this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2024

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Need some advice on lighting a display of old Bakelite radios. Suggestions on things like type of light bulb (i.e. led, fluorescent), soft v. hard, brightness, etc. appreciated. (lemmy.world)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

13 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Those are the radios in the photo. I adjusted the light levels, but it's not bright enough on that shelf.

I sort of stumbled into this collection. I had the three on the sides for years and two of them were gifts from my wife after I bought the first one because I liked it so much. Then yesterday, I saw that beautiful one in the middle in an antique store/junk shop for $18 and had to have it. Now we have it on that bookshelf in the photo to display them all, but the lighting is really inadequate. I want to install a light above them at the top of the shelf to show them off better, but I really don't know much about this stuff in terms of what sort of light I should be using and I don't want to waste my money on the wrong one.

None of my searching for how to light a Bakelite radio brings up anything fruitful no matter what search terms I can think to use.

Any ideas?

One last thought- Bakelite seems to love dust. I'm going to dust them regularly, but if there is a way to light them well without making the dust show up well, that would be great.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

brass arm with green glass shade mounted above, with a low wattage incandescent bulb (like 25w).

Or something like this https://www.rejuvenation.com/products/regis-picture-light-cp/?pkey=cpicture-lights&position=0

Paint the wall Urban Bronze

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Awesome, thanks!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Two or three antique-incandescent-imitating LEDs. They didn't have fluorescent lamps at home back then.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Thanks, but I'm not necessarily looking for what lighting was like back then as much as I am looking for the best light to show off what they look like, which might not necessarily be the same thing. So I guess I need to know that first.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Electronics is usually photographed in lightboxes with soft lighting all around, which can be somewhat achieved with LED strips around the front side of the display area; however you'd need to add bezels so that viewers aren't bothered by the lights. Based on the brown, red and gold features of the objects, I would pick a warm white color but that depends on other lights in the room and it would clash with the blue wall (not that the radios don't already). If you want a museum-like display rather than atmospheric, I'd go for neutral white and keep that consistent across the room.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Thank you!

I'm planning on painting that wall for sure.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Because they're dark they need direct lighting, with a blue tint preferably

Your two best options are either lighting from underneath, or from concentrated spotlights from above and away from them. So spotlights with narrow beams, on the ceiling above but a metre or so away from the shelf

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

I doubt I can convince my wife to let me install ceiling lighting, so it has to be overhead. But the blue tint is a great suggestion, thanks!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Just a quick point for your photos in future. You probably want to try using HDR mode. HDR (High Dynamic Range) takes a set of 3 photos at different light levels and mixes them to squeeze the full range into a photo rather than having some parts completely black and some completely white. Give it a try if your phone camera supports it. You need to hold very still for the photo to work otherwise it will be blurry, but the quality is fantastic if you can be still.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

I usually do HDR, but it's really dark under that shelf and I couldn't hold it still enough.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Not a designer but I would suggest getting a lamp to light from above/in front and a led bulb you can change the color on to try out different colors, blue or gold color are usually decent. But having the ability to dial in the color is useful to make it suit your tastes. I've found some nice lamps at yard or estate sales for cheap.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

One last thought- Bakelite seems to love dust. I’m going to dust them regularly, but if there is a way to light them well without making the dust show up well, that would be great.

Are you going to listen to the radios or look at them?

If you don't need to listen to them, so the glass won't be an issue, I imagine that you could put them in one of those glass-fronted display cabinets that are designed for this sort of thing, displaying china and such.

EDIT: Also, I remember reading that Bakelite does slowly break down. I don't know if sunlight accelerates that; it does affect a lot of substances. If so, you might want to keep it away from sunlight.

kagis

Yeah, sounds like it.

https://www.beeplastic.com/blogs/beeplastic-information-station/unraveling-bakelite-understanding-its-disadvantages-and-limitations-in-the-modern-world

Extended exposure to heat and sunlight also degrades pure Bakelite faster than more advanced plastics.

Discoloration – Bakelite often yellows with age and extended UV exposure. Keeping items out of sunlight can minimize this effect.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Yeah, definitely keeping it away from sunlight. No question. And they are definitely just to look at. I don't think I would have a good way to mount the glass though.