UV fading of locomotives rolling stock?

[Jenny Emily]

Can anyone tell me how resilient the finishes on RTR items like Hornby/Bachmann/Heljan/Dapol are when exposed to sunlight? I don't leave them in the sun day-in, day-out but I do run stuff on a garden railway often for hours at a time and wondered whether they are prone to fading or not? I haven't noticed any obvious signs of fading, but wanted to be sure.

[HillsideDepot]

Not quite answering your question Jenny, but in a similar area I have noticed that the glazing on model buses (EFE and Original Omnibus) can go "milky" if the model is displayed in a position which is in the sunlight. Having learnt the hard way the curtains of my railway room now stay shut unless I am in there.

[Bristol_Rich]

Regardless of finishes, UV will also make plastic go brittle over time.  Maybe not so much the "Polythene" types used on e.g. wagon underframes but certainly the harder plastic used to mould body shells, wagon bodies etc.

[RFS]

I have a couple of Hornby Pullmans that started out  in umber and cream.  Now the cream is pure white and looks wrong against the others, whose cream also seems to vary.  And none of them have been exposed to direct sunlight....

[APOLLO]

My LGB 4 wheel coach roofs have faded from black to grey over the years, though they are stored indoors when not in use. Locos etc seem OK. My Peco G track is OK, and that has been outside for 15 years plus,

 

Sun is a killer over time with plastic, unless it is PVCU like the stuff used for gutters & Windows, and even this gets attacked over (a long) time.

 

A few items have also faded in my loft, placed near the velux window. This faces north, so only gets a bit of sun in summer in the early morning.

 

Brit15

[Andy Hayter]

It is unlikely that the finishes will withstand long term exposure.  Even finishes on cars are prone to fading (red is notorious).  Direct sunlight is more aggressive than daylight on a cloudy day.  The question is then how long are the models exposed and how much of that time are the models indirect sunlight?  The less the better; but I cannot give a definitive number of hours.  I would have thought under normal usage you should be fine - although other factors can also impact as noted re the cream on the Pullman coaches.

 

Re Polyethylene and light stability:  I am not sure that underframes are made from PE, but even if they are, it is not immune to light degradation - just better than many other plastics.  The general point that the plastics degrade is however correct, but the paint finishes will provide a level of protection - until they degrade and allow the UV though to the plastic. So it may be worth painting any surfaces that use the coloured plastic and are not painted. 

 

FWIW my models are in a room with no direct sunlight at all.

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Aft'noon all,

 

The National Trust along with other such groups fit windows with a film which blocks/reduces UV light. If you are likely to be affected then this might be the cheapest way to protect your hobby in the long run.

 

Just Google the topic for further info.

 

Rgds

 

Dave

[bgman]

Can anyone tell me how resilient the finishes on RTR items like Hornby/Bachmann/Heljan/Dapol are when exposed to sunlight? I don't leave them in the sun day-in, day-out but I do run stuff on a garden railway often for hours at a time and wondered whether they are prone to fading or not? I haven't noticed any obvious signs of fading, but wanted to be sure.

You could always try putting these on ya locos !

 

 

Just a thought

[Jenny Emily]

Thanks for the replies, peeps! The UV resistant film is an idea for things like display cabinets.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

...I have noticed that the glazing on model buses (EFE and Original Omnibus) can go "milky" if the model is displayed in a position which is in the sunlight...

Much the same on model railway product. I operated OO outdoors for some years, and that was the most immediately noticeable effect on RTR items. Very variable though, from no perceptible effect to looking like a slightly obscured window. Didn't see any paint fading that worried me. (Keep meaning to leave an early Bachmann mk1 non-corridor body out in the sunlight to see if that fades the overly dark maroon.)

 

Plastic embrittlement hasn't been significant on RTR. The very thin plasticard floors of some whitemetal wagon kits have been affected; these are a worst case as they will get fairly baked in summer. When the adhesive securing them let go, the loose piece had all the strength of a potato crisp...

[380John]

Hi,

 

Not sure if it helps, but I started a thread this week on sunlight fading grass scatter and such like. The curtains are shut for large periods of time but iv noticed my scatter fading pretty quickly. Thus iv sprayed the areas with Matt varnish this week to see if this helps.

 

Maybe the same could be done with rolling stock?

 

I know it is used to prevent things like brick papers from fading.

 

Regards,

 

John

[Il Grifone]

Not really relevant to today's finishes, but I have a Hornby Dublo coach, which originally was crimson and cream, but now is almost pink and cream, presumably due to sunlight. (I believe something similar happened to the prototype!)

