Phosphorescent pigments - Comparison

[szvwj]

I have been trying to become more educated in Phosphorescent pigments and wanted to share what I've learned so far. I'm hoping that you, who are more knowledgeable, will add to this.

I purchased the following for this comparison:

• NoctiLumina G8UF
  
• LumiNova (it appears to be similar to Super-LumiNova, C3).
  
• NoctiLumina Binder 1A
  
• I'm considering purchasing Super-LumiNova for this comparison, but have not done so yet. If anyone has some they'd be willing to part with, please let me know.
  
  In the following photo, you will see 4 columns of Phosphorescent pigment 'dots' (Column 1 is on the far Left, Column 4 is on the far Right).
  Columns 1 and 2 are NoctiLumina G8UF (column 1 is on bare aluminum, column 2 is on top of a White Undercoat)
  Columns 3 and 4 are LumiNova (column 3 is on bare aluminum, column 4 is on top of a White Undercoat)
  
  Here's a daylight shot for comparison:
  
  
  Both pigments are mixed in the same ratio (as much as possible) with NoctiLumina Binder 1A.
  As you can see, the LumiNova seems to glow brighter than the NoctiLumina. In addition, both pigments, when placed on top of a white (reflective) background glow brighter than the pigment placed on uncoated aluminum.
  
  DISCLAIMER:
  
  1. I don't know the particle size of the NoctiLumina. This would be a more accurate comparison if the particle size of the pigments was the same. They appear, however, to be the same (I can't tell a difference between the two by looking at them or by working with them).
     
  2. I cannot mix the Pigment and Binder in the EXACT same ratios. The ratio may effect the glow and may effect the dried appearance.
     

  COMMENTS:

  [*]I'd like to find a binder that doesn't shrink when it dries. It appears that RCTritec sells a Binder (A100) which has no volume loss after drying. This would probably help to get a nicer finish. If anyone is aware of a better binder than NoctiLumina 1A, please let me know. I've already tried fingernail polish and Model Master Lacquer, but the NoctiLumina Binder seems to be better than either of them.

  [*]In daylight, the surface of the LumiNova looks better than the NoctiLumina. The surface of the NoctiLumina is not as smooth as the LumiNova (see pictures below). This may have to do with my mix ratios.

  [*]I'm now tempted to strip the NoctiLumina off one of my watches and re-lume with LumiNova.

  NOCTILUMINA:

  

  LUMINOVA:

  

[fotoman]

what the hell is a sphorescent pigments - and how does that compare to ME?

oh

wait

never mind

the point of this demo is what? I am not familliar where one would come across notcilumina

[Sir-Lancelot]

The white background makes a big difference. Wonder is it the same if you polish the metal? I would assume it would be best of all since it would reflect the glow.?

That NoctiLumina looks like a puddle of poop on the close up. YUCK!

The LumiNova on white background is the best of the bunch for sure.

Thank you for posting your results. I am lucky that I get to wait and see your final results before attempting this. lol

@pho your just showing off because you hit 2,000 and now trying to catch pug.

His point is to satisfy his curiosity and stubbornness and try not to spend big $$ on the superlume. I for one am glad he has done this, because from what I see the noctilumnia is pure CHIT.

Although I still believe szvwj will not be satisfied until he buys the superlume from Tritec. Since szvwj is in the states, I will go in half with him because I have a fiddy that has been begging me to give it a try. Shoot me a pm my friend.

[szvwj]

Some additional clarification:

Phosphorescent pigments are commonly used to illuminate the markers and hands of watches so that they glow in the dark. I and perhaps others are interested in re-luming watches because the Lume that comes standard on most Reps isn't very good.

I've been looking for a Phosphorescent pigment that's good, but inexpensive (I want the most bang for my buck). I decided to do the comparison, so you don't have to. It can be expensive and time-consuming buying and trying the different materials, and it would suck if everyone had to do that.

Just to show an approximate comparison of costs:

• Super-LumiNova = $40/gram (+ $40 shipping/handling to the USA, price includes Binder,Thinner, mixing bowl)
  
• NoctiLumina = $7/gram (+ shipping)
  
• LumiNova = $1/gram (the catch is that there is a 2lb min buy)
  

Super-LumiNova may be worth the money (I intend to find out for myself), but, for the price, I think LumiNova is an excellent product.

[fotoman]

cool - i get it now

Nice job

[szvwj]

Just a quick update.

I'm really loving LumiNova, if SuperLumiNova is better, I'll be in heaven.

I just couldn't resist trying LumiNova on my BCE Dial. I had already added NoctiLuminova to each marker and was quite pleased with the results, it's deifintely better than the Rep lume, but I decided to strip it off of one marker (actually one side of one marker) and apply LumiNova to see if there was any difference.

TIP: Don't use an x-acto knife to scrape off old lume, it can scratch the marker (guess how I know). Use something softer than the base metal or you might be sorry.

Which marker do you think I updated (it's pretty obvious). Darn, now I'm going to have to re-lume the whole thing!:

[sssurfer]

Great work! Congrats and thanks!

I too noticed that a white primer is great in enhancing the lume effect. I suppose you saw my post here.

I doubt that polished metal works the same.

[szvwj]

ssurfer, I had not seen your post, thanks for the link. Wow, your post is what mine aspired to be (nice work)!

[sssurfer]

You are too modest, your work has nothing to envy from mine.

Just, I went for Superluminova in the end.

[szvwj]

Thanks to a fellow member, I was able to add Super-Luminova to my comparison. Each pigment was mixed (in similar ratios) with NoctiLumina Binder 1A:

DAYLIGHT

INITIAL SHOT

AFTER 10 MINUTES

AFTER 20 MINUTES

AFTER 30 MINUTES

All photos were taken with F2.8 @ 1 second.

CONCLUSION:

The brightness drops off quickly, but is still visible after more than 1 hour (although it's difficult to photograph).

There is little difference in brightness between LumiNova and SuperLumiNova (much to my surprise). NoctiLumina is a descent product (much better than rep lume) and is easy to purchase compared to the other two pigments, but does not perform as well.

I believe I've found an inexpensive alternative to Super-LumiNova. The problem is that it's not possible to purchase it in small quantities (as far as I know).

[Toadtorrent]

Great test...very informative!!

[Sir-Lancelot]

I was lucky enough to get a sample of this exact same stuff from a very good friend and this weekend I use some of the Luminova G300M sample to lume my 127. I am quite pleased with the results and now I want to lume everything in the house.

Here are some pictures of the results. Sorry for the bad quality pictures.

No long exposure times as you see the seconds hand is still. I don't even know how to do all that yet. lol Just point and shoot.

Daylight shot with a nice reflection of my head and the camera. I would take another but the batteries just died.

The money shot.

I agree with szvwj that this appears to be a nice substitution for Tritec SuperLume at a ridiculously reduced cost. My thanks go out to him for all of his efforts to help get the most bang for our hard earned buck. Without his experimenting, I would have never believed it was possible to get these results without spending a small fortune.

Now if only I could lume a sausage.