Possible to spray paint front side of led star?

[lightime]

I know this is a crazy question...but I have a few Cree XRE leds that are mounted on white stars. I wanted to know if it would be possible to spray paint the stars with the LED already mounted and wires already soldered to the star. Basically I would cover/mask the led ring and dome so the paint would cover the surface of the star as well as the solder/wire tips? I am worried the paint would cause a short?? Is there any type of paint that would work? Again I know this is a crazy question but I'd like to know if there is anyway to do this

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[cdosrun]

Hello Lightime,

I don't think you are likely to have a problem in painting the LED surrounds. You might, just to be careful, want to coat the connectors in something insulating first if you intend to use metal loaded paint. Perhaps a thin layer of epoxy resin/potting compound/silicone or something caparable would do.

If you intend to use standard paint, I don't see a problem at all. High frequency electronics are different because of capacitance but an LED is a fairly high current, DC or pulsed DC device.

Just be careful with the dome - although I don't need to labour that point, you have the idea. You might want to check how warm the LED gets and, after painting, run it without a cover for a while for all the fumes to evaporate. Otherwise, something might sublime or condense onto the lens or cover.

Andrew

 

[copperfox]

Although it probably wouldn't be a problem, be aware that some spray paints designed to inhibit rust contain zinc, which is an electrically conductive metal. Despite this, somehow I doubt that it would be a high enough concentration to bridge electrical contacts.

If I were you, I would either carefully mask off the led and the exposed metal areas and use a zinc-free spray paint, or just use some model paint and a brush so that I could apply it only where I wanted it. Don't forget to rough-up the surface prior to painting to ensure good adhesion.

 

[lightime]

Thanks for the replies guys. The main reason I want to paint them is so they will blend into the housings/areas I am mounting them. It would be great if I could spray over everything but the ring/dome of the led.

 

[csshih]

Thanks for the replies guys. The main reason I want to paint them is so they will blend into the housings/areas I am mounting them. It would be great if I could spray over everything but the ring/dome of the led.

I want pics when you're done! :huh: I love projects like those. Never have the chance to do them myself.

 

[Tekno_Cowboy]

You could use nail polish...

 

[bshanahan14rulz]

the cree dome doesn't mind being pushed on, but any sort of lifting force or sliding force will probably break it off. I would suggest like, rolling up a little piece of paper into a cone with a hole at the "pointy" end and just putting that over the LED. That way you just have to make sure not to spray paint into the cone.

 

[J_C]

You could try putting a tight-fitting drinking straw over the metal ring while painting.

Since LEDs use low voltage, it is unlikely any "paint" (opposed to a conductive grease or epoxy, etc) product would be conductive enough to matter.

What may be more significant is the lifespan of the paint on a heatsink that perpetually temperature cycles, ie some being better than others and some more readily available in the color you want. For ease of sourcing it and low cost I'd probably just try enamel model paint first, especially since it comes in enough colors you can mix to the color you want yourself instead of a custom $$ paint order.