Everything You Want to Know About Glow Paint

What is Glow Paint?

Glow Paint is paint that emits phosphorescent light and glows in the dark.

There are many different types of products that advertise themselves as glow-in-the-dark paint, but not all of them really work (some don’t work at all, and others don’t work well). With so many different options out there, it’s hard to sort through them to find the products that will serve your needs. Keep reading to find out all the details that will help you to make the perfect choice of glow paint that you can use for art projects, crafts, home use, and commercial use.

WHAT GLOW PAINT IS NOT

hGlow paint is not neon paint. Neon paint and glow paint both come in neon colors, but neon paint will only be visible during the day or in places where there is enough light to see.Glow paint is not fluorescent paint. While both glow paint and fluorescent paint will glow under a blacklight, fluorescent paint won’t be visible anymore after you switch off the blacklight. Glow paint will still be glowing until it loses its charge.Glow paint is not a substitute for light in places that are permanently dark. Glow paint has to be “charged” by being exposed to bright light for a period of time, after which it will glow while it slowly releases its charge, becoming gradually fainter and fainter.Glow paint does not typically create light that you can see by. In the dark, you will be able to see the painted surface, but it will be difficult to see other things in the room.

TWO TYPES OF GLOW PAINT

There are two main types of glow paint, and your specific project will dictate to you which type of paint you should use.

1. Glow paint that comes already manufactured as paint

This is what most people think of as paint. It may come packaged in a tube, a small jar, or a bucket, and it’s simply paint, ready to go. Usually, this paint will be available in different colors, and you can choose different sizes and different colors depending on the project you want to complete. This type of glow paint gives you less flexibility but more convenience. You don’t necessarily know what type of medium the glow paint is. Many glow paint products have an acrylic-based medium, including GloNation’s. Acrylic is an all-purpose, user-friendly medium that most people want. You can therefore thin the paint with water and clean your brushes easily. But what if you don’t want what most people want? You’re stuck with whatever medium the manufacturer chose to use. As a trade-off, you get convenience. You don’t have to mix up the paint yourself. You buy it, and it’s ready to go. Dip in your brush and start painting right away!

2. Glow paint that you make yourself by mixing glow powder into a liquid medium

Here’s where you get all the power and flexibility (but sacrifice a little bit of convenience). If you make glow paint yourself, you can get a huge range of high-performance options that wouldn’t be available in your typical acrylic-based paint.

For instance, if you want to paint some glow-in-the-dark designs on fabric, acrylic paint won’t stand up to washing and just won’t look that great on a garment. But if you buy a clear fabric paint and glow powder and mix them together, voila! Suddenly, you have a perfect glow-in-the-dark fabric paint.Or what if you want to use glow paint on the floor in a high-traffic area or outdoors? You can mix the glow powder into epoxy and apply it for a very durable, glowing surface.Perhaps you want to make yourself a glow-in-the-dark bike. Just mix the glow powder into a quality automotive clear-coat for a glowing bike paint that will hold up to the elements.

The number of possibilities when you mix your own glow paint is as endless as the number of clear (transparent) media that you can think of to use. So if your project requires the glow-in-the-dark material to have special properties (such as being waterproof or sticking well to non-porous surfaces), if you can find a clear medium that has those properties, you can do it. Here at GloNation, we offer both glow paint that we have pre-mixed for you, and the glow powder that you can mix into any clear medium. Shop our glow paints and powders today.

How Does Glow Paint Work?

Glow paint is a beautiful product that will look beautiful both during the day and after dark. But how does it work?

Glow paint works because it has the ability to absorb light and release it slowly over time. Light shines on the glow paint, photons hit the chemicals in the paint, and their electrons become excited in a special way. Instead of releasing the light energy immediately, they hold on to this energy and release it gradually over time. This a very simplified description of what is called phosphorescence. We could dive much deeper into the physics of how this glowing process of phosphorescence works, but we’ll leave that to the physics professors. There are several substances that are known to man to offer this glowing property, and we’ll take a look at two of these substances in our next section. In order to make glow paint, someone must first prepare the phosphorescent chemicals, being very careful to do this in a way that preserves the purity of the material and retains the maximum light enhancing properties. The people who make this material can use different methods that will result in either a substance that will glow as brightly as possible or as long as possible. Many manufacturers choose to sacrifice a bit of brightness in order to make it glow as long as possible, as this is generally more useful for a broader range of applications. (After all, who wants their glow paint to lose its glow after a minute or two?) The highest quality glow paints will have both high brightness and a long-lasting glow, allowing them to glow brightly for hours.Once the glow-in-the-dark chemicals are prepared, this material must be ground up into a very fine powder. It should be as fine as possible to minimize any gritty texture in the paint, but due to the nature of the ingredients that must go into glow paint, it will always have a texture that is at least a tiny bit gritty. Once the manufacturer has prepared a fine glow powder, they will mix it in to the clear paint of their choice, being very careful to mix the powder to paint in the right proportions. In addition, if they want the paint to have a daytime color (such as is the case with our Bright Time Glow Paint), they must add pigments that add visible color to the paint. It’s also possible to add pigment directly to the powder (like what we’ve done with our Triple Glow Powders) so that the powder itself will produce a glowing paint with bright daytime color. This can be a difficult business, as adding the wrong pigments can cause the paint to become opaque and result in a cloudy or streaky appearance when you view the painted surface glowing in the dark. Once the paint is created, all you have to do is apply it to the surface that you want to glow. Charge up the glow-in-the-dark property of your artwork by shining a bright light on it for approximately 30 minutes. Then, turn off the lights and enjoy the spectacular effects! The paint will look amazing either under a blacklight or with no lights at all.

