Anyone interested in silver bulbs that blink amber?
09-30-2001, 01:50 AM
#1
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Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,493
Anyone interested in silver bulbs that blink amber?
I just finished making a silver coating to go over any colored bulb to make it look clear while inactive, but amber when activated. First I tried Philips Silvervision, but these were $15 a bulb and were for Euro Spec cars only. In short the bulbs didn't fit. I'm not sure if Philips plans on marketing the series in the US. Next I tried Polarg, these sell for $20 a piece and they are still out of stock.
http://www.nextcollection.com/html/O...-3693-none.cfm
So, I thought I'd just have to make my own. I got a hold of some 1156 amber bulbs for $7 a pair (they were really hard to find...ended up ordering online). My friend goes to Pasadena Art Center and let me use some of his really expensive base, transparent primer, and transparent metallic paint. I practiced on my garage work light (a 55 watt incandecent bulb) and the light shined right through the silver. I then tried a light coating on my amber sidemarker light...the bulbs shined as much orange as before. I went on to the 1156 blinkers and the results were beautiful.
If you want to keep the clean and clear look for your bumper lights and clear tail-lights and have it legal and safe, I think this is the only way to go in lieu of spending $20 per bulb.
I used to have an orange bulb in the tails, but it made the lense look orange so I always frowned on that one. I had a clear bulb in the from lense, but it's difficult to see during the day, so I that made me frown also. That's what drove me to this experiment. I'll try and get some comparision pictures up.
http://www.nextcollection.com/html/O...-3693-none.cfm
So, I thought I'd just have to make my own. I got a hold of some 1156 amber bulbs for $7 a pair (they were really hard to find...ended up ordering online). My friend goes to Pasadena Art Center and let me use some of his really expensive base, transparent primer, and transparent metallic paint. I practiced on my garage work light (a 55 watt incandecent bulb) and the light shined right through the silver. I then tried a light coating on my amber sidemarker light...the bulbs shined as much orange as before. I went on to the 1156 blinkers and the results were beautiful.
If you want to keep the clean and clear look for your bumper lights and clear tail-lights and have it legal and safe, I think this is the only way to go in lieu of spending $20 per bulb.
I used to have an orange bulb in the tails, but it made the lense look orange so I always frowned on that one. I had a clear bulb in the from lense, but it's difficult to see during the day, so I that made me frown also. That's what drove me to this experiment. I'll try and get some comparision pictures up.
09-30-2001, 03:01 AM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 556
Re: Anyone interested in silver bulbs that blink amber?
Originally posted by Kevin Wong
I just finished making a silver coating to go over any colored bulb to make it look clear while inactive, but amber when activated. First I tried Philips Silvervision, but these were $15 a bulb and were for Euro Spec cars only. In short the bulbs didn't fit. I'm not sure if Philips plans on marketing the series in the US. Next I tried Polarg, these sell for $20 a piece and they are still out of stock.
http://www.nextcollection.com/html/O...-3693-none.cfm
So, I thought I'd just have to make my own. I got a hold of some 1156 amber bulbs for $7 a pair (they were really hard to find...ended up ordering online). My friend goes to Pasadena Art Center and let me use some of his really expensive base, transparent primer, and transparent metallic paint. I practiced on my garage work light (a 55 watt incandecent bulb) and the light shined right through the silver. I then tried a light coating on my amber sidemarker light...the bulbs shined as much orange as before. I went on to the 1156 blinkers and the results were beautiful.
If you want to keep the clean and clear look for your bumper lights and clear tail-lights and have it legal and safe, I think this is the only way to go in lieu of spending $20 per bulb.
I used to have an orange bulb in the tails, but it made the lense look orange so I always frowned on that one. I had a clear bulb in the from lense, but it's difficult to see during the day, so I that made me frown also. That's what drove me to this experiment. I'll try and get some comparision pictures up.
