )
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