Proper Material used for Night Illumination on Art Car

[kublakhan469]

Building a Mutant Vehicle for 2010, Looking to find the Proper Material/cloth(?) to be used for good Illumination at night. Lights will be behind this material to show the color on the outside. And what are the good lighting tricks? Can anyone share some of their valuable knowledge please.....Thank you so much...see you all soon at Camp Spank of America......[size=12][/size]

[rodiponer]

I think most fabrics would work for backlighting. I made an inflatable slug last year out of ripstop nylon. I just threw a 50' coil of EL wire inside it and it made kinda cool patterns if the wire was close to the cloth, and if it was further away it diffused it to a nice even glow. Nylon can be very inexpensive if you look around on the web.

If you have a smaller area, I think one of the neater materials is Rowlux Illusion film. Eplastics.com has a sample kit. I like this material because it looks great backlit, and it looks even better during the day, especially in strong sunlight. But it is expensive, at around $2.50/square foot. I am thinking of using it as an accent on the small strange machine that I am making, if it works.

Another material I am looking at backlighting is perforated aluminum. I am using the perforated aluminum to reduce weight, and I think an added benefit is that it will look cool when backlit.

Good luck with your vehicle.

[Captain Goddammit]

Good methods of providing the light itself depends heavily on your electrical supply... how much wattage do you have to work with?
There's a general rule, the more power-efficient your lights are, the more expensive they are. On a vehicle, I find it LOTS cheaper to make more electricity, then use inexpensive and powerful lights.
What sort of vehicle or engine will this glowing thing be?

[frenchblue1]

Be careful not to use something that is too tightly woven as it will pack with playa. What looks great on the first day will not by the next day :( Last year we used landscape fabric which we wanted to look like stone...it did but we also had lights behind it and it looked great the first day and then we could not see them. Food for thought.

[Isotopia]

Torches soak in the fat of babies.

They'll stay lit for hours or until the helicopter flood lights arrive.

[AntiM]

Be careful not to use something that is too tightly woven as it will pack with playa. What looks great on the first day will not by the next day Last year we used landscape fabric which we wanted to look like stone...it did but we also had lights behind it and it looked great the first day and then we could not see them. Food for thought.

I know they're hard to find these days, but did you try a rug beater?

[pinemom]

Some of our Village MV'rs used air compressor....spray it off every morning....if it effects your lighting...if not....go with the dust, be one with the dust!

[kublakhan469]

[quote="rodiponer"]I think most fabrics would work for backlighting. I made an inflatable slug last year out of ripstop nylon. I just threw a 50' coil of EL wire inside it and it made kinda cool patterns if the wire was close to the cloth, and if it was further away it diffused it to a nice even glow. Nylon can be very inexpensive if you look around on the web.

If you have a smaller area, I think one of the neater materials is Rowlux Illusion film. Eplastics.com has a sample kit. I like this material because it looks great backlit, and it looks even better during the day, especially in strong sunlight. But it is expensive, at around $2.50/square foot. I am thinking of using it as an accent on the small strange machine that I am making, if it works.

Another material I am looking at backlighting is perforated aluminum. I am using the perforated aluminum to reduce weight, and I think an added benefit is that it will look cool when backlit.

Good luck with your vehicle.[/quote]

[Malicious]

Spandex, spandex, spandex...just don't put it over cellulite!