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Author Topic: Painting light bulbs  (Read 21550 times)

Offline Scott

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Painting light bulbs
« on: July 31, 2000, 03:45:00 pm »
What sort of paint is used to paint light bulbs? I've tried the Krylon frosted and translucent paints meant specifically for glass, but they scorch,even on low temperature ones(ones that never get too hot to the touch). I want to paint some up for a halloween prop,and I wonder what sort of paints are used?

Offline Tim

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Painting light bulbs
« Reply #1 on: August 02, 2000, 10:37:00 pm »
Scott,

I don't have an answer on the paint, but here's a paint scheme for you. Old pumpkin head actually came from GE this way  



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-Tim

[This message has been edited by tim (edited August 02, 2000).]

Offline Chris W. Millinship

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Painting light bulbs
« Reply #2 on: August 04, 2000, 09:46:00 am »
Hi,
Well, I`m not sure what it is either, but there`s a lighting shop nearby that sells hand-painted lightbulbs. There`s lots of different patterns, the paint is transparent lacquer-like, with thick black "beading" paint, separating the different colours. They are painted over clear 40 watt bulbs.

 

I`ll try and find out where they get them from, maybe then I can find out what paint they use (I just hope it`s avaliable in the US).

-chris


[This message has been edited by Chris Millinship (edited August 07, 2000).]

Offline Scott

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Painting light bulbs
« Reply #3 on: August 04, 2000, 04:48:00 pm »
The name of the place you got that bulb at wouldn't be Dawnmist Studios,would it?

Offline Chris W. Millinship

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Painting light bulbs
« Reply #4 on: August 04, 2000, 05:12:00 pm »
er, no. It`s a small lighting chain called "No.1 Lighting" and they sell light fittings and bulbs of all kinds. Maybe that`s where they get those bulbs from though? I saw more of these on a UK auction site, but it`s gone now or I`d email the seller.
Got an email/postal address or phone no. for them? If so, I`ll se what I can find out though...

Offline Chris W. Millinship

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Painting light bulbs
« Reply #5 on: August 04, 2000, 07:46:00 pm »
Hi,
I just remembered- a while ago I painted some low wattage household bulbs (240v/25w, normal size) which I used for Christmas lighting, and I used Acrylic car spray paint(opaque, gloss), that is becoming so common here in the UK. Do you get something similar in the US? As long as the bulb never gets too hot to touch (like a large globe, similar to the one of Tim`s above, about 40w or less) it should be OK. Afterwards, let it dry overnight, then turn on. There may be a strong smell to begin with, as the paint gets "baked" by the heat, and maybe a little smoke, but it goes after a while. Best to turn them on for an hour or so, outside or in the garage, etc, so the paint has time to "settle". Don`t use high wattage ones, or small size ones that get really hot or the paint will blacken and start to flake off.
The ones I did worked just fine, though it`s probably best to try out on one cheap bulb first in case the paint you have is different to the stuff I used. I`m not sure what happens with more conventional acetone-type paints, they`re not so common here now.
If you decide to try it, then let us all know the results, won`t you? I hope it works. I expect you can cut stencils to spray shapes through as well?

Hope this helps?

-chris

Offline James

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Painting light bulbs
« Reply #6 on: August 05, 2000, 09:52:00 am »
Paints used to colour glass bulbs are usually a special high-temperature hard organic laquer.  These produce the clear colours and the laquers are made in-house by GE Lighting and Philips chemical products division.

The opaque colours are produced by  a different process.  For them, coloured glass is ground to a fine powder and sprayed at the glass bulb which has been heated to about 400 celsius - not the kinda thing you can do at home!

