suggestions or ideas....

[twelchPTM]

Hey guys I am starting a new project for a giveaway item and am looking for some material ideas.

I am going to make glow-in-the-dark switch plates, I was thinking about colorcore with a glow-in-the-dark coating. I have gotten paint to stick to it but it is not a simple task, It would be awesome if someone knew of a material like colorcore where the outer layer was glowinthedark.

I am also open to any suggestions of creating the same effect with different material.

[kerrazy]

coat it with a pigmented epoxy. just mix glow in the dark paint into epoxy, and it will pool on surface. viscosity is thick enough it will not roll over the edge. Kinda lick a domed sticker. would be kinda cool.

[Brady Watson]

You can get GITD/Luminous vinyl tape via Ebay 6"x12 feet for like $25. Lick it, stick it, done.

-B

[bleeth]

There is a solid surface product called Illuminaire that absorbs light when it is present and glows in the dark when not. How long it glows depends on the brightness and how long the light lasts. It's a bit more brittle than Corian as it has a degree of polyester in it. It comes in 1/4" which is ideal for switch plates. It's not cheap!! But then it doesn't take much per piece to make switch plates. Here is one site selling it:

http://www.counter-seal.com/

I also have it available. You might cut your plates out of standard solid surface and put in a small inlay of the Illuminaire.

Dave

[twelchPTM]

Dave,
I think the illuminaire may be as close to what I was thinking as I'm going to get, however I can't seem to find any information about who manufactures or sells it. It seem the web site you showed me is only selling the products they make from it.

If you have some stock you are selling could you PM me with some sizing and pricing?

[bleeth]

I'll check out stock and pricing tomorrow. I do have some in stock.
How much do you think you need.

[myxpykalix]

Thomas,
I have seen this material that keychain advertisements have been made out of that glows in the dark. It is a rubbery plastic but i don't know the name of it. Do a search for "Glow in the dark material"

What i would do is go down to your local craft store like Michaels and look for these "glow in the dark stars" that you would stick to your childs bedroom ceiling that glow after the light goes out.
From there you might be able to find out the manufacturer or what material it is. Possibly they may sell sheets of it? I have seen some "Moons"

EDIT: I found this and took a picture. It is about the thickness and feel of glossy photographic paper. I couldn't get a viewable picture of it while glowing but its was pretty cool. This wouldn't be anything you could cut on the bot as it's more like paper but the keychain i spoke of was more of a rubbery plastic material maybe 3/8" or 1/4" thick that usually had a car lot or banks name embossed in it.

Here's a hint i just thought of...search for "advertising specialties" and see if you can find out what some of those "chachki" items are made of...

[bill.young]

I was at Norva Plastics yesterday picking up some Celtec sheets and asked them if they ever ran into glow in the dark plastics. This morning Howard sent me this:

"Yes we can get the glow in the dark acrylic that will engrave into signs and such. I do not have any of the 2 layer material now but it takes a couple of days from the factory. It comes in 1/32" thick, 1/16" thick and 1/8" thick in the 1 ply glow material. It also comes in a 1/16" thick 2 ply material that you can route or machine like the blue/white material you get from us now (engraving plastic). So they could get a 24" x 48" , 24" x 24" or a 12" x 24" from us with a white, black, blue, red or green core if the want to engrave signs or just the sheet material itself."

I've got no business connections with Norva, other than being a customer for a long time. They're great guys to deal with for both buying materials and all kinds of plastic fabrication.

http://www.norvaplastics.com/

Bill

[bleeth]

I think I found the product Bill is talking about too. It may be a Rowmark product and it is also distributed by Johnson Plastics. On their site if you go to their catalog it is on page 37-38 and has pricing. The 1/8" is $217/ 2 x 4 sheet. Seems like none of the glow in the dark products are inexpensive.

[stump]

I recall attending a Camp Shopbot at Foamcarvers in St. Paul MN about 5 years ago. At that time Mark Meggitt showed off some things he had been carving out of a glow in the dark material, it was incredibly bright and fairly thick if I remember correctly. He had made a cross out of it to hang in a child's bedroom I think. I just remember him showing it off and having people take it into a dark hallway to see just how bright it was.

Maybe Bill Palumbo still has some notes from back then and could chime in.

[myxpykalix]

Thomas you might want to check this out...you can buy them already made for about $1.42 each
http://www.advertisingspecialtiesinc.com/ProductDetail/ProductDetail.aspx?Ntt=glow+in+the+dark&kid=89774658&Ne=50&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&BWS=0%7c4&N=0&DPSV_Id=570729&No=24&Ntk=WordSearchAsiLinename&Nr=LMSiteEligibility:1&id=11775536&pSRVC_Id=65

[twelchPTM]

Thank you guys all so much for your input and efforts to help me figure this all out.
I did try to Google glow in the dark material as well as several other phrases containing the words glow in the dark and spent hours sifting through the results. I felt like I needed to go to a rave by the time I was done!

The pre-made ones are cool but the one of the main ideas behind this give away item is that we produce them in house.

I will be putting a call into norva this afternoon

Dave- I did manage to find the pricing for the illuminaire over the weekend and I am sorry to say that's is not going to work but thanks you anyway.

[bleeth]

I know-it's very pricey! One of the cruise lines was all hot to get small tables for passenger cabin balconies when they saw a sample but freaked when they saw the price per each table. Cheap frame but expensive top!!
Try "phosphorescent" in your search and acrylic and/or plastic.
You'll get lots of more direct hits.

[Brady Watson]

For those interested: Rustoleum Glow in the Dark Paint! (http://www.rustoleum.com/en/product-catalog/consumer-brands/specialty/glow-in-the-dark-spray)

-B

[twelchPTM]

Its been a while but a quick update, thanks to the forum I was able to locate and procure PVC signboard 1/16" in purple with a glow in the dark core. Haven't started the cutting yet as it was trumped by other projects but I will post when I do.