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Hello!

I'd like to as if any of you has any experience with glow in the dark paints, that are suitable for use with miniatures? I'd like to use it for details such as glowing eyes for Skitarii units, various indicators, lightbulbs, weapons etc... Also the color should glow in said color, more or less.

I once bought some colors, but it was rather thick, slimy and the pigment was grainy. I'd like to avoid that.

Got experience with a couple. I've used fabric paints to paint ghosts, but they don't truly "glow" unless it's really dark.

Conversely, a paint I would thoroughly recommend is Vallejo green yellow. Although not an actual "glow" paint, the pigment is remarkably high and makes things like eyes really pop; like on my Typhus below.

I'd like to find colors that actually glow, not just really bright colors. Red or blue color preferably, for said skitarii eyes, plasma weapons etc.

 Hawky wrote:
I'd like to find colors that actually glow, not just really bright colors. Red or blue color preferably, for said skitarii eyes, plasma weapons etc.

You're not really going to find anything like that. Closest you'l get is florescent paints. The glow paints that's I'm aware of only really glow in the dark.

Thats what I meant. Paints that glow in the DARK, that are suitable for painting details, not magically glowing paints. Pity that there are no tritium glow tube-like paints. :(

 Hawky wrote:
Thats what I meant. Paints that glow in the DARK, that are suitable for painting details, not magically glowing paints. Pity that there ate no tritium glow tubes paints. :(

IME they don't work as you imagine them in your head. As I said I've painted ghosts with blue fabric glow paint and whilst they glow you're not really going to get anything like this-


You will get a weakish glow, but only under complete pitch blackness.

I've used glow in the dark paints both in green and blue.

Picture is NSFW, thus spoilered:



The green paint I used is very much as you described, thick and even when it's thinned down still grainy. While the blue one's consistency is still thick, it's not grainy. applied thickly, the surface is a bit porous, but it can be thinned down /and applied in multiple layers if you wish) and you shouldn't have a problem with grainy appearance.

If you're interested in the blue one, I got a pot off Amazon from a German company. NighTec Bastelfarbe. Color: Aqua.

As said, fluorescent paint does not necessarily work out quite as glowy as ads would have you believe. It works best in total darkness or direct sunlight (took the picture above on a sunny midday) because it has an intense glow only when a light source shines on it. Thus on a sunny day you will actually get a noticeable glow (especially in recessed or shadowy areas) even though it's bright all around (this does work better with the green I used than the blue). Once you remove the light source, the paint will dim over the next couple of minutes to a low glow that can, as said, best be seen in complete darkness. Some stray light from street lights doesn't swallow it up, but a room lit by a computer screen is about bright enough to conceal the flow. On the bright side, the low level glow does last for hours.

This is also very much dependent on how you paint. Both the thickness of the paint/number of layers applied determines how much flow you get (because of pigment density), as well as the underlying paint (as seen on the mushrooms in the picture). The closer the base coat is to white, the brighter it'll glow. On the darker parts you'll get a dimmer glow (still in the color of the glow in the dark paint, the underlying paint is mostly for day and determining how dark or bright it glows)..

Below you can see a picture of a model completely painted like this, with areas with more glow in the dark paint layers as well as base paint ranging from dark to very light green.



Here's a processed image of the relative glowyness (my camera does not cope well with dark conditions, so this is a close as I can manage to show) right after getting lit by a flashlight. You can already see how it's dimming from the first to the last angle shot).



Another factor to consider is the overall surface you paint. As mentioned the light level dims and other light sources make it progressively harder to see. This happens more quickly on small objects. Those mushrooms up there are easier and longer visible in any sort of light than the glowy plasma rifle thingies, and in turn the Deathclaw has a more noticeable presence than the mushrooms, simply because the overall surface adds up to an overall higher light intensity.

Finally, wave length of the light source matters and the closer you get to UV light, the more power is absorbed by the glow in the dark paint to be radiated out after the light source is shut off, so after a sunny summer day you will have longer and brighter glow at night than after an overcast winter day. Similarly, you get the best result from a IV flashlight/light bulb than a conventional one.

I’ve only tried a couple of fluorescent paints, but I’ve been disappointed. Firstly they either turn out thick, obscure detail and look appalling under normal light. I thought a simple wash of the paint would make it look like the innards were glowing, but there was literally no visible glow - you need a thick layer of it before it is visible. Finally the glow; unless you leave it I’m direct bright sunlight for a day you can’t see it under normal circumstances. The glow IS quite good after being left for a while.

Anyway, that’s my experience. Might just be me or the paints or got.

BabyRipper

I think what you are looking for is fluorescent paints rather than glow in the dark paints. Fluorescent paints combined with OSL techniques will get you as close to a "real" glow as is possible without actual lighting. That said, yellow, green, red and orange fluorescents work best for this. Blue and purple fluorescent paints don't work very well at all under normal lighting (or at least I have never found any that did).

Necromunda beastmaster: The Rat Bastard with green and yellow fluorescents and OSL for glowing eyes. Rat eyes are green fluorescent as well.
Normal (daylight fluorescents) lighting


With Christmas tree LED lighting. Blue LEDs apparently give off a fair amount of UV light.




Fluorescents used for BFG engine and Nurgle interior glow.




Engine glow with flash


Without flash


Close up


Captured Space Marine strike cruisers

Soooo. From what you guys said, it might look good on the paper, but it isn't the brightest idea in real, right?

Well, thank you all for your input, I think I'll pass the idea and go for painting the glow effect the hard way.

Your best bet for a real glow is to use fluorescent paints and then build lots of UV light sources (blacklight, blue and purple LEDs) into your scenery.

T

 Hawky wrote:
Soooo. From what you guys said, it might look good on the paper, but it isn't the brightest idea in real, right?

Well, thank you all for your input, I think I'll pass the idea and go for painting the glow effect the hard way.

You could always go with florescent paints and stick uv leds on EVERYTHING.

daggit i didnt even see timd.