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How to make Glow in the Dark paint |
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So you want to paint an object and make it glow in the dark but how? Maybe you have already painted something and the glow is very poor at best, well read on and find out how to make really powerfull glow in the dark paint that you can use at home or on a school project! Also this article is based on acheiving a spray paint to be used with any basic spray gun as shown below. |
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Basics of Glow in the Dark Paint |
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To make an object glow you will need two basic ingredients, glow in the dark powder also known as crystals or pigment and a clear paint medium. For the purpose of this paint you will need a powder of 10-30um. Now the larger the partical size the more powerfull the glow but you will not want to exceed 30um for the purpose of paint. Take a look at my paint example below you can see the difference in the glow paints from the fine uM grade with very poor glow to the powerfull glow paint as you can easily make yourself at home. |
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The glow in the dark paint on the left is the same as the stuff for sale at different places on the internet with a very small particle size or uM. This paint is made like this so that you the end user has no trouble with settling crystals and in turn using the paint. The problem here is that this easy to spray and use glow paint normally has a very low glow. The powerfull glow in the dark paint on the right, this is the paint that you want to make. |
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What type of Clear Medium |
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Now what type of clear you choose is very important. If you are going to paint something that is exposed to the elements outdoors (Which I don't recommend, see below) then you will want a good long lasting outdoor clear like an automotive acrylic clear. If you are going to paint something indoors (Recommended) you may go with a water based clear but if you do make sure your glow powder is water proofed or you could damage the glow as soon as you add it to the water. Always follow the manufacturer directions for thining the clear and make sure that you do it correctly by using a scale or by volume but don't guess, this paint thining step is critical to having a usable paint. |
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Type of Spray Gun and job Preperation |
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The type of spray gun you use to paint glow in the dark paint is very important, you will need to use a gun like the one on the left which is known as a suction feed spray gun. The gun on the right is known as a gravity feed spray gun and by its very nature is not as good for this type of high powered glow in the dark painting unless you really know what you are doing. |
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Important: You need to have your job laid out and ready in front of you so that you can do all of your painting at the same time without having to put the gun down for more than a few seconds. |
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Spraying the High Powered Glow in the Dark Paint |
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So you have your basics on glow in the dark paint and you purchased a glow powder of 10-30um from any supplier, you also have your clear mixed at the correct ratio for spraying and your job is ready for the glow in the dark coating. Now add your powder to your thinned clear at a ratio of 1 part glow in the dark powder to 3 parts thinned clear and always make as little as possible, you are better off running out and re-mixing a fresh batch than having left over as it won't keep.
Now the critical part, mix your glow liquid well and place the spray gun on the pot from this point on you want to keep splashing the glow liquid around inside the pot. Spray one or two passes over an object and then move your pot around in a circular motion to keep the liquid mixed and then spray again and so on. Never let your pot just stand still for more than a few seconds or until you have finished your job. If you have to let your gun sit between spraying take it of the pot straight after you finish your first spray coating and flush some thinners through it, then when you are ready re-mix the glow paint and start painting again.
Multiple thin passes will give you a much brighter and consistent glow than one heavy coat. This type of paint is not as easy to use as the basic glow paints available everywhere but it will give you a far better result, it just depends on what you are trying to achieve with your project? |
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Can you Air Brush Glow in the Dark Paint |
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Well you can but unless you are doing some sort of art where you want to have finer detail than a spray gun can offer I would not recommend it. I used to air brush my ultra star ceiling planets because I could not achieve the same effect with a spray gun but it is very frustrating at times because the fine nozzle sizes and workings of the air brush clogg very easy and you often spend more time cleaning the gun than doing the job. If you ever try it you will know what I mean. |
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Here are a couple of things that I painted with the same high powered glow in the dark paint that you can make yourself by following these simple steps. I painted this with the paint that you see in my paint example above. |
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Glow in the Dark Bat Image |
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Glow in the Dark Butterfly Image |
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A couple of warnings |
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Always paint over white or very bright background colours or your glow will diminish. |
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I do not recommend painting anything in glow in the dark paint that will be used outside unless it is in a truly dark location, if you want something for outside you are far better off with a much more powerful glow in the dark moulding as you can see from my other article. |
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Related articles: |
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About glow in the dark pigment |
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How to select the correct glow in the dark pigment |
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How to select the correct clear medium for glow in the dark projects |
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How to make glow in the dark objects |
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