What you can try is looking for ordinary laquers which are often sold in DIY or craft stores for doing stained glass.  They will burn though on lamps above 25W.  If you want to coat brighter bulbs, get the rough service types because they are vacuum bulbs and the glass runs much cooler.  Or if you want the real stuff contact GE or Philips Components and if you get to talk to someone helpful you may be able to get a small sample out of them :-)

Also you could try talking to Colorlites at http://www.colorlites.com/

James

Offline Scott

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Painting light bulbs
« Reply #7 on: August 05, 2000, 10:54:00 pm »
Thanks! I've tried Krylon Glass Paint-with zero success-even on low temperature bulbs like 15 watt ones. I'd considered misting on engine enamel,but what I really wanted is the transparent colors.There's a Sylvania/Osram plant not too far from here..I wonder if they would have such paints? Polite questions can go a long way,sometimes.

Offline James

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Painting light bulbs
« Reply #8 on: August 06, 2000, 06:14:00 am »
Hi Scott

Lexington is the tungsten-halogen factory so they don't use coloured laquers, but they still have their own chemical products section there who might well be able to order some laquer in from St. Marys factory for you so give it a try!

Offline Bob Masters

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Painting light bulbs
« Reply #9 on: August 07, 2000, 10:52:00 am »
You might even try the Hillsboro NH plant where they make Miniature automotive bulbs.
Their orange bulbs are coated :-)
I worked at the Osram Sylvania (Now Valeo Sylvania) plant in Seymour Indiana for 8+years ! Good luck.

Offline Bob Masters

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Painting light bulbs
« Reply #10 on: September 23, 2001, 09:19:00 am »
Hey Chris !

You wouldn't know anything about painting bulbs NOW would you ?
Ha Ha Ha.........

Offline Chris W. Millinship

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Painting light bulbs
« Reply #11 on: September 23, 2001, 11:27:00 am »
LOL!

For the benefit of everyone here who`s interested- I`ve been painting christmas light bulbs to fit in with my lighting display I have planned for this year....





Typically of course, the lights I bought and the lights I had last year, were all the wrong colours and the bulbs weren`t interchangeable between them, so the only thing I could do was paint them by hand!

Here`s some blue ones laid out on the bench, drying....




500 down, only another 3000 to go  

BTW the paint I`m using is German in origin and intended for customising car interior and side-light bulbs, I get it from someone who sells on Ebay under the user ID "Waxacar". It`s OK but needs 2 or 3 coats to make a strong colour, and only time will tell how it holds up to the weather....

 


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visit my world of electrical things that glow!

[This message has been edited by Chris Millinship (edited September 23, 2001).]

Offline Bob Masters

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Painting light bulbs
« Reply #12 on: September 23, 2001, 03:47:00 pm »
Chris,

I'm looking forward to seeing the whole display again this year ! Are you going to have a "live-cam" like last year ?

Oh......LOL........You have the patience of a saint  

Offline Chris W. Millinship

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Painting light bulbs
« Reply #13 on: September 23, 2001, 05:15:00 pm »
Are you going to have a "live-cam" like last year ?


I expect so.

I`ve been looking into what`s avaliable to me, ideally for free too cos I`m stingy   , no really- I`ve spent so much on new video hardware that I can`t afford expensive software too, plus my old PC/slow Dialup nternet connection may not be able to run it. Last year I used IVista which was good but my limited system resources couldn`t cope with it some times, and it needed a lot of nursing to keep it going. I`m looking at a program called Gotcha at the moment which, apparently, can take a snapshot from my video input card and upload it to my web space automatically under the same JPEG image file name- which I could post here and on my homepage or Christmas displays minisite that I have planned. And then there`s also Yahoo Geocities which apparently has a web-cam facility avaliable too but I havn`t looked at that one yet.
I`ll play with them all and decide what I can amd can`t do, but even if it means manually updating a photo on the page like I did last year (alongside using the Live IVista system too now and then), well so be it.

And needless to say, the whole display from early planning (like that photo of painting the bulbs up there) to the very last day when I take it all down   , will be fully documented with a wad of photos and details too, all on my site (well, a side-portion of it).


 



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visit my world of electrical things that glow!