FAQ

Here are some answers to our most frequently asked questions.
If you can't find your answer here, feel free to reach out to us via our contact us page.

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Currently we sell our products globally via Amazon marketplaces as well as on eBay. Visit our paints page here to see all the options available to you.

Amazon is a great place to buy as it provides a world-class shopping experience which is tough to beat elsewhere, and for us as a UK based company, they enable us to sell globally using their reliable fulfillment network. When buying our paints on Amazon you automatically get all their customer satisfaction guarantees as well as ours. IMPORTANT: When buying our paints on Amazon, in order to ensure you receive a genuine SpaceBeams product, be sure to only buy from our Amazon seller account ‘PandoraStocks Ltd‘ – there are no authorised re-sellers of our paints on Amazon, so if you purchase from a different seller name on Amazon, you may not get a genuine product.

Volume Discounts – We can offer some high volume discounts. Simply get in touch with us for a custom quote if you need a large volume of our paints.

We will ship our products to almost anywhere in the world!

When purchasing from an Amazon marketplace, our stock is held local to you in Amazon's FBA warehouses, so you'll receive all the usual benefits of shopping on Amazon – low cost and speedy delivery, plus free prime delivery if you have a prime account with them.

When buying from us on eBay, our stock is held and shipped from the United Kingdom. However we use eBay's Global Shipping Program, so all import taxes and global shipping costs are handled by eBay during the eBay checkout. This means you won't need to worry about dealing with customs when receiving your order and there will be no surprise additional costs from your countries customs.

‘SpaceBeams‘ is a brand owned by the UK based company PandoraStocks Ltd. You can contact us here if you'd like to ask us something 🙂

All SpaceBeams paints are water based acrylic paints.
While the paint is still wet it is water-soluble, therefore can be removed with clean water. The brushes can be simply rinsed out. A little mild non-detergent soap can help also.

Once the paint is dry it is very difficult to remove from a brush, because acrylic is water resistant. First, soaking the brush in warm water will help soften the dried paint. Then rubbing alcohol (denatured or isopropyl alcohol) can be used to remove the paint from the brush.

However, we recommend cleaning the brush right after each use to prevent this from happening.

IMPORTANT: Acrylic paints dry very fast, so try to keep the brush wet while working with it!

Simply contact us directly for any queries you may have. You can reach us via our contact form.

For Amazon order fulfillment issues, such as returns & delivery enquiries, please contact Amazon customer support directly. They fulfill our Amazon orders for us and will only deal with Amazon shoppers directly to resolve these kind of issues. Here are the Amazon support links for the different country marketplaces:

Amazon.com USA | Amazon.co.uk UK | Amazon.ca Canada | Amazon.de Germany | Amazon.es Spain | Amazon.fr France | Amazon.it Italy | Amazon.com.au Australia

However, for any other questions not related to Amazon order fulfillment, you can reach out to us via our contact form and we'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

We currently offer our paints in these sizes:

  • 20ml (0.68 fl. oz.)
  • 50ml (1.7 fl. oz.)
  • 1KG (785ml / 26.5 fl oz)

Please contact us if you need larger volumes.

If you wish to purchase larger quantities of SpaceBeams paints, please get in touch with us via our contact form.

At this time we offer the following colours:

As we experiment and find ways to create other colours with the same strong glow performance as our existing colours, we'll release more. However, unlike many other brands, we are only happy to release a new colour when we feel it actually provides a strong glow and meets the demands of our customer base. The reality is that after the main green glow colour, most colours do not perform that well, or just don't quite have the glow colour you'd expect.

Our aim is for SpaceBeams to be a reliable source for quality glow in the dark paints that perform well, so you don't need to second guess if a paint we offer will suit your needs.

When not glowing, Aurora is an off-white creamy colour with a green tint. When glowing, Aurora is a bright green luminescent colour.

