Organic and metalorganic dyes have been incorporated into SiO2 coatings using the sol-gel method. It is found that the coatings prepared from sol-gel starting solutions, which were subjected to a ball milling process, have improved light stability. Using optical absorption, atomic force microscopy and microluminescence measurements, it is found that the ball milling process of the starting solutions not only produces better dye dispersion, but there are also some indications that it produces a structure with fewer and smaller pores. These results are in agreement with previous studies, which indicate that the photostability of dyes in metal oxide matrices can be improved when the dye is better dispersed and trapped in more rigid cages.