Scotch 811 Tape is GREAT for diffusing beams!

Scotch has a special tape that I've been using for a couple years now to protect the text entry area on my Handspring Visor PDA. It's got a lightly textured surface and the same type of adhesive backing as on Post-It Notes. It never occurred to me to try it for diffusing a flashlight beam, but I recently read a post by another CPFer (sorry, forgot who) talking about using some sort of Scotch tape for exactly that purpose. I don't know if he was referring to this one or one of the other Scotch products, but it got the wheels turning in my head, and...

...tried it on my stock KL1 head with high dome emitter and NX05 optic, and it's terrific! The artifacts in the beam have completely disappeared, and now the hotspot smoothly falls off all the way to the edge of the sidespill. It makes for a terrific close range beam, or short range floodlight. I'm thinking this sort of beam would be great for camping. I can't stress strongly enough how absolutely AMAZED I am at how well this stuff works! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/party.gif

In case there's any doubt about which product I'm talking about, I lifted this ad copy from an online seller of the stuff...

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I'm not sure, but thought I read somewhere that this tape is available in widths up to one inch, and heck, for a few dollars' expense, you'll have enough tape to take care of dozens upon dozens of lenses. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

It's not without a downside, of course. Like everything else that gets in the way of the light coming out of the emitter, the tape does block a little bit of the output. I'd estimate that I lose maybe 10-15% of the light output, although it's hard to arrive at an exact number on that. While that may sound like a lot, I found the KL1's output still plenty usable... even downright desirable for indoor and close range outdoor tasks. The Scotch 811 tape makes the beam so clean, and the falloff to the sides so smooth, that it's a pleasure to use. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Highly recommended! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Scotch Satin Tape, as others have noted, works about as well with significantly less reduction in light output. It's my preferred beam tweaker. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Beamshots? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Another good use of the 811 is putting it on your shooting glasses on the lens on the side of the non-dominant eye. Lets you keep both eyes open when shooting, which improves accuracy. The view of the weak eye gets blurred, so the dominant eye becomes that much more dominant.

I should mention that compared to WriteRight, the Scotch 811 tape diffuses the beam more. For example, the KL1 high dome with stock optic produces a circular hotspot inside a square artifact. WriteRight over the lens makes the square artifact less obvious, but it's still visible. Scotch 811 tape completely eliminates the square artifact.

Sotto, I haven't tried the satin tape yet. Do you know the official product number for that tape? Also, does it have the same Post-It Note removable adhesive, or is it a more permanent adhesive? Thanks for the info! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I just close my non dominant eye, but keeping one eye closed gets you tired in prolonged shooting sessions.

Scott:

Sorry, I don't know the product number for Scotch Satin Tape. I'm pretty sure it's in just about any display of such products at your favorite local office supply or chain pharmacy.

And no, it doesn't have the post-it type adhesive, which is a mixed blessing. I thought a couple weeks ago, "Hey, I'm just gonna stick some of this stuff over the end of my ringy amber Infinity and see how long it lasts." Well, after two weeks in my pocket it's still stuck on there even though just the bear minimum of contact is made between the very edge of the Infinity bezel and the Satin tape.

There is no product number on the package but it's called Scotch Satin Finish GiftWrap Tape. There is a: Cat. 311-HD on the box but there were two different types of tape in it. Try www.3M.com/office

Thanks for the satin tape info. Ironically, I think we had a roll of that here for wrapping packages over the holidays, but have since run out! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

If it's got the more permanent adhesive, sounds like a spray bottle of that concentrated orange cleaner stuff would be a good accessory to have on hand, to get the sticky mess off your lens whenever you decide you want to remove the satin tape. Even the Scotch 811 tape will leave a little residue if left on for a really long time, although it is of course much better in that regard.

You guys ought at least to try the Scotch 811 tape, if only for educational purposes. For the right application it really is great, and I like the relatively clean removal aspect. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Naphtha (lighter fluid) is good for adhesive removal and won't affect most plastics. It works better than alcohol for many cleaning jobs. Although I prefer (ethyl?) alcohol for personal consumption, I like naphtha's fragrance. Woopie! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sick.gif

And I recently had excellent results using some first-aid adhesive remover called Zo-Eze to get the gunk off my Glo-Toob after I peeled off the clear logo label. No harm done at all to the plastic toob.

Believe it or not regular cooking oil or spray oil will disolve adhesive residue.I use it all the time.Just put a little on and scrape it with your fingernail to loosen then wipe off.A little windex,and voila!

Another thing you can use is baby oil. It helps if you leave it on for a while first.

I concur with coachbigdog. I think most any oil, except silicone oil, works on most of those adhesive residues. It will remove oil based paint from your skin also, if you remove it within a few hours.

If you are a gourmet you will probably want to use olive oil.

I guess the less viscous, more volatile stuff like gasoline is faster, but I'll bet axle grease will do the job in time.