Northern lights fading

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New on the bottom. 4 years later on top.
No direct sunlight. Hanging on the wall in a north room with little sunlight.
But WHAT A GUITAR!!!

IMHO it looks even better faded!!!
 
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There are plenty of synthetic blue pigments that have good archival properties. I've used them in my oil paintings in the past and they have stood up to direct sunlight for years and years with no noticeable fading. Seems to me that PRS should pull the worst offenders off of their available range of colours no matter how beautiful they are. Hopefully they have looked for alternative pigments that don't have lightfastness problems.
 
Today after 5 years 11 months to the day, I put my 513 AP back in the case not wanting it to fade more, I sure hate not seeing it hanging on the wall though.
Before shipping it to Lebanon from the dealer
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this was taken a few months back
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Just curious, G - were you aware that the guitar was fading without comparing it to the picture, or was it something that snuck up on you? I have four PRSi that sit in a rack ready to go - three blue ones. I can’t say I’ve noticed any fading. I can say that my Northern Lights PS has never looked quite as brilliant at my home as it did in the pics @Brian G sent me. But it stays cased, so I can’t say it’s faded, just that my lighting isn’t as good as Brian’s.
 
Just curious, G - were you aware that the guitar was fading without comparing it to the picture, or was it something that snuck up on you? I have four PRSi that sit in a rack ready to go - three blue ones. I can’t say I’ve noticed any fading. I can say that my Northern Lights PS has never looked quite as brilliant at my home as it did in the pics @Brian G sent me. But it stays cased, so I can’t say it’s faded, just that my lighting isn’t as good as Brian’s.
To tell you the truth, when first got it I thought I would get a light tinted FBJ but it was more blue than the first picture and couldn't wait for it to fade a little more, 3 years had passed before I started to notice the different while it was hanging on the wall with no direct sunlight
and curtains half closed most of the time, but when I moved to my second home my "Den" was more lit with sunlight but still no direct light on the guitar and started noticing more fading hence my decision to keep it in the case to preserve the color for a bit longer.
 
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Man I just wanna thank PRS again for taking care of me! Hands down the best company out there!

She is now on my wall again but this time she is behind a UV protective glass door!

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I hope they didn’t charge you for this BS, 4 years?

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New on the bottom. 4 years later on top.
No direct sunlight. Hanging on the wall in a north room with little sunlight.
But WHAT A GUITAR!!!

Dude, call them! This is BS.

Like a few others said here makes me rethink a PS, which I am thinking about. Contacted Brian’s Guitars we have been specing one. I’ve seen1959 Les Pauls with less fade, come on!
 
There are plenty of synthetic blue pigments that have good archival properties. I've used them in my oil paintings in the past and they have stood up to direct sunlight for years and years with no noticeable fading. Seems to me that PRS should pull the worst offenders off of their available range of colours no matter how beautiful they are. Hopefully they have looked for alternative pigments that don't have lightfastness problems.

The synthetic blue pigments in your oil paints aren’t translucent, since they’re inorganic. That’s why they’re in paint, and not in stains. There are plenty of paints that aren’t very sensitive to light. However, paint and stain are two different finishes.

I have a Northern Lights guitar that looks new, after owning it for about 4 years now. The only special care I take is to put it in the case when it’s not in use. I certainly have no problem with someone avoiding the finish if they need to hang a guitar on a wall. At the same time, I think it’s silly to complain about PRS’ traditional colors and finishes fading, when with minimal care, that doesn’t happen, and the finishes are quite beautiful.

This is my NL guitar. I feel it’d be a shame to take a finish this pretty off the market because a few yahoos can’t handle needing to keep a guitar with this finish in a case when not in use to prevent fading.

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The synthetic blue pigments in your oil paints aren’t translucent, since they’re inorganic. That’s why they’re in paint, and not in stains. There are plenty of paints that aren’t very sensitive to light. However, paint and stain are two different finishes.

I have a Northern Lights guitar that looks new, after owning it for about 4 years now. The only special care I take is to put it in the case when it’s not in use. I certainly have no problem with someone avoiding the finish if they need to hang a guitar on a wall. At the same time, I think it’s silly to complain about PRS’ traditional colors and finishes fading, when with minimal care, that doesn’t happen, and the finishes are quite beautiful.

This is my NL guitar. I feel it’d be a shame to take a finish this pretty off the market because a few yahoos can’t handle needing to keep a guitar with this finish in a case when not in use to prevent fading.

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And conversely, half the reason people buy PRS guitars is the aesthetic appeal, and PRS knows it - that's why there's such a dizzying array of draw-dropping finishes. The guitars are to be admired and enjoyed - both sonically and visually. Kind of hard when it's locked up in a closed case tucked away in your studio, right? Honestly, if you're adamant about keeping the guitars cased, why not just buy a black guitar, or a natural finished guitar? They'll play the same, and sound just as good. No point getting p'd off at people who don't case their guitars - we all have different reasons for owning these beautiful instruments.
 
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Why do I have solid walls around my garage? If my attractive car isn’t in a glass display case so I can admire it, why do I bother having a car?

