Adding Color to GID paint/powder

I've been looking at Glow Inc.'s stuff and the one problem I have is that there is no color in daytime or when unlit, just an ugly pasty white. They have tinted GID paints/powders but the color isn't really close to the glow color.

Can I add some colorant(which one) to the GID paint/powder to more closely match its glow color? How bad would it affect how long it glows and how bright it glows?

You can add a little bit of their "day glo" powders into your mix and that'll add some color to the regular mix.

Their main glow colors are bright enough that adding the "day glo" powders won't affect the main glow color.

I forgot to mention... something else you can do is prepare a "day glo" mixture, and then supplement its glow with their regular glow powder. You'll get mainly a day glo color finish with brighter glow.

greenLED - I was looking at those. The color I wanted was purple. Since the daytime powders don't have purple, is there anything I can add to give a daytime(but no glow) color to it? Like regular paint, hobby dies or something? This way if it glows, it glows purple. If completely unlit, it would still be purple.

Their purple powder glows green, IIRC.

Anyway, I think I now understand what you're trying to do. I haven't tried adding any other type of coloring to the mix. Send Skylighter a PM or e-mail him.

Ad food dye to the mix if you're mixing with something suitable that the dye can mix in with. I don't think silicone will mix well but maybe epoxy?

I wonder how it would go in paint....?

greenLED - The purple powder is the pasty white when not glowing.

Purple Glow in the Dark Powder
Brightness Rating: Low (913)
Duration: Short (30 minutes)
Glow Color: Deep Purple-Blue
Daytime Color: Almost Clear with White Tint
Not compatible with water-based mediums
Awesome Deep Purple Effect

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Pila_Power - I didn't think of food dyes. I was thinking of hobby dyes, like for tie dying. I was hoping someone had personal experience with any type of dyes.

Sorry mate - no personal experience with colouring with dyes - just theories.

Try a small sample if you have the purps already - maybe mix (what is it, blue and red dye to make purple?? lol I have no idea)

I would try to use an automotive "candy" tint base. if you have a paint mixing shop nearby I would stop in and see them to do what you want it would take about two drops if that. These tints are highly concentrated. I also use dry pigments with my glow powders but I do not have purple or I would just send ya some.

A typical mix for me is dry GID powder into automotive clear and then add tint as needed. Be aware adding anything in there will cut down on the amount of glow you see. Also if mixing try to use a clear that does not have UV blockers.

Good luck

just for fun - So two drops of automotive "candy" tint base to how much GID paint?

Where do you get dry pigments?

There is a "violet" glow powder, however the intensity and duration is quite short.

Any attempt is color the powder is going to be very detrimental to the glow. Sorry but that's the bottom line. Most colorants work by blocking the reflection of any wavelength outside its designated color. They also tend to be mostly opaque there. "Tints" typically less opaque and tend to filter light which is transmitted through them rather than block/reflect right there. Still, it's unlikely you're going to have a tint whose transmission band lines right up with the color emitted by the powder, and even then the transmitted band would likely be attenuated pretty strongly.

Flashlight Aficionado said:

greenLED - The purple powder is the pasty white when not glowing.

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I thought you were talking about the purple powder. I haven't tried the purple *glow* (but the red is gorgeous!!).

Oznog said:

Any attempt is color the powder is going to be very detrimental to the glow. Sorry but that's the bottom line. Most colorants work by blocking the reflection of any wavelength outside its designated color. They also tend to be mostly opaque there. "Tints" typically less opaque and tend to filter light which is transmitted through them rather than block/reflect right there. Still, it's unlikely you're going to have a tint whose transmission band lines right up with the color emitted by the powder, and even then the transmitted band would likely be attenuated pretty strongly.

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Oz's got a good point. You don't want to add too much pigment or it'll block the translucentness of the medium (or even coat the glow particles).

greenLED said:

Oz's got a good point. You don't want to add too much pigment or it'll block the translucentness of the medium (or even coat the glow particles).

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You're understating my case there. ANY degree of pigment significant enough to color the medium will be more significant at blocking the glow.

I'm having a hard time thinking of a readily experienced example. I guess like painting on glass (not like you see a whole lot of this). With like titanium white paint, even a thin layer is pretty much black-not white- in transmission. That is, if you're in a dark room and try to view a light source through this painted glass pane you'll see black. There are tints as seen in stained glass which are different (almost opposite) the concept of a pigment. They're a filter and you mostly see what goes through it- put a piece of black construction paper behind stained glass and it mostly appears black because little color is reflected and the transmission mode is blocked. But even still, those are gonna absorb... I'm guesstimating 50%-90% of the generated light. Red tint for example strongly absorbs everything but red for example. Green glow powder emits green wavelengths and no red. If the tint functions enough to tint the medium as intended, it will also block the green emitted color. Even when the color lines up- green tinting filter over green medium- they're fairly inefficient transmitters and a great deal of light is lost. You don't notice it so much when there's plenty of light around and say we're looking at the brightness of stained glass as it appears inside a church where the comparison is the surrounding wall which is not highly reflective AND is only illuminated by the light as seen inside the church.

Oznog - You made some very good points. What about just mixing dayglow GID paints? I doubt I will get purple, but maybe I might hit on something.

Flashlight Aficionado said:

Oznog - You made some very good points. What about just mixing dayglow GID paints? I doubt I will get purple, but maybe I might hit on something.

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That won't create new colors. Usually one will overpower the other in terms of the visible color. IIRC, the orange one wins most every time. It's been a while since I last played dayglo palette like that, though.