DIY Glow Gaskets for Triples and Other Glow Stuff

ecotack · 2020-06-24T22:28:59.000Z

I’ve been making some glow gaskets for my C8+ Anna-40-6 conversions. I tried to find some good glow in the dark 3D printer filament. The best I found was made by SunTop, which was OK, but not great. The other stuff I got was just awful.

I then tried moulding one with UV resin and Strontium Aluminate. I made the mould using alginate and dropped in one of the 3D printed gaskets, it worked, but the mould dried out.
I bought green and aqua Strontium Aluminate, the green is brighter. I also bought some LIT, the world’s glowiest glow pigment, by Stuart Semple. The Strontium Aluminate is just as bright as LIT and much cheaper. The brightest below is the original Strontium Aluminate UV epoxy cast (mid left), next brightest is the SunTop filament (bottom left), the rest are the best from a pack of 6 glow in the dark filaments, which are useless.

Next step was to 3D print some positive moulds, to make negative moulds using RTV silicone, then some slow set crystal clear resin and Strontium Aluminate to make the final gasket (sorry no photos). As well as the Anna-40-6 I made some Anna-40-7, a skull lanyard bead and some large hole beads from a mould off ebay, to use up any excess. First gasket and bead went on a C8+ conversion I made for my Dad, and gave to him on Fathers day. The second batch are in the garage curing. The resin used a 1% hardener ratio, which is difficult to measure. I had to buy some more accurate ‘drug dealer’ scales. It also takes 7 days before you can start to clean it up.

I’ve already put the designs for the Anna-40-6 and Anna-40-7 on Thingiverse (Anna-40-6 glow gasket by ecotack - Thingiverse). I’m not saying they are great, but they work on my Anet A8. I’ll put the moulds on there if anyone wants them.

G0OSE · 2020-06-25T09:23:24.000Z

Nice job!
I used 50/50 Green LIT and Strontium Aluminate (coarse, not powder - better glow) in the disk and just yellow LIT in the lanyard holes (to try it out on it’s own).
I’m not that impressed with the LIT really, it doesn’t last anywhere near as long, mixed it seems to work better though.

Cemoi · 2020-10-28T11:09:52.000Z

Hi all,

Bravo CRX for all these amazing creations, you are both an artist and an extremely skilled craftsman!

I'm new to the GITD world and would like to start with easy jobs on flashlights, hence a few requests for advice:

In your first post ("experimentation with some GITD tape & powder mixes" section) you mention some AE GITD sticker: does AE stand for AliExpress? Any more precise product identification (link)?
I would like to fill the Trit hole of a Sofirn C01S AAA flashlight with GITD stuff. What do you recommend to fill this hole: many layers of GITD paint, or a GITD powder + resin?
Can you suggest a GITD job for the LED side of such small lights? No space for a gasket I suppose, maybe only a very thin ring of paint on the aluminium head around the lens?

On the other hand, I've found a few GITD powder and/or paint suppliers, but most charge deterrent shipping fees to France: Glow-on is $18 for an item weighing only a few grams (4.6ml vial + small sheet of glow film), i.e. more than the item value, and Glowtec although UK based (the country nextdoor) charges even more: £25 for such a tiny item

Glowinc charges slightly less (about USD15 if ordering through eBay), moreover their website is extremely informative.

Any other supplier suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance

jon_slider · 2021-06-24T21:21:31.000Z

another option… strontium aluminate in nail polish

jon_slider · 2021-06-29T00:29:58.000Z

glow paint arrived
pic is a link to more info

jon_slider · 2021-06-29T00:42:20.000Z

They are just 700 miles away… I walk fast… LOL

and they gave me Swag:

like

max · 2021-06-29T01:28:43.000Z

jon_slider:

They are just 700 miles away… I walk fast… LOL and they gave me Swag: !! like :+1:

The discount 15% code shown in your photo of SPR15 works fine.... just ordered some. Thanks!

jon_slider · 2021-06-29T14:15:14.000Z

max:

The discount 15% code shown in your photo of SPR15 works fine…. just ordered some. Thanks!

glad it helped

I look forward to your impressions…

morning after, update
I was able to see the blue glow on my nightstand all night long, it was still visible when I got up at 6am. I did not precharge it before bed…

Im really entertained… this glow is bright and long lasting

choices are good:

.

jon_slider · 2021-06-29T23:38:39.000Z

CRC:

Good to know their paint is great too.

