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Old 28-09-2007, 07:40 AM
Stevo69
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Stevo69 is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 152
I had over a dozen of them 12 months ago, but threw them out. I know you didn't want to hear that, however! They were 'Osram' brand and were used for party lights. The important thing was they were "painted" or "colored" on the inside of the glass. Try a party supplies company or an electrical supplier, such as "Middendorps".

The problem you may face with incandescent light bulbs is heat and power use. Heat can be an issue if you try to paint them yourself, as well as a safety issue. The painted layer can retain the heat of the bulb. Remember an incandescent light bulb is effectively, a heat generator. And over time the paint can peel and blister off the glass.

Why not try this. It's worked for me in the past:

Purchase come compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL's). They are readily available in Edison Screw, give off substantially less heat, and provide a "whiter" light. But some red paint and open the can, and dip the CFL in, covering all the glass. Then hang the bulb upside down over the paint tin, allowing the residule paint to drip off into the can. You will be left with a thin layer of paint on the glass you will need to do this 2-3 times, allowing the paint to dry between coats. The number of coats will depend of the brightness you are trying to achieve. Test the CFL between each coat. Enamel paint is best to use.

The drawbacks of CFL's are they are more expensive and the whole arguement of them being more "energy efficient" is a marketing con IMHO. They contain 4 times as much mercury as normal fluorescent tubes. They contain more embodied energy than standard incandescent bulb, i.e. they use more resources and energy to manufacture one compared to an incandescent bulb. But this is another argument for another time.
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