Maybe because I’m blessed with a brain that allows me to remember what it looks like when I’m not using it and appreciate what it looks like when I do use it. As a bonus — no UV light damage.
 
You might think that when PRS sells a guitar with a finish that's likely to fade unless some additional care is given that they would alert the potential customer.
Seems to me the proper thing to do. Can't imagine buying a private stock only to have it fade badly over time. OMG I'd be so upset and rightly so.
 
At my old house, I hung my guitars on the wall in the media room. Blackout shade, LED lights that were only on when in the room. The Aquamarine PS was there for 4 years with zero fading.

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I even took it outside for a quick picture :)

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Still looking for a new house. Plan is very similar - keep them out of sunlight. True to the blue!
 
The synthetic blue pigments in your oil paints aren’t translucent, since they’re inorganic. That’s why they’re in paint, and not in stains. There are plenty of paints that aren’t very sensitive to light. However, paint and stain are two different finishes.

I have a Northern Lights guitar that looks new, after owning it for about 4 years now. The only special care I take is to put it in the case when it’s not in use. I certainly have no problem with someone avoiding the finish if they need to hang a guitar on a wall. At the same time, I think it’s silly to complain about PRS’ traditional colors and finishes fading, when with minimal care, that doesn’t happen, and the finishes are quite beautiful.

This is my NL guitar. I feel it’d be a shame to take a finish this pretty off the market because a few yahoos can’t handle needing to keep a guitar with this finish in a case when not in use to prevent fading.

ptKq9zh.jpg

There are a whole bunch of transparent blues, greens and turqoise based off of Phthalocyanine. Phalo is completely lightfast and stable though I can see it being a bit of a nuisance because it is incredibly powerful and needs to be diluted a heck of a lot or you end up mixing a heck of a lot of paint to get lighter colours and stains.

Video with different brands of phalo turqoise artist colours.


I'd assume PRS have tried different stains and not just stuck to the same ones though.

Yours is a gorgeous guitar. I really like the northern lights, but they should at least put a disclaimer with the guitar because lot of consumers will see it and fall in love with how gorgeous it looks without a thought for lightfastness assuming that someone wouldn't sell something that was non permenant. I hang out on forums and it's come up a few times, but the the majority of guitarists probably don't. I am one of those people that simply doesn't play guitars that are left in cases and gigbags and keep my favourites on display within easy reach much of the time. Seems a shame to keep something beautiful, basically a work of art locked away 90% of the time :(
 
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Yours is a gorgeous guitar. I really like the northern lights, but they should at least put a disclaimer with the guitar because lot of consumers will see it and fall in love with how gorgeous it looks without a thought for lightfastness assuming that someone wouldn't sell something that was non permenant. I hang out on forums and it's come up a few times, but the the majority of guitarists probably don't. I am one of those people that simply doesn't play guitars that are left in cases and gigbags and keep my favourites on display within easy reach much of the time. Seems a shame to keep something beautiful, basically a work of art locked away 90% of the time :(

PRS says right in the warranty that they don’t warrant against fading.

I think it’s a shame to expose a wooden stringed instrument to the vagaries of temperature and humidity that changes several times in a 24 hour period, and at the same time have dust, evaporated cooking oils that are in every household (ever wonder why controls get gummy gook in them?), etc., mess up the controls and so on, but I view guitars as instruments. I hang paintings on walls, not guitars, but that’s just how my taste and priorities go.

Everyone’s free to view things as they like.

I’ve had a lot of discussion about paint, stain and pigment with my brother, a nationally known oil painter and fine arts professor (I’m showing his work below). He’s made a life study of pigments and paints, and tells me that pigments used in paint have to be different from pigments used in wood stains, because they work differently; for example, paint sits on top of the wood, but stains are absorbed into the fibers. Until I’m convinced otherwise I’ll just go on his expertise.

Here’s an example of Rob’s oil painting; He knows his oil paint very, very well, and gets a lot out of the medium.

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No point getting p'd off at people who don't case their guitars - we all have different reasons for owning these beautiful instruments.

I don’t get pissed off at anyone for doing what they like with their property. I agree that the aesthetic appeal of the guitars is great! I just figure that the place to enjoy that aesthetic appeal is during a performance. When it’s cased, I get to enjoy the aesthetic appeal of having a well kept guitar that doesn’t need adjustments when I pull it out to use in my work.

When clients come over for a recording session, I get to pull that beautiful instrument out of the case, do my work, and put it back in the case. Plenty of enjoyment of the aesthetic is had by all.

In fact, maybe my clients don’t notice my fluffs and clams because they’re distracted by the pretty guitar! ;)

I don’t need to hang it on the wall to enjoy a PRS’ beauty. I enjoy that when I open the case and pick up the guitar to play it. But to be frank, I don’t care at all for the look of a guitar store in a room, even a studio. Hey, we’re all different, and that’s as it should be.

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Why do I have solid walls around my garage? If my attractive car isn’t in a glass display case so I can admire it, why do I bother having a car?

Maybe because I’m blessed with a brain that allows me to remember what it looks like when I’m not using it and appreciate what it looks like when I do use it. As a bonus — no UV light damage.

^^ YES!
 
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