Anybody use UV blocking glass film in their card room?
 

I was contemplating getting some glass doors on the shelves in my card room/man-cave to keep out UV light. But that'd mean using Art Glass or Museum glass which is pretty pricey. But then it occurred to me, why not get UV blocking glass film instead.

There's many choices on Amazon (like this one):
https://a.co/d/8jAyqFj

Anyone tried it? If so, how did it work?

Gary, a lot of the u/v reduction claims on Amazon are not verified and tested, so these films may not help much or at all. The better films are more costly, and to get much reduction you need to use ones that are much darker and reduce the light significantly.

You could make doors for your shelves using u/v filtering acrylic which is much cheaper than glass, but it can scratch if you aren't careful. Another option I have used on regular acrylic sheets is U/V reducing sprays which you can get in hobby stores.

Thanks Rick.

I ordered an roll of similar clear uv glass film here in the UK. It wasn't very expensive so I thought I'd give it a try.

Glass already blocks UVB so it's only UVA that need to be addressed. I bought some UVA testers and it seems like the film works.

Considering collector's fears of sunlight on our cards and memorabilia, I'm surprised that there hasn't been more focus on ways of filtering UV light before it enters our card rooms.

A card room??? Well, lah-di-dah. Does my large cardboard box count as a card room? :D

Yes, I bought some a few years back. It's a pain to install. You have to make sure the glass is perfectly clean first (use a razor blade to scrape the glass before you start). Then you use a squeegee and a spray bottle and just start in one corner and work your way around. Good luck!

I had UV glass film installed in one room where I have cards & photos. I still close the blinds when sun comes thru the windows. Not sure how well the film works. Also, photos and cards were framed with special glass at a picture frame business. Over kill? LOL.

And I guess that means my early 1980's cards are in Velveeta box closets?

Brian

Just for fun, I doubled down.

I put the film on my house windows for my workout room where I display my best pieces. Then I bought a different film and put it on my display case windows.

Don’t have the technology tools to attempt to evaluate how well it’s working. But I did take a pair of those sunglasses that darken in the light and tested them out. They darkened from light through the window before the film, but after applying the film they didn’t darken.

So maybe it’s working?

Yep, it's fiddly to install but I watched a couple of youtube videos to understand the process and it wasn't too bad. I have a bay window in my home office (that serves as my card room). The window is divided into 10 panes so I had to apply the film 10 times. Even so, it only took me about an hour.

Years ago, I had a card room with windows and I had UV film applied to the windows. The cards still faded, especially the color red. Now I just block the windows completely with wooden shutters.

Doesn’t the issue of fading raise another issue with the grades given to slabbed cards? The card is protected from getting scratched or creased, but the condition could still deteriorate due to fading such that the grade on the flip is no longer appropriate.

I suppose that depends on whether the TPGs use UV filtered plastic.

Hey, I have a card room. My wife calls it my "closet."

Polycarbonate/Lexan supposedly blocks UV effectively.

https://www.palram.com/blog/construc...-uv-radiation/

I put blackout film on the window of my cave, changed all lights to LED, and put everything on dimmers as well. Everything framed is done with museum glass with the exception of a few paintings which I'd never put glass over. I've had my current setup for 2.5 years and some of these pieces on display in a similar environment for a decade with no signs of fading.

The only time I have had something framed, I used uv blocking with some other safeguards too. A professional framer did it.
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