Which Glow Paint Works Best?

If you spend any time reading the reviews of different glow paint products online, you’ll quickly discover that not all glow paints are created equal. You don’t want to put a bunch of work into a project, only to have it not glow at all—or glow so faintly that no one can tell what you did. So here’s what you should know as you do your research.

Two types of glow paint

Zinc Oxide

For many years, one of the only known glow-in-the-dark substances was zinc oxide activated by copper. This product does create a glowing paint, and it can even glow quite brightly, but the glow is very short-lived and fades too quickly to be of much use.

Strontium Aluminate

Only recently, another glow-in-the-dark substance was discovered. This substance not only glows brighter, its glow lasts much longer than the zinc oxide products. This substance was called strontium aluminate.

The best glow paint available on the market is one that uses strontium aluminate, so look for this ingredient on the label. It will glow brighter, longer, and clearer than any other product available. However, there are still products being produced that use zinc oxide. These products claim to glow in the dark, and they do glow a bit, but most people are disappointed with the results they get (or don’t perceive the glow at all). Many levels of quality within strontium aluminate paint

Many levels of quality within strontium aluminate paint

Ok, so you’ve decided to choose only a glow-in-the-dark paint that uses strontium aluminate. Great choice! However, you still might get disappointing results. Here’s why: the manufacturing process matters, and different manufacturers have different standards when it comes to producing glow paint. You should know that strontium aluminate is more expensive than zinc oxide, so there are a lot of ways that manufacturers try to save money or cut corners, resulting in an inferior product. Here are just a few examples.

The powder is not pure and doesn’t glow evenly. (Here’s an example of a guy on YouTube who created some homemade strontium aluminate, and you can easily see how unevenly it glows. On his video, he clearly says (at 0:45) that his version is not as good as the commercial stuff, but you can envision how bad manufacturing processes could also end up with bad results.)The powder is not ground finely enough and is unnecessarily gritty when you apply it.The paint doesn’t contain enough glow particles because the glow powder is mixed in to the paint in a too-low concentration. This will leave you with streaky results that look disappointing when you use the paint, or it will require you to apply multiple coats to get the look you want (meaning that you may have to buy more paint than you expected). Ways to test whether you have the best glow paint

Ways to test whether you have the best glow paint

Once you’ve read the reviews and product descriptions for the glow paint that you’re considering, you’ll eventually come to the point of actually ordering some. However, once you receive it, there are a couple of ways that you can test your paint to make sure that it is going to work.

1. Before you open the tubes

This first test will allow you to leave the tubes unopened so that you can send them back if they don’t glow. However, this requires the paint to be in clear tubes. There is still some glow paint out there that comes in a can, so you can’t test this way.

Expose the unopened tubes to a bright light for at least 30 minutes to charge them.Then, turn out the lights. See if the paint is still glowing.Check on the paint every 5-10 minutes (or set up a video camera to film it) to see how quickly the glow fades. (Tip: If you have ordered several brands of paint, you’ll be able to discover which one glows the longest.)If you are satisfied with the results, go on to the next test. 2. After you open the tubes

2. After you open the tubes

If it’s your first time using phosphorescent paint, you’ll want to get familiar with the properties of this paint so that you know how it spreads and how to get beautiful results. If you check out our gallery, you’ll be inspired by the vivid, vibrant results that you can get with this paint, but you should be aware of the best way to work with your paint for great results.

Paint a test swatch of glow paint on a hidden area or on a test surface that’s similar to the destination surface.Let the paint dry.Observe how the paint looks when it’s dry.Charge the painted area by exposing it to a bright light for at least 30 minutes.Turn off the lights and see how your test swatch looks. If necessary, apply additional coats to get the vibrant, glowing look that you want.

If there’s no way for you to get the results you expected, you may have to try a different brand of paint. We recommend that you open only your smallest tube of paint for this trial. That way, if you’re not happy with the outcome, you haven’t opened a larger tube that you can’t send back. Be aware that different colors of glow paint behave differently, so if you are planning to do a multicolor project, you should repeat the same test swatch method for each color.

WAYS TO ENSURE YOUR GLOW PAINT WILL WORK OPTIMALLY

Even if you buy the best glow paint on the market, if you use it in a way that’s different from the manufacturer’s recommendations, your results may not be as good as you hoped. Here are some of the ways that you can ensure that you get great results.

Choose a paint that’s made with strontium aluminate.Coat the surface with a light-colored primer first (white and off-white are good choices).Paint the surface at the recommended thickness or you could get streaky results. (GloNation recommends a 5 mil thickness coat, which works out to approximately 2 square feet per ounce. 2 square feet is a rectangle approximately 1 foot by 2 feet.)

