Glow powder or paint??

sniper

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I have bought some of Greenled's GID rings, and have been reading the posts regarding glow powder and/or paint, and am becoming fascinated by the possibilities. I am trying to track down some of the small-diameter tubing, and have several questions that haven't been answered in what I read.

1. Which is brighter and glows longer; the powder, or paint?

2. DIY glow rings: It seems it would be much less trouble to use a syringe to inject the paint into a piece if tubing, and make O rings that way rather than using the powder. Yes? No?

3. I've got a Diamond 3 Watt drop-in in my mag 3D, and I'm thinking that the large flat surface the emitter is mounted on would make a great place to apply the paint, but it is a part of the small heat-sink area of the module, so would painting it mess up the heat sinking capability?

4, It seems there are edges on the bezels of most of my lights that would lend themselves to GID paint. How durable are the paints, and are they as brilliant and long-glowing as the powder would be, mixed with epoxy and applied ?

5. Is it necessary to use more than one coat of glow paint for brighter/longer-lasting glow?

6, Is solvent or water-based paint better or more durable?

Thanks
 

FRITZHID

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I have bought some of Greenled's GID rings, and have been reading the posts regarding glow powder and/or paint, and am becoming fascinated by the possibilities. I am trying to track down some of the small-diameter tubing, and have several questions that haven't been answered in what I read.

1. Which is brighter and glows longer; the powder, or paint?
powder.

2. DIY glow rings: It seems it would be much less trouble to use a syringe to inject the paint into a piece if tubing, and make O rings that way rather than using the powder. Yes? No?
paint can be tricky. if solvent based it can desolve the tubing. it can also interfere with connecting the tubing at the ends. and what happens if it ruptures? powders can be blown out, paints..... not so much.

3. I've got a Diamond 3 Watt drop-in in my mag 3D, and I'm thinking that the large flat surface the emitter is mounted on would make a great place to apply the paint, but it is a part of the small heat-sink area of the module, so would painting it mess up the heat sinking capability?
not as much as one would think, but yes a little. epoxy would be better however, and as close to the diode as possible with out interfering with the beam is better as well.

4, It seems there are edges on the bezels of most of my lights that would lend themselves to GID paint. How durable are the paints, and are they as brilliant and long-glowing as the powder would be, mixed with epoxy and applied ?
paint is by FAR less durable as epoxys. and the glow from a well mixed epoxy is far brighter, even and longer lasting than paints. paints always need multiple coats as well.


5. Is it necessary to use more than one coat of glow paint for brighter/longer-lasting glow?
see above

6, Is solvent or water-based paint better or more durable?
it depends on the powder. Al-Str powders are better than Zn-oxides by a Large Margin. "Encapsulated" powders are needed for water based paints, solvent based paints tend to dry more evenly however with any glow powder/paint mixes, they need to be frequently mixed while using because the glow powder settles rapidly, more so with thinner solvent based or water paints.

Thanks
You are quite welcome
 

Skylighter

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There is no difference in brightness between a QUALITY glow paint and a similar powder mixed into epoxy or other medium. For the case of Glow Inc. brand, the water-based paint would be brighter than epoxy because the medium is perfectly clear where epoxy has a tint.

There is no significant durability difference between Glow Inc.'s water-based paints and the epoxy. The epoxy works better for deep holes, the paint works better for shallow areas or surfaces.

I recommend the water base over the solvent base for flashlight use.

Regardless of medium, the more glow paint you get onto an area, the brighter it will be up to about .5mm.

For thinner applications, a white base layer can also improve brightness.

Daniel Clark
 

bshanahan14rulz

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I got some V10 from GlowInc. That stuff is the bomb! the particle size is a bit larger than I expected, but what I did was mix some powder with some epoxy until I got the consistency of, well, almost cement. The sandy property of cement with the moldability of playdoh. Kind of like a glowy putty. This paste I could then apply to various gaps and grooves in the host I was working on.

I also have a P60 drop-in that I put glow powder in the reflector around the emitter, using the glowy putty technique. Palm the light, give the tailcap a quick tap, and I have a floody green light that I can use to read.

BTW, Skylighter will know a lot about glowinc's products ;-)
 

Skylighter

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bshanahan14rulz,

Thanks for the kind words. If you are interested, we sell a variety of particles sizes of the Grade 0 Green (aka V10) on the Specialty Powders page at Glow Inc.

fritzhid,

I try to leave the bias out of the messages. I think everything I mentioned here is factual and can be readily confirmed by third parties.

Danny
 

FRITZHID

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perhaps, but what i stated to the OP is from my 1st hand exp with all of the above. i'm not say'n the paints are bad, they have their place in the market. it all depends on whats being done with whatever item. i wouldn't use glow epoxy to put the stars on my sons ceiling just as i wouldn't use paint to put glow in a cavity at the base of a reflector.
don't get me wrong, i'm a fan of GloInc's products, i've used and still use many of them. just depends on what they are going to be used for. i LOVE ultra blue fine powder mixed with epoxy for both around LED and surface glow applications, when settled, it isn't gritty, glows bright and very long, and doesn't chip or peal as easy as the paints have and can be applied to almost any surface.
i'm not by any means knocking GloInc at all, please don't take it that way, i'm just stating that more often than not, persons who work for a company tend to be biased about their products. some more than others.
in all honesty, i'd suggest GloInc's powders and paints for any glow application, but make sure you use what you want for what you want cause mistakes with glow powder/paint/ect can be and often are very expensive. that stuffs not cheap! lol. nor is the damage paints, epoxys or any other mod item can cause if an "oops" happens. and on the lower end, it sux when you try something and it doesn't turn out as nice as you'd have liked because you didn't use what you should have in the 1st place. you waste time, material and in the end, Money.
 

appliancejunk

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May 14, 2011
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Been reading all I can about GITD projects as I await my first order from GlowInc.

This seems to be the last post from Skylighter from GlowInc.com, why?

Does someone else from GlowInc currently post on CPF? Just wondering.

Can't recall reading anything bad about GlowInc here in CPF so I decided to place a order from them last week.
My order should be here today. Can't say anything good or bad about their products as I have not tried them yet, but they seem to be extremely fast in filling and shipping orders.
 

appliancejunk

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May 14, 2011
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Question, can the glow powder be mixed with plastic dip that is used to coat tool handles?
Or maybe instead of mixing the powder with the plastic dip would it be better to sprinkle the glow powder to the outside of the plastic dip before it dries?
 

Norman

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May 21, 2011
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Canada
Question, can the glow powder be mixed with plastic dip that is used to coat tool handles?

Absolutely. But keep mind that the powder needs to be exposed to light, so only the powder on the surface will glow (it's coloured dip, right?).

Or maybe instead of mixing the powder with the plastic dip would it be better to sprinkle the glow powder to the outside of the plastic dip before it dries?

"Dusting" the powder will put more of it on the outside, so it's definitely a better choice, but I've never tried dusting over an opaque liquid like plastidip. Also, the powder will "wear", so it's probably best to coat it with something clear to protect it.

Glow powder is VERY expensive. A cheaper way to mark a tool would be to paint a 1/2" band with white paint around the item. Then, if you put a light coat of clear nail polish on top, you can "dust" the powder on top of that. After it dries, check the glow for brightness. If it's not enough, do it again. Then put one or two coats of the clear polish on top to protect & seal the glow powder.
 

greenlight

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I'm cheap so I just used some clear nail polish that I had at home and dusted the glow powder on top. It works fine for simple applications.
 
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