 

Direct sunlight will also cause plastic to warp.

[Melly]

This concerns me as my layout is being built in a converted loft with a large quad of velux windows facing south.  Each window is fitted with Duo blackout blinds / venetian blinds as well.  I always leave either the blackout blinds down or operate with the Venetian blinds down as they let in plenty of light.  Never thought about the UV through the venetian blinds though.  May need to think of leaving the room in the dark unless playing!

[Ian Kirk]

Hi,

A lot of model railway stuff is made from HIPS which is quite vulnerable to UV.  A coat of paint seems to help though. Years ago when I had the factory in St.Monans I had a window display in one of the office windows. A couple of packaged kits pinned up (in poly bags) and a few assembled models. They were there for years. When I took it down the painted models were OK (still are I think) but the outermost mouldings in the poly bags were brittle, in fact they crumbled almost like cork. I would think though that a few hours exposure running round the garden would do no harm, it took years of constant exposure to do the damage and it would seem that painted models are less vulnerable.  I think that exposure to sunlight on painted models would only "weather" them naturally. I remember the "crimson lake" that was used on non corridor coaches in the 50s fading dramatically before darkening with soot and brake dust to a dark red which was almost the same as the maroon that they were repainted in after 1958. Even black locomotives faded a bit, an effect that I have never yet been able to model.

 

best wishes,

 

Ian

[polybear]

Ever wondered why many museums etc. don't like photography?  It's not just for security reasons - one museum I visited explained that, for every exposure to camera flash, the resulting light degradation to the exhibits is equivalent to 6 hours (or was it 6 days?) worth of daylight....

 

polybear

[John M Upton]

A couple of my Bachmann Class 47's windscreens and some windows on one side of a couple of their Mk 1 coaches have faded to milky white quite badly.

[380John]

This concerns me as my layout is being built in a converted loft with a large quad of velux windows facing south. Each window is fitted with Duo blackout blinds / venetian blinds as well. I always leave either the blackout blinds down or operate with the Venetian blinds down as they let in plenty of light. Never thought about the UV through the venetian blinds though. May need to think of leaving the room in the dark unless playing!

Sounds like a fair point. I'm due to move house soon and will have an attic room with velux windows as my railway room. At the moment I keep the layout out in as much darkness as I can. As its still under construction my makeshift blackout method is to close the curtains and cover the layout with black bin bags. Only when running do I remove them but I'm dubious of leaving the bags within reach of radiators etc..

[Melly]

John, I use these:

 

http://www.veluxblindsdirect.co.uk/product/velux-blinds/duo-blackout-blinds

 

I thoroughly recommend them as with the venetian blind down the loss of natural light is minimal but all the harshness and glare is gone.  But yes, in future when the 'den' is not in use I think I will default to darkness during BST but probably not winter time.  Cheers

 

 

[380John]

John, I use these:

 

http://www.veluxblindsdirect.co.uk/product/velux-blinds/duo-blackout-blinds

 

I thoroughly recommend them as with the venetian blind down the loss of natural light is minimal but all the harshness and glare is gone. But yes, in future when the 'den' is not in use I think I will default to darkness during BST but probably not winter time. Cheers

Thanks for the link melly,

 

They look just the ticket! Such a slow painful way to see mother nature destroy miniature versions of many of the very things she has put around us!! Kind of ironic!

 

Cheers again il be making these a first addition to the new pad!

 

John

[Andy Hayter]

It is of course worth remembering that it is not just out models that are at risk.  The real thing also suffers from light degradation.

 

DB (Deutsche Bahn - Germany railways)  Introduced a red / red and white livery around 1996 and by 2000 most of their stock that had not had recent re-paint was a distinct girly pink.   No offence intended Jenny Emily.

[380John]

Good point Andy! Hadnt thought of it like that. That would make an interesting topic on a weathering related thread.

 

Instead of counting rivets We'll be modelling tan lines on our model people next!!

 

All the best,

John

[newbryford]

I need to represent this.

10530 at Derby

 

I have a Lima Mk3 sleeper - maybe I need to leave it outside for a few weeks, turning it over every now and then......

 

Cheers,

Mick

[piranha230]

I have a Hornby blue 4-cep and a Hornby pendolino I have left on my upstairs window ledge for a few years and the warning yellow has faded to the same shade that the withdrawn class 81-85 loco,s had.

The other colours are totally unchanged even the red has not faded.

[sandwich station]

I have a Hornby blue 4-cep

Do you mean Bachmann or vep?

[trisonic]

Oh, that’s why we build in basements in the ‘States...................?

 

Best, Pete.