Indirect sunlight bad?

[SeemingMusic]

Hi lovely people. I have ukes sitting on uke stands in a western facing room that gets indirect sunlight in the afternoon. They don't get hit directly with sunlight and the temperature I wouldn't say fluctuates that much. I have them on uke stands for display and ease of access for practice. I don't like the idea of staying in those cases, seems quite sad.

Is indirect sunlight fairly bad for the ukes? I don't mind if my spruce top uke patinas and yellows over time. (I actually prefer it). But will sunlight break down the glues, destroy the finish and really negatively impact the ukes? I know it's a trade-off, inside case will always be best, but need I reconsider using uke stands in long term? Thanks for the input =)

 

[Jan D]

If the light truly is indirect, and no sunlight is shining directly on any of your ukuleles, then they will be fine. I have had all five of my ukes hanging on the walls, or on stands, in a room with a large, south-facing window. I do have sheers on the window, but I never pull the blinds, and after five years of indirect “bright light” exposure, I have not noticed any negative effects on any of the instruments. (One is laminate, one is ABS plastic, and three are solid wood.) The only change that occasionally occurs is when the room temperature gets significantly warmer in the summer, at which point the strings on one or more of the ukes might go a bit sharp. But using a tuner easily fixes that problem.

 

[Coast_Ukulele]

The last house i lived in years ago (northern california) had a huge beautiful living room window that got the afternoon sunlight (i didn’t have any curtains or sheers). i had ukes in that room briefly hung up on a wall that never got the direct sunlight. 2 of those ukes started to show signs of humidity issues. one started getting sharp frets poking out and the other had some issues with seems on the body. i tested the humidity in that room and never got any wild readings my only guess is it was the indirect light. i’ve moved both to another room in the same house (no sunlight) and had no issues going forward. both of those ukes were originally purchased in Hawai‘i. I had one more uke up in that room that was purchased from california and that one didn’t have any issues but i moved it to be safe, i assume it would have issues eventually if i kept it in that room. learned my lesson!

 

[Kenn2018]

I keep my ukes in cases after having a bad experience with floor stands. (Can you say "Dominoes?")

I did keep my Pono MGT tenor on the wall of my office. It has one window with a translucent blind on the opposite wall. Which is always in the shade. I do have daylight balanced fluorescent ceiling lights in my office.

Over three years, the color of the mango gradually darkened from a very yellow color to a light brown. Even the back of the uke that did not face the room changed. The satin finish did not seem to be affected, but it was hard to tell.

Mostly it is UV Light that will affect the finish and wood. But there must be some natural aging happening as well.

Most museums will prohibit the use of flash on your camera because the accumulated light exposures can fade the pigments in paints and stains. And of course, inks. Not to mention yellowing and making brittle paper and parchment.

Since the glues, epoxies, adhesives are not directly exposed to light, I would think that the biggest threats would from temperature and humidity.

Some glues will get dry and brittle over time. Even when kept in sealed, humidity and temperature controlled cases.

 

[Doug W]

I have 2 ukes hanging on walls in my house. They are being punished. The other instruments stay in cases.

 

[ampeep]

Depends on what latitude you live in. Did an experiment when I lived in Seattle - found that 3 hours exposure to the sun there was equal to a half hour in Honolulu.

 

[TBB]

Depends on what latitude you live in. Did an experiment when I lived in Seattle - found that 3 hours exposure to the sun there was equal to a half hour in Honolulu.

This is interesting, and it makes perfect sense.

When the sun comes out here in the UK people run out of their houses blinking in the unaccustomed light and murmuring in wonder at the strange yellow ball in the sky. I don’t worry about indirect light affecting my ukes, I suspect they’re more likely to suffer from depression in the gloom.