Unfortunately it's not possible to change the colour of our glow in the dark paint's glow effect. The reason is that the actual particles that give off the glow effect do not absorb added colour pigments. However, if you're just looking to change the colour of the paint under normal lighting (not the glowing colour), this can be done with some success using ink from highlighter pens. We made a blog post here showing a video sent in by a SpaceBeams customer who used this technique.

If looked after, the paint in your bottle has a shelf-life of about 2 years, and the glow from your SpaceBeams paint should last at least ten years (likely many more!).

How long the glow effect lasts depends on two key factors:

  • How thick your application is, and…
  • How well charged-up it is.

Given the right circumstances, our paint can glow well for up to 24 hours! (See our 24 hour time-lapse here). However, the glow is at it's most strongest for the first few hours. After a few hours, when the glow lessens, you may need to let your eyes adjust to the darkness more in order to see how well it is actually still glowing. For example, after washing your hands from painting with Aurora, you may think you have no paint left on your hands, but if you wake up in the middle of the night don't be surprised to see glowing specks of dried Aurora still on your hands! Even these tiny, almost invisible specks of Aurora paint on your hands will still have a visible glow many hours later. They appear bright enough because your eyes have fully adjusted to the dark.

While SpaceBeams paints are non-toxic safe when in contact with skin, we do not recommend them to be used on skin because a purpose made body-paint would be better for this. SpaceBeams paints are not intended for this use and so may irritate some skin types. We recommend finding a more suitable glow in the dark body-paint for this use.

Straight out of the bottle, SpaceBeams paints are fairly thick in consistency. This can be surprising at first, but it is deliberate and for a very good reason. SpaceBeams paint's superior glows are due to a higher concentration of the particles which create the glow effect. When developing our paints we found this created significantly better glows. Other brands dilute their paint too much which negatively affects their ability to glow. SpaceBeams paints are water-based and so keeping them thicker/more-concentrated out of the bottle gives you more options… You can either keep it thick for increased glows, or if you need a more liquid consistency for detailed work, you can simply thin down with water. Thinning happens quickly, so add only single drops of water at a time until the desired consistency is obtained. SpaceBeams paint's will still dry in the same way and the glow will not be negatively impacted – especially if multiple layers are applied to ensure a thick final application.

There are a few key factors which can greatly effect how well glow in the dark paint will glow, and each situation can be a little different. Check the points below to find the solution for you:

  1. As with all glow in the dark paints, thickness of your application will make a big difference. A thin layer will mean less particles are present for holding a charge and giving off a glow. We recommend applying as thick a layer as possible (2mm+). If you have watered down your paint when painting, this rule applies even more so (apply multiple layers).
  2. Glow in the dark paint requires good exposure to light during the day in order to properly ‘charge up'. If the paint is in too dark a place, the glows are likely to be fairly weak.
  3. UV light is far superior at charging glow in the dark paint, as opposed to home-lighting bulbs. So exposure to sun light will make a huge difference (and the longer the better). It doesn't necessarily need to be in direct sunlight, but close to a bright and sunny area should be sufficient.
  4. If the area you've painted is not near a well lit area during the day, you may need to manually charge up the paint using a flashlight. A strong standard flashlight will work for this, however a UV flashlight will work significantly better. Pointing the UV flashlight's beam directly on the painted area for 15-30 seconds should provide ample glow (the amount of time required will vary based on the strength of the UV flashlight).
  5. SpaceBeams paints can actually glow for a very long time (up to 24 hours), but after the first few hours the glow will be more subtle (the length of time for the glow to become more subtle will vary depending on how thick and how well charged up it was). So after a few hours, when the glow is more subtle, if you're coming from a bright area and your eyes have not yet adjusted to the darkness, it may not be as easy to tell if it is still glowing because your eyes have not adjusted to the darkness. So, as simple as it sounds, always wait a minute or two to allow your eyes to adjust to the dark.
  6. Painting on a lighter background colour, or using a white undercoat, can make a difference to the appearance of the glow. A dark background may dull the glow a bit. However, if your application is a decent thickness (3+mm), this shouldn't be an issue. Although a white undercoat may still be beneficial in some situations.

