How to keep glass gems from fading?
by
Ellen Day
+7
I have made several gazing balls and the colors keep fading. What can I do to prevent this from happening?
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Ellen: maybe keep them out of the sun
I know that you are supposed to keep gem stone jewelry out of sunlight because a lot of gem stones can fade. And even some like emeralds shouldn't be stored near heat.
Hi Ellen, looks like you are getting glass gems that are probably painted. If you wet them and scratched them, would the color start to rub off? You have to be careful when buying colored glass. So much of the time, when you buy something that looks like a colored glass it was probably made in china and painted to look like the color is part of the glass. The BEST place to get glass gems are from a stained glass store!!! They will never sell you painted glass beads.
Don't use painted gems - only use solid colored glass ones. They will not fade.
Sunlight may contribute to fading paint. I like the idea of all glass beads.
I think you need to keep them away from bright sunlight
Many gems fade in sunlight, some more than others. I suspect though that the gems you're using are painted or colored in some way. You might try sealing them with an acrylic gloss spray Might be worth a shot to test it.
You could try to scotch gard them or just do a wash of color over them again waters down
I bet a clear coat of UV protectant nailpolish would do the trick. Here is one place that sells it: http://caceeinc.com/shop/nail-care/sun-protection-topcoat/
You could try a UV protectant of some sort but generally it’s unavoidable if they’re in the sun.