Need ideas on repainting the tips of the (Zenith516) clock hands. They are faded and discolored. Were these painted with glow in the dark back in the day? If so, source on where to get paint would be appreciated. Can phosphorescent paint be brushed?

:Need ideas on repainting the tips of the (Zenith516) clock hands. They are faded and discolored. Were these painted with glow in the dark back in the day? If so, source on where to get paint would be appreciated. Can phosphorescent paint be brushed?
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There is an acrylic glow in the dark paint. Can buy at any craft store. I used it on a wall mural and still holds out great...just an idea...

Old "glow in the dark" items were painted with a paint infused with radium....People that worked in these factories were exposed to such and often got cancer...Today these painted items have degraded and are not harmfull

:Old "glow in the dark" items were painted with a paint infused with radium....People that worked in these factories were exposed to such and often got cancer...Today these painted items have degraded and are not harmfull

I read that the workers painting radium paint on aircraft instruments in WW II often licked the brushes for some reason or another, and later upon investigation of the high cancer death rate, exumed skeletons glowed in the dark. Just something I read, may be true or not.
Lewis
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...Funny that we both posted something about workers licking brushes!

T.

I think that the newer paints don't contain radium. I was told by someone that the women who'd paint these clocks and watches would moisten their paint brushes with their tongues and then ingest the radium. I find this odd, since most paints would be affected adversely by water, but still, even being in close proximity could prove to be harmful. I know that in one of Alfred Morgan's 'Boys' Book of Radio and Electronics,' a Geiger counter project is described, and it is suggested to count the 'clicks' heard when a watch with glow-in-the-dark hands is placed near the counter.

..Off subject a bit, but one fascinating use of this paint was the safety glow gauges in Studebaker cars. The actual light wasn't very visible, because it was sent through a purple filter, but the instrument numbers and hands were painted with radioactive paint, and glowed most interestingly. They would dim if the instrument lights were dimmed, slowly, and when the lights were turned off, the gauges would remain lit for a while and slowly go dark. Cool!

T.

Just google 'glow in the dark paint' for mail order sources. I have both a safe water-base and oil-base glow paint. Different glow colors are availible.
I've done radio and light switch knobs so that they can be found in the dark without fumbling.
It's virtually impossible to find replacement Collins R-390A radium-lit gauges because of the radiation scare.
The old Studebaker gauges would appear to 'float' in the dark in front of you. A beautiful effect.

I painted the lightbulb in my hallway with some glow-in-the-dark paint so that when I switch off the light I can still see my way to the door. Works very well! Thankfully the bulb hasn't burned out in the last 5 years.

T.