Comments on: Liquidreflector Night Safety Paint

By: RICHIE

RICHIE — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:07:30 +0000

DOES THIS MEAN I COULD WRITE SOMETHING LIKE “ARSE” ON THE BACK OF MY MATES TRUCK?
NICE………..

By: LiquidReflector - reflective paint at popular logistics

LiquidReflector - reflective paint at popular logistics — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:45:06 +0000

[...] Via Toolmonger. [...]

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 20:44:52 +0000

Eric, I’ve got more retroreflective tape than I can shake a stick at (yes, I’m one of those motorcyclists). I was just thinking that it’d be cool to be able to paint parts of the bike with it.

By: melvin

melvin — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 09:14:53 +0000

I’ve used a retroreflective spray paint. It worked best over a light substrate and not nearly as well as reflective tape but it did work. Ideal for compound shapes like fenders and at only $7 a can a heck of a lot cheaper than the tape. If you want to cover a large area or something like a fence post it’s a good alternative. IE: instead of a strip on the mail box it’s cost effective to coat the whole thing.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 01:34:19 +0000

I second my fellow bikers. The 3M tape is absolutely wicked - especially as you can do funny things with it as a “stealth” biker. You know, tape arrows to either side of your head so as you check your blindspots it looks like a turn signal. Write obscene messages and designs on the back of your buddy’s black leather jacket, preferably when his mother in law is tailing him…that sorta thing.

By: Mike R

Mike R — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:28:13 +0000

I can 2nd the 3M reflective tape on motorcycles. I bought a roll in black and put it on a bunch of inconspicuous areas. You’d never know it’s there and the bike lights up like an xmas tree now.

By: Robert

Robert — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 23:35:46 +0000

If you use glass beads for “street art” be sure to blow off the excess beads. Loose glass beads on concrete pavement are like little ball bearings. They can be very dangerous to pedestrians.
I get mine from Allstates Coatings - (800) 358-3020

By: Jon Soroko

Jon Soroko — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:38:22 +0000

This is new to me - I’m mostly seeing taped installations of retroreflective material. But I can help on the distinction.

REFLECTIVE material is just that. Prismatic reflective material (sometimes called retroreflective) does the same thing - but because of the varied surface angles, is visible at higher distances. For instance, ANSI Class III - garments for highway workers - must be visible 360 degrees around body, and visible at - I think - 1,250 feet in low-light conditions. (I have the flu - the math is escaping me - but it’s 30 mph for 30 seconds with limited light, rain, etc.)

The downside to this is time involved and consistency. But it could be great - don’t know about durability - and cost comparison to 3M’s reflexite and other products. 3M seems to overwhelmingly dominate this market; Avery Dennison now seems to be offering some of the same.

By: James B

James B — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:41:56 +0000

While it isn’t exactly the same as reflective paint, this glow in the dark looks pretty interesting:

http://glowinc.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=2

I used a low grade version of this on a light switch plate and inside my hitch receiver, and it does light up a little. Seems like the reflective paint would be better for catching car headlights though.

By: Charlie

Charlie — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 02:02:14 +0000

I happen to know that Rustoleum has a reflective paint. Single-step. I’m not sure how well it works, because I can’t ever find a justifiable excuse to buy it. I know that Menards carries it, but I can’t speak for those other guys…

By: Eric Dykstra

Eric Dykstra — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 01:32:03 +0000

Rob,

I think a better solution for automotive situations would be something like 3M Scotchlite Reflective Tape. In daylight it looks like tape but at night reflects like other Scotchlight products. It comes in a bunch of widths and colors (even black) and i even think you can spray clearcoat over it similar to what’s done on police cruisers.

Scotchalite 680 Reflective Film: http://tinyurl.com/3xog8w

Rally9x,

The liquidreflector site sells 10 and 20 pound bags of the glass beads for 13.75 and 24.75 bucks respectively plus 9 for shipping.

http://www.liquidreflector.com/glassbeads.html

Subvert,

Those glass beads sprinkled over some wet….let’s call it street art would likely give a cool effect, or for some stealth action use spray adhesive instead. I imagine it would be more or less invisible during the day but extremely reflective at night when light is shining on it. That being said don’t be a jerk about it

By: Rally9x

Rally9x — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:34:54 +0000

“I buy glass beads in 50 lb bags for about $1 per pound. The beads will work with most any kind of paint.”

This sounds interesting, do you have some links to places a guy could get these?

By: Robert

Robert — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:16:20 +0000

The paint can’t be smooth, the mica, or glass beads have to be embedded in and extending above the paint surface for this to work.
Have you ever seen a road marking crew painting stop bars, or arrows? They spray the paint, and sling glass beads on the paint surface while it’s still wet.
It’s technically called “retroreflective” since the tiny round beads reflect most light back towards the source rather than at an angle like a mirror.
I buy glass beads in 50 lb bags for about $1 per pound. The beads will work with most any kind of paint.

By: Subvert

Subvert — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:42:18 +0000

I’ve been looking for a retail source for this type of paint for a while now. Too bad the multi-step process makes it a bit…unwieldy for the, ah, urban interventions I had in mind.

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 20:10:08 +0000

Has anyone seen this paint in person? Does it have a smooth finish? Could I use it to paint panels on my motorcycle or bicycle to be easier to see in the dark without it looking like crap?