Turner Acrylic Gouache Lightfastness test 17 months in the sun (set of 12)

I love the Turner acrylic gouache paints because the colors are so deep. The reason is that the finish is matte, so there is no “shine”, eg the there is no shiny reflection of surrounding light sources from the surface. This makes our eyes perceive the colors as more deep and vibrant.

I made a lightfastness test on a set of 12 tubes of Turner acrylic gouache paints. Turner is a Japanese brand. A friend of mine bought the set for me in Berlin in 2021, in one of the few art stores in Europe that carried the brand then.

I swatched the colors on the 30th of October 2023. I cut the paper with the swatches in two, and taped the right part to the inside of a window. I left it there for a little more than 17 months. I took it down on the 8th of March 2025.

The Turner acrylic gouache paints passed the test!

In the image below you can see the two strips side by side. The strip to the right is the one exposed to sun. The only color that faded is the violet (pigment PV23) but that is expected. It is clearly marked as not being lightfast on the tube, and PV23 is a fugitive pigment. The other colors were marked with three stars (***) for high lightfastness and two stars (**) for medium lightfastness. The teal blue color has changed a little, the blue is a tad warmer after exposure to light. This is a known issue with the pigment PB15 which is part of the mix (this change is not visible in the photo, the camera didn’t catch it.)

In summary I’m happy to report that none of the colors marked as lightfast have faded! Amazing! I am impressed, and feel good about continuing to use them as one of my favourite types of paints.