Re: Sunscreen and UV

[RuthWeiner@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 8/3/02 5:48:33 PM Mountain Daylight Time, maury@webtexas.com writes:



> What should happen if I sprayed the strings with sunscreen?
>
>
> I have reverted to sticking white adhesive shelf paper in many window
>
> sections, (works great, but not very attractive) but if I buy some more
>
> roll-down shades, I plan on trying sunscreen to see what happens. Have
>
> also wondered about Armor-All or Nu-Vinyl solutions (used on car
>
> interior plastic sufaces to fend off UV effects)


Maybe those of us who live in the Southwest (like you and me) should start a business in sun protection and sun damage prevention.


We just got roll-down screens for our west-facing windows in order to cut down on the radiant heat in summer -- they really work, too (we just had insulated blinds before).  It is my experience (and supported by theory) that light colors (off-white, white, etc.) reflect the light (probably including UV) rather than absorbing it.  The wood trim on our house is painted light yellow and brown, and the yellow stands up to sunlight much better than the brown.  Sand-colored adobe and stucco seem to stand up well to sun damage.  I'd be interested to know how well the sunscreen works.


In my mountain-climbing days, we used to smear our noses with zinc-oxide paste (the same stuff you use for diaper rash) which protected against sunburn just by reflecting the light.  It's pretty unsightly, though.


Ruth




Ruth Weiner, Ph. D.

ruthweiner@aol.com