UV light is far superior to other light sources at charging glow in the dark paints. If where you have painted is not near a well lit area from natural sun light, you may need to manually charge up the paint using a UV flashlight. A UV flashlight will actually improve the glow effect in most situations. Pointing the UV flashlight's beam directly on the painted area for 15-30 seconds should provide a strong glow for many hours.

SpaceBeams paints are actually pretty hardy by themselves. To give an example, we entered some rubber duckies, painted over with our Aurora paint, in to a charity river-duck-race, and after a few hours in a pretty rough river, zero Aurora paint had come off at all! So this was a good test for Aurora's durability outside in extremely wet conditions. However, we still recommend a clear coat varnish over the top to ensure the longest lasting application possible when used outside. Although not essential, a clear coat that doesn't block UV light would be ideal.

SpaceBeams paints are water based and so they can be easily thinned with water. Simply place some paint in a small container and add single drops of water, stirring each time, until the desired consistency is obtained. Our paints thin quickly so only add water drop by drop. They will still dry in the same way and work just as effectively. Thinning can be useful for detailed work, and some other applications, where a more runny consistency may be helpful. When thinning it's important to note that the final application still needs to be thick (ideally 2+mm) to get the best and longest lasting glow effect.

Yes, we've had a number of customers contact us to say they've had great success, especially with Aurora, for their gun sights.

Yes, our glow in the dark paints work and adhere well on glass. As always, ensure the surface is as clean and dry as possible before applying the paint.

The amount of time it takes our glow in the dark paints to dry will vary depending on how thick you've applied them. A very thin layer will dry in 15-30 minutes, a medium thickness will dry in 30-60 minutes, and a very thick layer (3mm or more) may take up to 2-3 hours to dry.

Once fully dry, our paints can hold up against water fairly well. However, if it is continuously exposed to water it would be best to varnish over with a clear coat to ensure a longer lasting application. Try to use a clear coat without UV blocking properties.

All our paints are non-flammable.

If applied very thinly, our paints can be harder to see when against light-coloured backgrounds. However, they are ultimately opaque and not clear, so they may only appear invisible due to being applied so thinly. Plus, critical to getting the best glows, they need to be applied thickly (2+mm), and when thick, their opaqueness means their daylight-colour will be fully visible, which for most of the paints is an off-white with a slight tint of their glow colour.

Yes, all our paints are classified non-toxic under normal usage conditions.

However, you must NOT ingest SpaceBeams paints, get them near your eyes, mouth or an open wound. SpaceBeams paints are NOT a toy and children must always be supervised when painting with them.

UV light is not required to make glow in the dark paint glow, however UV light is far more effective than a standard light bulb. UV light also needs significantly less time to ‘charge up' the paint and creates a stronger, longer-lasting glow. For a decent UV LED flashlight, just 15-30 seconds of exposure to the UV beam will provide a very strong and long lasting glow.

Yes! We've had quite a few customers use SpaceBeams paints on shoes/clothing with great success. Check out the customer photos on our Facebook SpaceBeams page for some great examples.

Mixing our paints with other acrylic paint does dramatically lessen the glow performance unfortunately. We've experimented with this a number of times, and we've found you really have to keep Aurora separate from being mixed with other thick and opaque paints (especially dark colours). It's possible to blend SpaceBeams glow paints in while all the paints are still wet, and as long as a good amount of the SpaceBeams paint remains un-mixed in the process, it can still glow effectively. You can actually see an example of this on a SpaceBeams blog post where we painted eggs for Easter and mixed/blended Aurora with other (quite dark) acrylic paints. On the eggs Aurora glows well, but as soon as it starts to blend/mix with the other paint, the glow lessens considerably. The post can be found here.

Check locally first, but in most jurisdictions our bottles, caps, and the shrink-wrap can be recycled. Be sure to first thoroughly clean out the bottle & cap and remove the sticker label as this cannot be recycled and should go in the general waste.

