Surface Finish for Light Pipe Diffused Exit surface??
Surface Finish for Light Pipe Diffused Exit surface??
(OP)
Before someone tries to moderate and shut this thread down like another one that was asking the same question, which was never answered, I also would like to know what a good finish is for light pipe diffused exit surface.
I read all the link on the other thread and didn't find a specific answer to the question. It looks like the polished part of the body would do well with a SPI-A2 finish, but need to find the diffuser exit surface finish.
Try worrying less about moderating and sending people off to areas with vague answers than letting them discuss and share information they are having a hard time finding. If I could find it I wouldn't be here asking.
I read all the link on the other thread and didn't find a specific answer to the question. It looks like the polished part of the body would do well with a SPI-A2 finish, but need to find the diffuser exit surface finish.
Try worrying less about moderating and sending people off to areas with vague answers than letting them discuss and share information they are having a hard time finding. If I could find it I wouldn't be here asking.






RE: Surface Finish for Light Pipe Diffused Exit surface??
Anyway, if you are only looking to diffuse the light, pretty much any light (no pun intended) texture will do. If you are looking to achieve a certain effect, perhaps small concentric ribs or a faceted surface would do better.
RE: Surface Finish for Light Pipe Diffused Exit surface??
RE: Surface Finish for Light Pipe Diffused Exit surface??
... which is more easily achieved with sandpaper.
... which you pretty much have to do by hand, because fast-moving sandpaper just melts plastic.
Separately, I tried refinishing plastic headlamp lenses with a $25 3M kit and a battery powered drill.
The drill was slow enough that the plastic didn't melt.
The first part of the process involves a disc that I think is about 600 grit, and fairly special, in that it didn't clog easily, even when used dry as instructed.
When that was done, the lens appeared to be opaque white; i.e., the surface was very diffuse.
(The second step involved a much finer grit and water, and the end result was spectacular; no other headlamp refinish kit I've tried worked nearly as fast or as well as the 3M kit.)
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Surface Finish for Light Pipe Diffused Exit surface??
If you want a diffuse surface, I would expect an A2 to be too polished... I'd shoot for something closer to a B1/B2.
Dan - Owner
http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com
RE: Surface Finish for Light Pipe Diffused Exit surface??
It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.