UV filters on windows to prevent yellowing of bricks

[TWP]

Hello,

I'm having concerns for my bricks yellowing over time. I'd like to prevent this as much as possible, without having to build in a windowless dark room all the time. I'm already using the curtains in my lego room as much as possible.

However, with summer being back soon, UV light will increase and thus enable the bricks to yellow faster. I was thinking about purchasing some UV filter foil to apply to my windows.

Does anybody have any experience using UV filters on windows? Will they actually work?

And where can I get those? I've seen a few online, but they are very expensive (€35/m2). What is the best place to buy them?

[deraven]

This is just my personal, not scientifically verified, opinion, but I don't think it'll do you any good unless you literally have your Lego sitting right in the window.  I've had some bricks yellow over time even when they've been in a box, (literally looked fine, and then coming out of storage a year or two later some of the bricks in the model are very clearly yellowed while others around them are totally normal) so UV exposure isn't the only factor anyway.

Also, most yellowing is pretty minimal (again, unless you have a lot of direct sun exposure) and can be reversed if it becomes an issue.  I no longer worry about it and take no special precautions with sunlight in my main Lego room and have very few issues overall... and none that even seem to be related to sun exposure (more of the random, potentially age-related yellowing I mentioned above).

Let me put it another way:  Even if the bricks weren't treatable to remove the yellowing, are any of the parts that might potentially yellow rare and expensive enough that you could just buy replacements for less than the cost of the UV filters if you wanted to?  Or do you have experience with your parts significantly yellowing in large quantities already?

[koalayummies]

Many larger hardware stores sell this sort of thing now that one can install themselves but its worth mentioning that UV films have a limited life expectancy and degrade over time which is dependent on a number of factors so it likely won't be a one-time never-again solution. The film itself may look fine but unless you do testing you won't know how much its actually blocking. Many UV film warranties are only a couple of years but they advertise protection for a decade or more. Museums and art galleries are large consumers of this sort of thing for their precious and irreplaceable exhibits. Also most interior lighting emits UV as well, the stuff is just everywhere. 

[TWP]

@deraven @koalayummies Thanks a lot for your elaborate replies!

Sorry for my late reply, I didn't knew I wouldn't be notified when a new reply was posted in the topic.

It seems I won't be buying UV filters because of their durability and price, thanks!

Best solution then seems to keep curtains closed most of the time.

I'll do that, and when piece are eventually too much yellowed I'll try one of the peroxide solutions to clean the bricks. Hope this won't be a problem for printed and stickered pieces though...