I just finished making a silver coating to go over any colored bulb to make it look clear while inactive, but amber when activated. First I tried Philips Silvervision, but these were $15 a bulb and were for Euro Spec cars only. In short the bulbs didn't fit. I'm not sure if Philips plans on marketing the series in the US. Next I tried Polarg, these sell for $20 a piece and they are still out of stock.
http://www.nextcollection.com/html/O...-3693-none.cfm
So, I thought I'd just have to make my own. I got a hold of some 1156 amber bulbs for $7 a pair (they were really hard to find...ended up ordering online). My friend goes to Pasadena Art Center and let me use some of his really expensive base, transparent primer, and transparent metallic paint. I practiced on my garage work light (a 55 watt incandecent bulb) and the light shined right through the silver. I then tried a light coating on my amber sidemarker light...the bulbs shined as much orange as before. I went on to the 1156 blinkers and the results were beautiful.
If you want to keep the clean and clear look for your bumper lights and clear tail-lights and have it legal and safe, I think this is the only way to go in lieu of spending $20 per bulb.
I used to have an orange bulb in the tails, but it made the lense look orange so I always frowned on that one. I had a clear bulb in the from lense, but it's difficult to see during the day, so I that made me frown also. That's what drove me to this experiment. I'll try and get some comparision pictures up.
09-30-2001, 02:23 PM
#9
The point is to get the silver primer paint (the ENGINE one), and spray a lite coat on. I did and all of the bulbs are just as bright as they were before, with no orange at all. Cost, 3.50, with 99 percent of the paint still in the can.
09-30-2001, 03:39 PM
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,098
Originally posted by medicsonic
The point is to get the silver primer paint (the ENGINE one), and spray a lite coat on. I did and all of the bulbs are just as bright as they were before, with no orange at all. Cost, 3.50, with 99 percent of the paint still in the can.
The point is to get the silver primer paint (the ENGINE one), and spray a lite coat on. I did and all of the bulbs are just as bright as they were before, with no orange at all. Cost, 3.50, with 99 percent of the paint still in the can.
and he's planning on sniffing the rest!
09-30-2001, 03:46 PM
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 402
I did this awhile ago with silver spray paint on amber bulbs. Spray very light coating on it and it'll blink amber but will hide the yellow color looking bulb through the lense. It's been working for roughly half a year now and no problem so far. Light output is just a bit diminished but I could've gone with a lighter coating. Translucent silver paint would probably be more ideal.
09-30-2001, 05:24 PM
#12
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Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,493
here are the pics
I can do silver bulbs blinking blue also. Right now, I'm looking into a good set of amber bulbs. I bought a pair of Matrix amber 1156 and put the silver coating on them. They emit just as bright as they do without the silver coating. Today, I saw a Jeep Grand Cherokee in my rear view and noticed his amber signals were really bright through the stock clear lense. If they use 1156 amber bulbs, I'll go pay a visit to the Jeep parts department and inquire about a set or two.
Before:
http://www.angelfire.com/hi5/maximizese/MVC_779F2.jpg
After:
http://www.angelfire.com/hi5/maximizese/MVC_787S1.JPG
Bulb comparision:
http://www.angelfire.com/hi5/maximizese/MVC_791S.JPG
Here is a 5 second mpeg of the lights blinking:
http://www.geocities.com/kis_ev/MVC-785W.MPG
To view these pictures:
just copy the url for the pictures and right click the url for the mpeg and select "copy shortcut" open another browser and paste the url.
As for the bulbs, I'm going to hunt down a set of those Philips and test them out. BTW, my friend told me today at church that we didn't use his expensive art supply junk, we use a jar of $3 aluminum paint from Home Depot.
If anyone is interested in doing this, go to Home Depot and it should be in the paint department with the spray paint and acetone. It's a little 4 oz. jar and is called aluminum paint. It's quick dry and heat resistent and best of all it's really cheap. The jar should be able to do 80 bulbs easy. You can just use a light coat and you should be fine.
Before:
http://www.angelfire.com/hi5/maximizese/MVC_779F2.jpg
After:
http://www.angelfire.com/hi5/maximizese/MVC_787S1.JPG
Bulb comparision:
http://www.angelfire.com/hi5/maximizese/MVC_791S.JPG
Here is a 5 second mpeg of the lights blinking:
http://www.geocities.com/kis_ev/MVC-785W.MPG
To view these pictures:
just copy the url for the pictures and right click the url for the mpeg and select "copy shortcut" open another browser and paste the url.