Im very happy with it… the glow is Very Strong.

there seems to be a LOT of glow powder mixed into the acrylic. In fact it is a bit thicker, more viscous, than I would like…

but I got it to work well enough… without resorting to any of the thinning options…

I feel the TechnoGlow company is doing a very good job at offering High Quality options. I also found them very quick and easy to communicate with. I would definitely do business with them again.

update
after the Acrylic Glow Paint dried 24 hours
while adding a jump ring to the tail of my light, I inadvertently poked a hole in the edge of the Glow Paint. It is not hard like epoxy, it is soft, and rubbery, a bit like silicone. This makes it easy to remove.

jon_slider · 2021-06-30T00:04:53.000Z

interesting item
no experience, google barely helped me understand how you use a stack key holder… esoterica musica

applause for your results… including moldmaking, another area of inexperience for me

did your final glow resin dry hard like a surfboard, or more like gumby?

wle · 2021-07-02T13:20:15.000Z

i still find that glow in the dark tape, is very glowy and cheap and i don;t need to do anything more than it does

i put it inside the head of my FW3A, around the TIR optic, and it works great.

and i have it around most of my lights so i can find them in the dark, maybe.

and other stuff - like door edges and sharp furniture edges that will be in the dark in say a bed room
door knobs, things you need to find in the dark

it is SUPER cheap, i got like $4 worth of it 5 years ago and still have not run out

also i will put it on the end of clock hands so you can kind of see them in the dark too

car keys

wle

jon_slider · 2021-07-09T01:16:03.000Z

testing the acrylic paint on an optic…
it goes on a bit gloopy, but shrinks as it dries

unanticipated white face:

you can see some of the uneven coating… not bad for government work

so far so fun

will share bad news if it bursts into flames or melts into a puddle
have only tested turbo for a few seconds … working up my courage…
so far so good… (the material is water based, does not smell volatile).

I hope it gets night soon… lol

The Glow is Strong!

===

still waiting for dark
painted the reflector on a Thrunite Ti3 w 3000k 219b

===
update on Lumens output

the triple optic lost 50% of its output from painting the optic

the reflector in the Ti3 did too.

It would be hard for me to recommend the glow paint on optics and reflectors for those reasons…

jon_slider · 2021-07-25T21:34:59.000Z

glow paint on the mcpcb:

I like it

xevious · 2021-07-25T20:31:47.000Z

jon_slider:

They are just 700 miles away… I walk fast… LOL

and they gave me Swag:

like :+1:

I see you bought the Ultra vs. the Standard. Performance wise, it seems very comparable, except that once past 60 minutes it’s rated to be nearly double the glow output of the standard.

They also sell a GITD tape that they claim is better than most industry standard stuff. I wonder if it’s much better than the Captank GITD tape I bought.

NeutralFan · 2021-07-25T22:25:31.000Z

I like the glow paint on the MCPCB to minimize any changes in tint/CCT or lumens, but does the heat burn it off?

jon_slider · 2021-07-25T22:53:47.000Z

NeutralFan:

does the heat burn it off?

I share your concern

I have not seen any heat damage
So far it seems to be OK,

specs say acrylic paint
is heat tolerant to 160C

this is my first experience with acrylic paint… it feels similar to silicone, it is rubbery and springy, and easy to remove… so far, it just works.

Makes me smile

NeutralFan · 2021-07-25T23:21:57.000Z

Good to know. May have to try some for fun.

jon_slider · 2021-08-27T03:23:29.000Z

Today I reflowed 219b LEDs onto the FWAA MCPCB that I painted glow paint onto. Instead of peeling the paint off, I did a test.

I put the board on my hotplate set to 200C, the glow paint started to glow, but it did not burn. I replaced the 3 LEDs and all is well

nothing bad happened to the acrylic paint, the glow dots still work after the reflow.

dannyroll · 2021-09-07T07:59:39.000Z

Thanks for sharing your glow paint mods and coupon! I’m going to try using some of it on a couple MCPCBs I’m reflowing.

Do you know if the paint is conductive? I think the powder is metallic.

jon_slider · 2021-09-07T13:58:24.000Z

dannyroll:

Do you know if the paint is conductive

good question, I dont know…

opinion, I dont think so… imo it is like silicone rubber,
but do your own google… here is one I found

since you asked, I did a test:

I put the probes of my DMM into the powder and there was no change in measured conductivity. On my meter, the display says 1 when the probes are apart, and the display goes to 0 when I touch the probes to each other.

I did the same with the wet acrylic paint (it is water based). It showed increased resistance, that is, the number went up to 1.8, not increased conductivity (number below 1)… (Im not well versed in meter use, maybe others can explain)

share what you learn