GET THE BEST GLOW PAINT RIGHT HERE AT GLONATION

We believe that the very best glow paint you can buy is right here at GloNation! We are the industry’s longest-running provider of glow-in-the-dark paint that glows brightly and lasts for hours. Check out our selection of glow paint and glow powder today.

What can you do with glow paint?

There are so many ideas of what you can do with glow paint, we could never list them all. Your imagination is truly the limit! However, here are some of the most common ways that artists and craftspeople have used glow paint with amazing results.

1. CREATE ART ON CANVAS

This is the first thing that springs to mind for many people, and painting with phosphorescent paint can set you apart as an artist and raise you to a level of international awareness, like it did for Tom Bacher. Don’t limit yourself to the types of art you see in our gallery—for instance, try glow paint for amazing hand lettering and calligraphy projects. Actually, don’t limit yourself to canvas. Also try painting sculptures or creating glow-in-the-dark jewelry.

2. MARK EMERGENCY EXIT ROUTES

In an emergency, you won’t necessarily have electricity to light the way to the exits of a building. Many people have successfully used phosphorescent paint to mark the way to the exits, from airplane aisles to commercial buildings.

3. USE IT FOR ROOM DECOR

If you have a knack for custom painting the walls of your house, or you know an artist friend who does, why not make your walls the art? Check out this glowing whale shark that someone painted in a bedroom - at first glance, you might think you’re in an aquarium until you look closer and realize there’s a bed in the foreground. And if your kids are afraid of the dark (or if you just love to look up at the starry sky), a star mural on your ceiling is something you’ll never be sorry you created. Another fun idea is to paint the blades of your ceiling fan with glow paint in vivid colors. They’ll make amazing patterns when you turn on the fan with the lights out.

4. TAKE YOUR PARTIES TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Things that glow just make parties more fun. Here are three ideas for how you can

Black Light Party: Add a couple of black lights to your party and provide your guests with glow-in-the-dark party favors and props that you’ve prepared ahead of time, such as glowing glasses frames, hats, bracelets, and necklaces.

Halloween: Glow paint is an amazing addition to your halloween party. Try creating a glowing green alien head, a glowing skeleton suit, glowing jack-o’lanterns, or glowing gloves.

Easter: Amp up your easter egg hunt by holding it at night with glow-in-the-dark eggs, glow-in-the-dark baskets, and glow-in-the-dark decorations. The kids will love it! (Plus, they’ll probably get to go on TWO easter egg hunts that way—one in the morning, and one at night.) Bonus: Let the kids paint the glow-in-the-dark eggs ahead of time. They’ll be thrilled!

Kids’ birthday party: A glow-in-the-dark birthday party will be an unforgettable occasion for your kids and their friends. Let kids age 8 and up paint with our glow paint to make a craft that glows in the dark, play games with glowing items, and provide glow-in-the-dark party favors. Make this fun and light-hearted, not dark and spooky, for the win!

5. MAKE EVERYDAY ITEMS GLOW

Your everyday life will be so much more fun when you give your household items the power to glow. Here are just a few of the things that people have used glow paint to create. Try these as after school crafts, a kids’ birthday party activity, to post on your YouTube channel or Pinterest, or to give as unique gifts. Here’s an alphabetized list of just a few of the things that other people have tried. Use these ideas to get your creative juices flowing!

• Action figures

• Backpack

• Bracelets

• Chandelier

• Door frame

• Dream Catchers

• Dresser

• Hairbrush

• Hat

• House numbers

• Keyboard cover

• Jewelry

• Laptop case

• Lightsaber

• Lightswitch cover

• Mirror

• Model airplanes

• Necklace

• Notebooks

• Pen

• Phone case

• Poster

• School Supplies

• Schoolbag

• Shoes

• World Map

6. PLAY GLOW-IN-THE-DARK GAMES

Take your cornhole to a whole new level by painting your cornhole boards with glow paint. Make Twister even more epic by making a glowing mat. Create a unique checkers or chess set that you can play in the dark with a glow-in-the-dark board and pieces. Take your pick-up soccer game late into the night with glow-in-the-dark cones.

7. BECOME A FASHION DESIGNER

Putting glow-in-the-dark paint on fabric is a fun possibility that will expand your horizons. Simply mix glow powder into a high-quality clear fabric paint, and let your imagination take wing! Making glow-in-the-dark clothes is fun and easy, and you don’t even need to know how to sew. Here’s a list of idea starters to get you started.

• Shirts

• Dresses

• Pants

• Socks

• Hats

• Masks

• Costumes

• Bedding

• Pillows

• Curtains

8. MAKE THE OUTDOORS GLOW AT NIGHT

Try using glow paint on your garden sculptures, rocks, concrete sealer, tent guy lines, and more. The key to using glow paint outside is that you must use the longest-lasting glow-in-the-dark product that you can find. Here’s why. The sun will charge your glow paint during the day, but if the glow fades before it gets completely dark, you’ll miss out on ever seeing the glow. Different glow paints last for different amounts of time, so do your research before getting a product that will be permanently applied.