What is the difference between luminous and fluorescent paints?

luminous painting

This is a special paint that comes in a light green color. Once on the surface with the special base coat, the paint is ‘charged’ when light is available. When lights fail, for example in a power outage, the surface will glow in the dark for a limited time, which could help people find their way out of the building. Therefore, it is ideal for use in closed areas to identify exits in an emergency.

key qualities

• Luminous paint is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.
• Ideal for exit directions, emergency doors or even artistic/theatrical effects
• Available in 500ml and 2.5 liters
• Suitable for use on wood, metal (with a metal primer), plaster and concrete/masonry.

fluorescent paint

This paint is the ideal way to identify hazards. It is a high visibility paint that comes in 5 colors. It works by converting ultraviolet light into visible light and is also reflective. For example, it will shine brightly when car headlights shine onto the paint on a container. It will always appear brighter than adjacent non-fluorescent colors, highlighting hazards, firefighting equipment, emergency exits, etc. Note that this will not show any benefit in the dark without shining the light. If you need this, use luminous paint.

Key benefits.

• Fluorescent paint is designed to create a neon effect finish.
• This product is a high visibility coating that is effective in daylight or under night lights.
• Ideal for use on bicycles, containers, bollards, fishing floats, bridges, signs, etc.
• Can be used internally and externally
• Fluorescent paint is suitable for use on wood, metal and masonry.

The 3-step process involves

• Base for Fluorescent Paint
  Provides a high density white base coat that is essential for the Paint system to work.
• Fluorescent or Luminous Paint
• Protective layer for fluorescent paint
  A clear coat for use over fluorescent SPO paint, which protects the color and finish from wear. Especially useful outdoors to protect from the elements or in high-traffic areas such as floors.

Clear coat is an absolute must for exterior applications, both products will tend to fade on the outside and clear coat will slow down this fading process. The maintenance schedule for external fluorescent paint is likely to be a 6-12 month repainting cycle.

Note: Both paints work best as a two- or three-paint system along with a base coat and clear topcoat for exterior or high-wear environments.