The Framers Forum

Is there any way of identifying if glass is UV coated?

I have a customer with a limited edition print they bought framed from a gallery. The print has no mount or spacer and is touching the glass. The customer said it is worth a lot of money and wants to ensure it survives the ravages of time.

I suggested that it should not be touching the glass and due to this doubted if it had been properly conservation framed.

I have not been let loose on the print yet, just wondered if there was any way of telling if UV glass had already been put in, to save the customer some money.

Many thanks.
Gus.

Some show the reflections in a Green Hue.

I think the green reflections are more likely an indication of coated anti reflcective glass which could or could not have an extra UV filter added.

UV glass (by that I mean Tru Vue conservation clear or Tru Vue Museum) will have a very distinct ripple on the surface, when viewed closely or at an angle this will be obvious.

If you are going to frame it properly with a mount, it will need a bigger piece of glass anyway.

Unfortunately the only way to tell is to remove the glass and test it with a uv meter.

The only two exceptions I can think of are, as framemaker says, Tru-vue products have a distinct orange peel effect, and if the glass is laminated the plastic laminate will act as a uv filter.

As framemaker also correctly states any colour reflection is not an indication of uv filtering

truevue stuff has text printed down one edge too, if your lucky that might be there

Thanks for your replies,

"if you are going to frame it properly with a mount, it will need a bigger piece of glass anyway."

Sorry, not sure how to quote previous replies, Prospero!

The print has a very generous border that the customer would want the mount to cover. The idea is to keep the art away from the glass, I thought I could use a mount to the same dimensions as the print - would that work? Or else use a spacer, but in this case would I float mount the print as discussed in previous topics?

Maybe easier to increase the size of the frame and let them reuse the original frame for another project!

Gus wrote:I suggested that it should not be touching the glass and due to this doubted if it had been properly conservation framed.

Gus wrote:Maybe easier to increase the size of the frame and let them reuse the original frame for another project

So I have learnt something after all!

Meant to use the 'wink' smiley above, not the 'confused' one!

Just can't imagine any framer selling UV glass against the artwork. I and probably most framers put a sticker on the back of frames with UV/other speciality glass too and also mention it on the description/price tag if for sale on my walls.

Also, when it comes to a re-frame or a part re-frame I practically always quote for new glass - the old glass will nearly always be minging, semi-minging and/or have scratches/flaws that you don't see at the design counter; you only see them when it comes to cleaning, which, even if scratch/flaw-free, can take so long that a new lite would have effectively cost you less - material cost written off with labour.

A couple of further thoughts. As the previous posts have correctly identified the framing cannot be considered as conservation if the artwork touches the glass. Which perhaps leads me on to believe that when you eventually get your hands on it and open up the frame you may well find that the print has been incorrectly hinged, maybe to the back of the window mount and/or to the undermount with self adhesive tape along the full extent of the top of the print. Also it would be of interest to note if the undermount is hinged along the long edge to the widow mount and the thickness and quality of the undermount?

Just a couple more thoughts to consider.

When I said you will need a bigger piece of glass, I assumed that the frame is the same size as the print. If this is the case then you absolutely need a bigger frame. The edges of the print, regardless of any wide border, should not go right to the rebate of the frame. That's if the long-term well-being of the print is important. Which I assume it is.
There risk from the print edge touching the wood of the frame. Nasty. But the worst thing is that the edges would be restrained all around, thus not allowing expansion. It will go ripply. The print edges should be at least an inch from the frame.

Thank you for all your comments. Some very good advice, which I will be taking forward to the customer.

Regards
Gus

If you get a scalpel blade and just scratch the edge with the blade and it leaves a small mark that is the side that goes against the art work.The side that doesn't scratch faces outwards.

Tony

That works for TruVue and maybe only works for TruVue?

You can feel the difference as well as see it, but not all UV glass is coated the same way, with some (if not all?) others either side can face the artwork and that scratch test won't work.

Well that job is now finished with a very satisfied customer!

I used a larger frame as suggested above(ordinary 1.25" square white), AR UV glass and a mount.

Not a difficult job but the customer was over the moon and has let me loose on 2 more LE prints, with a promise of more to come!

Thanks to all for the advice, hints and tips - it is really useful to a newbie knowing the guru's are willing to help.

Gus Hi
Yes there is a way of identifying whether glass with a UV filter (coating) has been fitted to a frame. If you hold the art uptowards the light you can see the orange peel ripple effect. If you don't see this then it is unlikely that the glass has a UV coating. In my experience there should always be a UV glass label on the back of the artwork showing glass cleaning tips and whether UV, Museum glass etc is fitted. (i.e TruVue label). If you do have a chance to get inside the frame, and there is no "this side faces artwork, score other side" on the glass edge, on the side facing the artwork and right on the corner which will be hidden by the frame rebate, use a sharp knife to gently scratch the surface. If there is a UV coating you will see a slight scratch. It may pay to scratch both sides because sometimes the UV coating gets on the outside of the frame.
UV coated glass generally has an orange tinge to it when looking along the edges.

Cheers

All the above applies only to Tru Vue; there are other manufacturers.

To test any you need either a UV 'Black light' which will tell you if there is a UV filter but not what % of UV is filtered - or a lab test, which will.

The only way to really tell is to have a uv meter

http://www.preservationequipment.com/St ... t-$4-Tools

(scroll down to: Environmental Monitor (RH Temp UV & LUX)


We use an earlier model to test each piece we use and record the data (measured uv from a black lamp direct and through the material in question)