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Well, it is not as spectacular as an exploding nuclear power plant but at least it emits visible radiation. The talk is of a phosphorescent gimmick to illuminate the handholds in a ZIL-111.

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THe same was used on wrist watches for decades.

THe same was used on wrist watches for decades.


And most of those watches had radium dials. One factory had many of the girls painting the dials sick with radiation poisoning & was shut down in 34. Resurfaced with a new name-- maybe a different process --but essentially same materials until NRC shut it down in 78 leaving the contaminated sites.http://www.roger-russell.com/jeffers/radiumdials.htm

I don't know if the Soviet Union was terribly concerned about details like a little extra radiation or if they used the old style paint but if so, would imagine someone holding onto those handles for a while might get more than he bargained for.

Guscha. Are u sure those are not ash trays????

Someone makes the paint now, and it's non-hazardous i believe...it's a little slimy though, tough to work with on small parts. I used it on my clocks hands in the 50 that were peeling and breaking off paint chips. It looked ok, but again a little thick and goopy, like chunky elmers glue. If you really mixed it up and used the less-slimy part it may be handled smoother.

Here it is!:

http://unitednuclear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=28_45&products_id=384


Seems they're out at the moment. I had a TON left over after doing the clock hands. Blended well with the factory dash during the day, a bit brighter than the factory numbers at night.

Some of the larger hobby shops carry a luminescent paint as well. Don't know if it is that one you show (which must be popular because I believe it was also out of stock last time someone posted that unitednuclear link) of if it's the tritium based paint.

Either one is a far cry from the old stuff. Remember back many years ago in school one of my old xray radiation safety texts had a picture of a man with a permanent skin erythema on his body. That was caused because for years he had worn a pocket watch in a vest pocket many hours a day with the numerals facing his chest.

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Howard and Mike, I believe that back in the late 50s radiation wasn't THE issue. I was told that in those days many a well-situated shoe stores had so-called Pedoscopes to control the fit of new shoes.






[picture source: www.physikmuseum.at]

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Keith, one of the rear ashtrays is installed in the middle between the mentioned handholds.

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I remember those shoe machines very well. There was one in a store in downtown in El Paso. Believe the name was Popular Dry Goods. When I was a kid, the folks would make the trip to shop & visit Moms sister maybe every other month or so. Sometimes one of my friends would go with us, other times we'd grab my aunt and a cousin or two and hit the stores. Whomever I was with, we would make a big issue of going to the shoe dept so we could see our toes wiggle. As I recall, there was no key or anything needed to make that particular one work. More than once the adults got occupied leaving us kids to get into trouble and more than once we were chased out by a salesman. They finally got rid of the machine in the mid to late 50's.