As for the bulbs, I'm going to hunt down a set of those Philips and test them out. BTW, my friend told me today at church that we didn't use his expensive art supply junk, we use a jar of $3 aluminum paint from Home Depot.
If anyone is interested in doing this, go to Home Depot and it should be in the paint department with the spray paint and acetone. It's a little 4 oz. jar and is called aluminum paint. It's quick dry and heat resistent and best of all it's really cheap. The jar should be able to do 80 bulbs easy. You can just use a light coat and you should be fine.
09-30-2001, 05:27 PM
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 556
Re: here are the pics
Originally posted by Kevin Wong
I can do silver bulbs blinking blue also. Right now, I'm looking into a good set of amber bulbs. I bought a pair of Matrix amber 1156 and put the silver coating on them. They emit just as bright as they do without the silver coating. Today, I saw a Jeep Grand Cherokee in my rear view and noticed his amber signals were really bright through the stock clear lense. If they use 1156 amber bulbs, I'll go pay a visit to the Jeep parts department and inquire about a set or two.
Before:
http://www.geocities.com/kis_ev/MVC-779F2.jpg
After:
http://www.geocities.com/kis_ev/MVC-787S1.JPG
Here is a 5 second mpeg of the lights blinking:
http://www.geocities.com/kis_ev/MVC-785W.MPG
I can do silver bulbs blinking blue also. Right now, I'm looking into a good set of amber bulbs. I bought a pair of Matrix amber 1156 and put the silver coating on them. They emit just as bright as they do without the silver coating. Today, I saw a Jeep Grand Cherokee in my rear view and noticed his amber signals were really bright through the stock clear lense. If they use 1156 amber bulbs, I'll go pay a visit to the Jeep parts department and inquire about a set or two.
Before:
http://www.geocities.com/kis_ev/MVC-779F2.jpg
After:
http://www.geocities.com/kis_ev/MVC-787S1.JPG
Here is a 5 second mpeg of the lights blinking:
http://www.geocities.com/kis_ev/MVC-785W.MPG
10-02-2001, 12:13 AM
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,148
I tried this today with some paint from Home Depot, it worked, but was way, way too opaque. So I took a trip down to the art supply store and picked up a tube of translucent silver acrylic for $5. This stuff is perfect for doing lightbulbs, it coats well and lets almost all the light shine through.
I thinned it down a bit with some distilled water and applied a thin coat, dried it with a hair drier, applied another thin coat, dried it, etc. until I had the amber well hidden. Once I had the proper thickness of paint, I took a brush dipped in nothing but water and used it to smooth out the finish until it was perfectly smooth an even. I then baked the bulbs in the oven at 100 degrees to cure the paint, this was probably unneeded, but I thought it might be a good idea.
I thinned it down a bit with some distilled water and applied a thin coat, dried it with a hair drier, applied another thin coat, dried it, etc. until I had the amber well hidden. Once I had the proper thickness of paint, I took a brush dipped in nothing but water and used it to smooth out the finish until it was perfectly smooth an even. I then baked the bulbs in the oven at 100 degrees to cure the paint, this was probably unneeded, but I thought it might be a good idea.
10-02-2001, 12:39 PM
#18
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,493
Do they have translucent yellow paint?
I have 20 H3 fog light bulbs I bought off of eBay for $10. I always wanted yellow fog lights like the Lexus. It's starting to get foggy in SoCal late at night...it's cuz I live a block from the Pacific Ocean, but it's a small price to pay for being a surfer. Anyway, I think someone once painted the housings and another painted just the bulbs. I'm thinking why not both
10-02-2001, 08:40 PM
#19
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Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,148
I didn't look for translucent yellow paint, but I'm sure they have it available.
Not so sure it would be a good idea to paint your fog lights, they get pretty hot and stay on for extended periods, I think they'd either cook off the paint or just blow up.
Not so sure it would be a good idea to paint your fog lights, they get pretty hot and stay on for extended periods, I think they'd either cook off the paint or just blow up.
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