Question about natural light .....

[LoveOldPhones]

OK.... so I know that direct sunlight is bad for phones ( and fades most everything else ).....  but what about just natural light ?

I have my desk right next to a window that is northern exposure.... NEVER do I get ANY direct sunlight coming in this window.  Just the plain light of day.... with no sun streaming in.

My question is.....  will this affect any of the phones I have hooked up near that window ?  They are not on the sill..... but just under it against that wall.... with the window about 5 inches above them.

will the daylight fade them.... even though there is no sun streaming in ?

Thanks

[unbeldi]

Well, both direct sun light and indirect (sun) light is natural light, and the more of the blue and higher energy it contains the higher the danger of bleaching.
Sunlight is not always bad for phones or plastic.  It some cases it actually helps to keep plastics close to their original color, for example when the plastic contains bromide-based fire-retardants.   I have cases where plastic turned yellow and brown when stored away in dark boxes, and got lighter again when I placed the item in natural light.
So, that shows that it all depends.  Some dyes are very sensitive to light; for example, the pink WECo cords are rather sensitive to bleaching.
Art museums take great care with proper lighting, and it would make sense to follow their recommendations for anything that contains organic dyes.

[TelePlay]

unbeldi beat me to a reply but I think we concur:

============

Well, if from your window, you can see blue sky, then yes, you are getting a small amount of UV radiation being reflected off of particles in the air - why the sky is blue.

The short wavelengths are reflected while the red end of the spectrum, the longer wavelengths, go right through the particulate - why sunsets are red.

It will take a lot longer for such reflected radiation than direct sunlight to affect the chemistry of surface plastic but there is an affect. Another affect of direct sun light is the IR wavelengths which will heat up the plastic making change "easier" or "faster." North facing light is cool, south direct light hot.

As for room light, fluorescent has more UV than an Edison incandescent bulb (which closely approximated the spectrum of visible light from the sun). It comes down to what wavelengths are hitting the phone at what intensity over what period of time and how that will affect the color in the plastic of the individual phone in question. How's that for being vague?

[LoveOldPhones]

Hey thanks for the answers.  lol   I have no idea what to think.
Maybe I'll just cover up the phones when they are not in use......  or maybe I just won't worry about it.

I know when I was a kid.....  one of the phones my parents had was a yellow WE 500 in our sunny kitchen.  I still have the phone today....
and it never turned any off color.  It was never in direct sunlight..... but off to the side out of the sun.

as I look at it now.... I see no change in the color.... although it is yellow.... so maybe I can't tell.  lol

anyway..... just thought I would ask about northern exposure daylight.
thanks for your help.

[Sargeguy]

OK.... so I know that direct sunlight is bad for phones ( and fades most everything else ).....  but what about just natural light ?

So far I have found that sunlight has no appreciable effect on the nickel plating or the Japanned finishes.  I think the shellac would eventually fade and deteriorate when exposed to direct sunlight.

[Dan/Panther]

It is such a critical issue, many museums do no allow flash photography.

D/P

[LoveOldPhones]

OK... so I forgot to ask one more thing about this business about sunlight.

is there any kind of polish you can apply to phones to shield them from the damage of sunlight.
now... like I said..... I have a northern exposure apartment and get ZERO sun streaming in.  still.... with the big windows..... its plenty bright in here.

so I was wondering about UV protective polish ?  or something like that ?

thanks alot.

[TelePlay]

Another option is to block UV light coming in with a clear UV 99% blocking film.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/24-x-1yd-Clear-UV-Blocking-Window-Film-Sold-by-the-yard-as-one-continuous-roll-/251620965750

It's pricey so just a thought. Depends on how many square feet you have to cover. The stuff above is about $2.50 per square foot. May be lower priced. This was the first one I found eBay for an example.

[LoveOldPhones]

Another option is to block UV light coming in with a clear UV 99% blocking film.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/24-x-1yd-Clear-UV-Blocking-Window-Film-Sold-by-the-yard-as-one-continuous-roll-/251620965750

It's pricey so just a thought. Depends on how many square feet you have to cover. The stuff above is about $2.50 per square foot. May be lower priced. This was the field one I found eBay for an example.

say !  thats a GREAT idea !   I'll look into it.  thats really the better solution all around !
THANKS !

[jsowers]

If you want a real world example, I had a white vintage 1970 702 Princess phone on my bedside table for 14 years, 1999-2013. My bedroom is on the north side and it gets a tiny amount of direct sunlight only a couple weeks out of the year, but the sun never was directly on the phone. When I got the phone from a thrift store it was in pristine condition. Over that fourteen-year period it did darken a bit from the back. It wasn't seriously bad, but I noticed it happening after about 8 years. With Princess phones you often get noticeable darkening on the switchhook area. It makes circles where the handset sits and doesn't darken. It didn't get that far on mine before I replaced it with an ivory model of the same phone.

Notice I don't call it fading. Sunlight doesn't lessen the intensity of color on ABS as much as darken it. The reverse can be true for Tenite (soft plastic) made from 1953-59. It can lighten with sunlight and that can be referred to as fading. Pink can lighten considerably with sun exposure--early pink cords and Tenite plastics. Eventually they did fix that problem and the later 1960s pink cords don't fade out. The pink ABS plastics turn an orangey hue with sun exposure.