Please see the label on our bottles for details on the resin codes for each part. Via our on-label recycling information, we've tried to make it easy to recycle our packaging responsibly.

Yes, SpaceBeams paints are able to glow when exposed to heat as well. However, it is significantly less effective than a UV light source. Even a non-UV light source is a lot more effective than heat. As an example, a fairly strong 2200W hairdryer when on full blast, and only a couple of inches away from the paint, will cause it to glow. But the glow effect is still very subdued and weak. So while it is technically possible, for most cases heat is likely not a viable solution.

Photographing SpaceBeams paints glowing in the dark can be a little tricky, but it's not actually that hard. A smartphone's camera can sometimes work well enough, depending on the model and how sophisticated its abilities are in the dark. Putting the smartphone's camera app in to manual mode to forcefully set the exposure level can work well. For our professional product photos, we use DSLR cameras with longer exposure times and higher ISO settings until we get an outcome that most closely matches what we're seeing with our eyes. This requires a lot of trial and error changing settings back and forth until it gets dialed in. Also, as the glow lessens over time the appropriate settings in the camera will need to change to accurately represent how the glow looks in real life at that point. Lastly, when using longer exposure times, a tripod (or some other way to keep the camera completely still) is critical so avoid blurry images – this applies for when using either a DSLR or a smartphone's camera in the dark.

This depends on how well you apply the paint, and it's important to note that glow in the dark paint works best when applied quite thick. We recommend a thickness of 2mm or more, but 1mm thickness can still give of a decent glow when charged up properly. Here are the rough surface coverage areas you'll get for 2mm & 1mm thickness for both the 50ml (1.7 fl oz) and 20ml (0.68 fl oz) bottle sizes:

Bottle Size: 50ml (1.7 fl oz)
2mm thickness: ~ 16×16 cm
1mm thickness: ~ 23×23 cm

Bottle Size: 20ml (0.68 fl oz)
2mm thickness: ~ 10×10 cm
1mm thickness: ~ 15×15 cm

You can also water down our paints for a thinner application to make it easier to cover a larger area, but do note that glow performance will decrease the more you water them down or the thinner your final application is.

All glow in the dark products from paints to plastic stars contain phosphors which only give off visible light after being energized via an energy source.

UV light, whether from the sun or a UV flashlight, is the best way to charge up glow in the dark paint. Standard indoor lighting will also charge it up, but requires a longer and more direct exposure of this type of light to be effective.

One of the key differences with SpaceBeams glow in the dark paints is that we use a blend that includes Strontium Aluminate which has a much longer persistence than Zinc Sulfide – the phosphor used in many other glow in the dark products. This is one aspect that enables SpaceBeams paints to glow for longer than standard glow in the dark products. However, it is still bound by the need to be charged up by a light source. Although with SpaceBeams paints, they are so sensitive that even a heat source such a radiator or hairdryer can also make them glow (try it out!), but this is far less effective than a light source.

There are some examples where phosphors do not need charging up via a light source and glow continuously, such as the hands of high-end expensive watches. However, for this to work the phosphor is mixed with a radioactive element and the radioactive emissions energize the phosphors continuously. This is of course not the case in SpaceBeams paints as there are no radioactive elements present.

SpaceBeams paints are fairly hardy when fully dry, but they can usually be removed with a combination of some scraping and with rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover. It'll require varying amounts of time and effort depending on the amount of paint present and the type surface the paint is adhered to. When using rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover, perform a small spot test first on the surface if you want to ensure these harsh removal liquids don't negatively impact the material.

No, we do not recommend that. SpaceBeams paint has a glow pigment particle size, which could block your airbrush.

Yes and no.

If SpaceBeams paint freezes while still in liquid form, it will be rendered unusable.

However, if you wait until the paint completely dries after application, exposing it to freezing temperatures will be completely fine. We tested this with house numbers painted on a rock, they have been outside during -20C / -4F and also very hot temperatures above 30C+ / 86F+ and the paint remained functioning, the glow was unharmed.

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