Dave Wright
Enlightened
Interesting how most flashlights are made to look tactical. Let's face it...most anything beyond round mill finish aluminum is vanity. HA III coatings on knurling crisp enough to saw through another flashlight body? What will that do to my pockets?
I've taken a different approach with a line of lights I just made as gifts for family members. They may not appreciate the Badboy 400s, Kroll switches, and glass lenses added to the Minimags they will open on their birthdays, but they WILL know that they are unique lights. I've only done this to several AA Minimags, but the principles and steps would work for many light models.
Here's what I do:
-- Choose an image and matching light body that they would appreciate. Mine is a topo map of Yosemite valley w/ a silver Minimag. My mother's is Van Gogh's "Starry Night" slightly color shifted to match the blue Minimag. My son's is Neiman's "24 Hours at LeMans" w/ a red Minimag.
-- Print the image on glossy photo paper.
-- Strip the light down to just the main tube. Carefully mask the entire body except for what will be visible when the flashlight is completed. To do this accurately you must assemble it, mark the mask locations, and take it apart again.
-- Carefully trim the photo to fit perfectly around the tube on the exposed area.
-- Dust the masked tube and both sides of the trimmed photo with spray adhesive.
-- Wrap the photo around the tube. It should be in exactly the desired location, but it doesn't have to be fully wrapped and adhered...actually it WON'T be fully adhered since photo paper is quite stiff and will spring away from the tube.
-- Slip a 1" diameter section of clear thin wall (about 1/32") shrink wrap tubing over the photo and flashlight tube.
-- Stick a pencil or dowel in the open end of the flashlight tube and heat the assembly rotisserie-style over a stove element until the tubing has fully shrunk. The best way to tell this is to use tubing that overhangs both ends of the flashlight body. You're done when those sections have shrunk to 1/2 their original diameter.
-- Let the newly coated flashlight body cool. If you're impatient this can be done by putting it in the freezer for a few minutes.
-- Carefully trim off the excess tubing. I get the best results by masking the end to be cut with a Post-It. That lends a guiding edge to my mat knife. Use a fresh blade for best results.
Reassemble the flashlight and you're done! If doing this to AA Minimags you really want to switch the light with a Kroll tailswitch. That way the art & tubing can be made to fit tight to the bottom of the lighthead. The completed lights look great, unique and professionally done, and feel better in the hand than stock Minimags.
I would like to post pics but don't have a webpage on which I can post them for reference from this post. Anyone want to post them for me? I would be happy to e-mail a JPeG.
I haven't used mine long enough to tell if there will be any slippage problem. I don't think there will, but it would be easily fixed with a few dots of epoxy injected on a dark spot between the photo & flashlight and photo & tubing.
Best Regards
I've taken a different approach with a line of lights I just made as gifts for family members. They may not appreciate the Badboy 400s, Kroll switches, and glass lenses added to the Minimags they will open on their birthdays, but they WILL know that they are unique lights. I've only done this to several AA Minimags, but the principles and steps would work for many light models.
Here's what I do:
-- Choose an image and matching light body that they would appreciate. Mine is a topo map of Yosemite valley w/ a silver Minimag. My mother's is Van Gogh's "Starry Night" slightly color shifted to match the blue Minimag. My son's is Neiman's "24 Hours at LeMans" w/ a red Minimag.
-- Print the image on glossy photo paper.
-- Strip the light down to just the main tube. Carefully mask the entire body except for what will be visible when the flashlight is completed. To do this accurately you must assemble it, mark the mask locations, and take it apart again.
-- Carefully trim the photo to fit perfectly around the tube on the exposed area.
-- Dust the masked tube and both sides of the trimmed photo with spray adhesive.
-- Wrap the photo around the tube. It should be in exactly the desired location, but it doesn't have to be fully wrapped and adhered...actually it WON'T be fully adhered since photo paper is quite stiff and will spring away from the tube.
-- Slip a 1" diameter section of clear thin wall (about 1/32") shrink wrap tubing over the photo and flashlight tube.
-- Stick a pencil or dowel in the open end of the flashlight tube and heat the assembly rotisserie-style over a stove element until the tubing has fully shrunk. The best way to tell this is to use tubing that overhangs both ends of the flashlight body. You're done when those sections have shrunk to 1/2 their original diameter.
-- Let the newly coated flashlight body cool. If you're impatient this can be done by putting it in the freezer for a few minutes.
-- Carefully trim off the excess tubing. I get the best results by masking the end to be cut with a Post-It. That lends a guiding edge to my mat knife. Use a fresh blade for best results.
Reassemble the flashlight and you're done! If doing this to AA Minimags you really want to switch the light with a Kroll tailswitch. That way the art & tubing can be made to fit tight to the bottom of the lighthead. The completed lights look great, unique and professionally done, and feel better in the hand than stock Minimags.
I would like to post pics but don't have a webpage on which I can post them for reference from this post. Anyone want to post them for me? I would be happy to e-mail a JPeG.
I haven't used mine long enough to tell if there will be any slippage problem. I don't think there will, but it would be easily fixed with a few dots of epoxy injected on a dark spot between the photo & flashlight and photo & tubing.
Best Regards
