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I am changing the way I store my models from a bunch of boxes and carrying cases to a nice display cabinet. Due to the location of the cabinet in my office, it will be exposed to direct sunlight for large periods of the day, and this got me wondering... what happens if the paint starts to fade? What paints last the longest? What paints should be avoided for models stored in this sort of environment?

On the 1st of March I intend to put into play an experiment that I have been planning for a little while. I have paints from all the major ranges and will be applying them to swatches. Half of each swatch will be shielded from light, and half will be exposed to direct sunlight for 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. I have 55 swatches to use and have already cut up a couple of cereal boxes to allow them to be masked against light correctly. Now I need some help deciding what to prioritise. I want to test the effect of varnish, but need to apply it to colours that are more likely to fade. From circumstantial evidence I think that will be the blues and the whites, (testing red, blue, green, yellow and white), so at the moment I intend to add a thick matt varnish to the blues and whites for secondary testing. To make things a bit more understandable, here is the plan so far:

Testing:
1. GW - Skull White
2. Coat d'Arms - White
3. P3 Menoth - White Highlight
4. Vallejo Game Color - Dead White
5. Vallejo Model Color - White
6. Reaper Master Series - Pure White
7. GW - Golden Yellow
8. GW Wash - Gryphonne Sepia
9. GW Foundation - Iyanden Darksun
10. Coat d'Arms - Golden Yellow
11. P3 - Sulfuric Yellow
12. Vallejo Game Color - Gold Yellow
13. Vallejo Model Color - Golden Yellow
14. Reaper Master Series - Marigold Yellow
15. GW - Goblin Green
16. GW Wash - Thraka Green
17. GW Foundation - Knarloc Green
18. Coat d'Arms - Goblin Green
19. P3 - Iosan Green
20. Vallejo Game Color - Goblin Green
21. Vallejo Model Color - German Cam. Bright Green
22. Reaper Master Series - Field Green
23. GW - Blood Red
24. GW Wash - Baal Red
25. GW Foundation - Mechrite Red
26. Coat d'Arms - Blood Red
27. P3 - Skorne Red
28. Vallejo Game Color - Bloody Red
29. Vallejo Model Color - Vermillion
30. Reaper Master Series - Blood Red
31. GW - Ultramarine Blue
32. GW Wash - Asurmen Blue
33. GW Foundation - Mordian Blue
34. Coat d'Arms - Marine Blue
35. P3 - Arcane Blue (this is not very close to the others but should be close enough to not impact the results too much)
36. Vallejo Game Color - Ultramarine Blue
37. Vallejo Model Color - Ultramarine
38. Reaper Master Series - Ultramarine Highlight
+ 13 swatches for blue and white with a coat W&N acrylic matt varnish
= 4 swatches left to play with?


Let me know what you think and if I should be testing anything else. I can always repeat the experiment next year if needs be but have limited window space so I can only do one at a time - hard enough getting the wife's permission for having a cereal box in the window for a year! Please dont request any extra paint ranges/colours as I dont want to buy any more right now. Has anybody out there done a similar test or have any scientific analysis of what we should expect from the results?

I'll be scanning in the swatch sheet at the start of the project, and at each of the 3 month intervals, so we will be able to digitally compare any changes in the colour. It should be a somewhat fair test hopefully, and at the least should give some indication as to the dangers of sunlight on painted miniatures.

im going to guess that the darker colours should absorb more energy and thus react with the sunlight more but will take longer to fade all the way to white whereas the lighter colours will react less but will be faster to fade if reaction rates were equal. so really its a matter of reaction time Vs closeness to white.

also i would suggest you either use all the secondary colours not just green or you dont use any.

Good idea to test by the way

I can only fit so many swatches in the window while still letting light into the room, so am limited to green. Greenskins might appreciate that one anyway. The yellows and reds use oxidised iron and lead which I presume might be less likely to fade which is why I was prioritising them lower than blue. A lot of white plastics react over time and turn a little bit yellow which is why they are the other varnish test.

Fair enough
my reasoning was if your going to do green and tell us one result for a secondary you might as well tell us the other 2.

tadiitionally reds and yellows fade first and also use horrible things in the mix to stave this off (like cadnium). I would guess bright red followed by bright yellow will be affected first.
Shall we start a book?
I put 110 Imperials on the GW Blood Red!

O.K. so you expect to get lots of direct sunight...in the UK, good luck but no, It sound interesting, I only use GGW but the haven't faded at all for me, some of them have been in direct sunlight for almost 5 years.

I've read up a bit more and think that red and blue would be the most appropriate to test with varnish now. Pyro, I should get around 400-450 hours of direct sunlight in each 3 month period which should be enough for some data to be gathered, but if anybody in a sunnier climate wants to replicate the experiment then be my guest!

As for random guesses, I think that the paints that have separate easily (vallejo game colour, GW foundation) will be more prone to fading than the better mixed ones (reaper, P3). Time will tell!

not too sure about the newer paints, but going back 10 years or so, my brothers BA army was on a display shelf by the window, yet never faded atall, black, red, yellow, blue, it all stayed fine, and that was the old GW paints.