It all depends, as previous posters have said, on the color. Some are more susceptible than others. White hard plastic is pretty sensitive to sun exposure. Hard plastic, or ABS, was made from late 1959 on. Aqua blue and turquoise ABS also are quick to darken. Yellow ABS will darken some, and so will light beige. The darker colors like red and green will darken, but not as much. Dark gray and dark blue Tenite have a tendency to turn greenish with sunlight.

Smoke exposure can also darken phones, but with smoke you get all-over darkening and the only places that don't darken are inside the handset where air and smoke don't reach.

Here's a picture to show the exposure. My bedroom windows are two stories up with woods at the back, so I don't use curtains or blinds.

[LoveOldPhones]

If you want a real world example, I had a white vintage 1970 702 Princess phone on my bedside table for 14 years, 1999-2013. My bedroom is on the north side and it gets a tiny amount of direct sunlight only a couple weeks out of the year, but the sun never was directly on the phone. When I got the phone from a thrift store it was in pristine condition. Over that fourteen-year period it did darken a bit from the back. It wasn't seriously bad, but I noticed it happening after about 8 years. With Princess phones you often get noticeable darkening on the switchhook area. It makes circles where the handset sits and doesn't darken. It didn't get that far on mine before I replaced it with an ivory model of the same phone.

Notice I don't call it fading. Sunlight doesn't lessen the intensity of color on ABS as much as darken it. The reverse can be true for Tenite (soft plastic) made from 1953-59. It can lighten with sunlight and that can be referred to as fading. Pink can lighten considerably with sun exposure--early pink cords and Tenite plastics. Eventually they did fix that problem and the later 1960s pink cords don't fade out. The pink ABS plastics turn an orangey hue with sun exposure.

It all depends, as previous posters have said, on the color. Some are more susceptible than others. White hard plastic is pretty sensitive to sun exposure. Hard plastic, or ABS, was made from late 1959 on. Aqua blue and turquoise ABS also are quick to darken. Yellow ABS will darken some, and so will light beige. The darker colors like red and green will darken, but not as much. Dark gray and dark blue Tenite have a tendency to turn greenish with sunlight.

Smoke exposure can also darken phones, but with smoke you get all-over darkening and the only places that don't darken are inside the handset where air and smoke don't reach.

Here's a picture to show the exposure. My bedroom windows are two stories up with woods at the back, so I don't use curtains or blinds.

That looks about like my windows.  I am on the 3rd floor so I don't use blinds or curtains either.  but I get ZERO sun coming in.... absolutely nothing at anytime of the year.  I have my red phone by my desk under the window.....  before that.... i was using my black 1952 500.  I figured the light would not be damaging to black.  But I like the idea of a UV filter on the windows..... i'm gonna look into it.

[TelePlay]

This appears to be a NOS blue 1969 WE 500 that was in its date matching box for 47 years. The feet show corrosion due to out gassing and the phone itself shows 4 different shades of blue. Cords are very nice blue but the housing shows green. Bezel and handset are close but not quite, if my eyes are working right.

The chemical change in the housing surface over time has changed its reflection properties so now it is absorbing more blue leaving green and yellow more dominant reflected colors.

Posted as a good example of color change over time not due to UV light.

     http://www.ebay.com/itm/Western-Electric-model-500-Telephone-Dated-69-with-Box-NOS-/132081605144

[Jim Stettler]

Most sets that I have seen, that  have faded like that have painted handsets and "C"  housings (recycled plastic). Yellow and blue/aqua seem to be the most common.

JMO,
Jim S.

[LoveOldPhones]

This appears to be a NOS blue 1969 WE 500 that was in its date matching box for 47 years. The feet show corrosion due to out gassing and the phone itself shows 4 different shades of blue. Cords are very nice blue but the housing shows green. Bezel and handset are close but not quite, if my eyes are working right.

The chemical change in the housing surface over time has changed its reflection properties so now it is absorbing more blue leaving green and yellow more dominant reflected colors.

This appears to be a NOS blue 1969 WE 500 that was in its date matching box for 47 years. The feet show corrosion due to out gassing and the phone itself shows 4 different shades of blue. Cords are very nice blue but the housing shows green. Bezel and handset are close but not quite, if my eyes are working right.

The chemical change in the housing surface over time has changed its reflection properties so now it is absorbing more blue leaving green and yellow more dominant reflected colors.

Posted as a good example of color change over time not due to UV light.

     http://www.ebay.com/itm/Western-Electric-model-500-Telephone-Dated-69-with-Box-NOS-/132081605144

Posted as a good example of color change over time not due to UV light.

     http://www.ebay.com/itm/Western-Electric-model-500-Telephone-Dated-69-with-Box-NOS-/132081605144

wow thats amazing...  thanks for pointing that out.

[TelePlay]

Here's another multi-color blue phone just listed on eBay at a BIN $70 plus $15 shipping. It's a 1976 (seller claim) WE blue 500.

This one is not anywhere close to NOS and it's hard to tell if the handset or housing have been painted. In this case, the bezel shows green so the housing may be painted, don't know. Cord is dirty and yellowish so hard to tell the true color now. No bottom image.

Just another example of color change over time.