Done!
I compared a 15 Watt regular UV neon, with 2 then 4 UV CCFL tubes, using the RIT whitener.
Conclusion: the 15 Watt neon is (very roughly) equivalent to 3 UV CCFL tubes.
I took some pictures, which I might post next week. Using the automatic exposure (what was I thinking?) won't show much, but the camera selected the following speeds, with an F4 stop:
2 CCFL tubes: 1/10
4 CCFL tubes: 1/20
1 15W neon: flickered between 1/10 and 1/15, but mostly 1/15.
The RIT "Whitener and Brightener" worked well with 5 drops in 1 cup of distilled water, and even better with 10 drops. 15 and 30 drops didn't make much of an improvement.
The label on the bottle glows quite nicely! (Are they using too much of their own product?
)
It states that it contains "nonionic surfactants" and that it "Conforms to ASTM D-4236" (anyone?).
I'm concerned that it would react with my anti-corrosion agent:
Silkolene ProCCA, which contains:
Highly refined mineral oil: 40 - 50%
Diethoxyethanol: <5%
Fatty Alcohol ethoxylate: <5%
Sodium Sulphonate: 5 - 15%
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? (a call for Alchemy!)