My First Time Applying Glow Powder...

I actually think that I did pretty well! I mixed a heaping 1/4 teaspoon of green glow powder into a half full bottle of nail polish and I shook the life out of it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

I first applied some wite-out as a base coat and let that dry. Then I applied a layer of the glow powder/nail polish mixture every 10 minutes. I can't remember if I did 3 or 4 layers. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif I'm pretty sure it was 4.

Here are the reuslts...





It does glow very brightly, it looks rather dim in the pic.

Danny,

If thats nail polish... you did a dang tootin good job of applying it. I tried to use the "nailpolish" method but no luck. I have half a bottle(dried up) of this stuff with greenglow sitting on desk and no idea how to revive it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

So I use Darkzero's method of 90 minute epoxy and am content with that.

What flashlight will this one posted, be for?

Jim

Thanks attowatt, I think I had beginner's luck. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
I was going to go with the epoxy method, but I couldn't find my epxoy anywhere so I just used some nail polish.

Myabe the white out base helps, did you try that?
I followed the instructions at Quickbeam's site:
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/glowpowder.htm

The first one is a LuxV and is in a 3C Mag with a fatman board.
The second is a 3D LuxIII Mag.

I'd skip the whiteout. The nailpolish will probably disolve it and mix into the mixture.

I did a Hotlips once like this: Clear nail polish, dust, let dry, nail polish, dust, repeat. I did this before installing the emitter, so I had to do it carefully! It was built up pretty thick. I used blue glow powder. I also did this with green on a streamlight JR lux around the metal retaining ring.

What happens is the fresh nail polish melts into the dried, and the whole thing became a thick mixture of glow paint, even though I was dusting and painting clear polish!

attowatt: try pouring some acetone into the bottle and see if that disovles some of it. Or methyl ethyl ketone (pretty much same stuff).

oops

flashlightreview says:
Don't do the following!:--------
1. dilute with lacquer thinner or acetone-you'll wreck the mix.
2. don't add bird or buckshot into the mix to facilitate mixing-the lead will leach into the mix!

Guilty on both counts

[ QUOTE ]
attowatt said:
oops

flashlightreview says:
Don't do the following!:--------
1. dilute with lacquer thinner or acetone-you'll wreck the mix.
2. don't add bird or buckshot into the mix to facilitate mixing-the lead will leach into the mix!

Guilty on both counts

[/ QUOTE ]
Considering how far you've gone.....
Before throwing your semi-dried up paint away, -try adding some mineral spirits. (fancy name for leadless paint thinner).

BTW-I'm the guy how wrote that "how-to" on Q-Beam's site -a coupla three years ago. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif
The white base coat at the very least saves an additional coat of glow paint. Personally, I still use a coat of white base for maximum brightness.
Also,these days I recommend using the excellent premixed paint from www.glowinc.com

BTW-very nicely done job of applying that glowpaint. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

mr.glow

Thanks vcal.

And thanks also for writing that guide on the website, it is great! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif

my god it looks funny @@"
but the glow is too little @@"
mix 20% of glow power to nail polish
exp. 10 ml nail polish add 2 g
30 ml nail polish add 6 g
It may help to increase the light output.
questions: is your nail polish with colour?

Like I said, the picture makes it look dimmer than it looks in person.
No, it is clear nail polish.

What brand of nail polish was it?
Some brands seem to perform differently than others according to my Mother.

BTW /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/goodjob.gif

Hey, Stephen, Mother knows best right? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

It is a bottle of Revlon nail polish.

[ QUOTE ]
3rd_shift said:
What brand of nail polish was it?
Some brands seem to perform differently than others according to my Mother.
BTW /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/goodjob.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
As of a couple of years ago anyway, we were able to determine that the common (and cheapest) Wet'N'Wild brand gave best results. At that time it was because it had less of the UV filtering agents in it-which tend to diminish overall brightness. We compared samples of the different mixes and with a blacklight tube you could readily see the difference in brightnesses.

You might get different results today though........

What flashlight is it for? Will the G+P be visible? More paint may be needed after assembly...

After depleting a bottle of GP, an easy way to salvage the powder residue is to just add more polish from a fresh bottle. The powder will settle, so you can pour out any polish that seems too thick or junky.

Try adding a few pieces of glass or other inert material to act as a mixing agent. Then carry it around in your pocket for a while to warm it up/mix it. That should work.
--------------------
reducing infinity glare

Danny,

You did a really good job for the first time. I had also tried the "nail polish" method before, but the glow powder seems not dissolve very well. And I make it really ugly in the first time.
Then I had read about Darkzero's method and use this crystal clear expoxy which give a smooth clear surface. Not going to offense, you could also try this in your next mod too.



regards
Kiu

Wow, that looks much neater! I might use epoxy next time. Thanks Kiu.

Can I ask a dumb question? What is the point of this particular mod? Extremely low light? It looks interesting...

It's purely cosmetic.

The only reasons to do it are:
-The glow looks really cool! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif
-It makes it easy to find the light at night.

It's not just cosmetic.
The epoxy (darkzero's method) protects the Luxeon delicate contacts from breaking off.

Kiu et al, how do you guys keep the epoxy from running off the heatsink's pedestal?

[ QUOTE ]
modamag said:
It's not just cosmetic.
The epoxy (darkzero's method) protects the Luxeon delicate contacts from breaking off.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think the nail polish does much for protection though, except preventing shorts.
I've broken more than a few leads in my mods. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif
I have two handicapped LED's, I broke of both of the leads. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mecry.gif

Good question, how does it stay on there? I think I would make to big a mess if I used epoxy...