# River Rock Frosting



## Phredd (Nov 3, 2005)

Thanks to Curbry, I finally got my River Rock lantern. I was hoping to etch the glass, but it's plastic, so no luck. However, I took it apart and, using a dremel with rounded stone, ground the inside of the inner globe. Here's how it ended up compared to the original.

Here's the inner globe after being ground:






And here's both in the dark: (right is original)





Finally, this is how they light the wall. Ignore the marks on the wall.
First is the with the ground globe:





And the clear globe:





It would probably work better with a metal brush. I'd also think the light would be more uniform frosting the outside globe, but that might be too ugly.

I should probably mention to be careful to keep the same orientation when you replace the circuit board. Just twist the very top to expose the board. Then unscrew the two nuts and lift the board (and the metal plate underneath - the wires are connected).

Phredd


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## InfidelCastro (Nov 3, 2005)

Very nice. I would buy one of them if they put a dimmer switch on. There was about 5 of these lanterns at Target yesterday. I bought another of their 2C flashlights yesterday, this time for my father. I resisted the temptation to also grab the last one on the rack.


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## Phredd (Nov 3, 2005)

InfidelCastro said:


> Very nice. I would buy one of them if they put a dimmer switch on. There was about 5 of these lanterns at Target yesterday.



Thanks. You should buy them all. You would definitely like it. It's only too bright if you look directly at it. And however many you don't want, you could easily unload here to other CPF'ers.

Phredd


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## Geddinight (Nov 3, 2005)

Very nice work. Your shots are very good. I might try this.


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## cratz2 (Nov 4, 2005)

I haven't bought one of the lanterns yet due to the ringy output but I think now that I've seen this, I'll have to pick one up.

Thanks for experimenting and for sharing.


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## Haz (Nov 4, 2005)

did you notice any significant reduction in output, ie throw?


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## hogx1 (Nov 4, 2005)

How did you get inside the dome? Is it easy?


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## Ikonomi (Nov 4, 2005)

Have you seen attowatt's mods in this thread? https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/92909&page=1&pp=40

It almost seems like yours lets more light through. Or would you say it's about the same? Great results, though.

I saw a rack full of these at a seldom-visited Target tonight. I only found one lantern at the other three I've been to recently. Maybe next week I can get one.


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## Phredd (Nov 4, 2005)

Ikonomi said:


> Have you seen attowatt's mods in this thread? ... It almost seems like yours lets more light through.



I remember reading about the glare, but I hadn't yet seen this. It looks like he did a more thorough job by sanding the outside. His probably has more uniform light dispersion, maybe lessening the output a little. I may try sanding the outer globe though I hate taking the chance of ruining it.

Phredd


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## Phredd (Nov 4, 2005)

hogx1 said:


> How did you get inside the dome? Is it easy?



Yes, it is easy. Unscrew the top. Then remove the two nuts. Then lift up on the circuit board AND the metal plate underneath at the same time. Then you can lift up the assembly with the inner globe. Just remember the orientation so that when you reassemble you won't swap the electical connection.

Phredd


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## Ivanhoe (Nov 4, 2005)

Phredd, how did you grind the "inside of the inner globe?" In your pic it is hard for me to tell - Is there more disassembly required than what is shown in your pic? or did you mean the "outside of the inner globe?" 

Whichever it turns out to be, it looks great! Just want to clarify before I tear into mine.


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## Phredd (Nov 4, 2005)

Ivanhoe said:


> Phredd, how did you grind the "inside of the inner globe?"



I used a Dremel with a small grinding stone and ran it all over the inside of the inner globe. Just be very gentle since it's thin plastic. I actually think that sanding the outside of the inner globe the way attowat did might be better.

Phredd


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## Ivanhoe (Nov 4, 2005)

Thanks Phredd. I think I may try sanding the outside of the innner globe.


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## hogx1 (Nov 4, 2005)

I think it might be best to do the inside of the inner globe. I could be wrong, but if you do the inside if there is any imperfections they might smooth out through the two other layers of plastic the light has to go through. OR these may act as a lens and heighten the imperfections?

Maybe try inside and outside just to be extra careful


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## attowatt (Nov 4, 2005)

Phredd said:


> I may try sanding the outer globe though I hate taking the chance of ruining it.
> 
> Phredd




Hi Phredd,

Dont do it... just kidding

I like the way you have done yours using a dremel. How come I didnt think of that. I think you are correct that yours puts out more light. I sat there 1 day looking at the lantern still in 1 piece, trying to figure how to attack/violate/mar/impale it  the cylindrical lens and figured I didnt want to do ALOT of sanding, so decided it would be easier to sand the little dome. I actually dissassembled it and put it back together 2 times before deciding to sand the outside of the half dome. It did take some time, about 15 minutes of sanding using small strips of sand paper to wedge in between the 2 columns. I have a dremel, and may try my other lantern using your method. I like the "marble effect" you have on yours, as others have stated it puts out more light but dont know hw much more?

Jim


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## Phredd (Nov 5, 2005)

attowatt said:


> I actually dissassembled it and put it back together 2 times before deciding to sand the outside of the half dome.



You have more patience than I have. Once I took it apart, I had to find something to do to something. I couldn't get the sandpaper in so I got the best dremel bit that would fit. If that didn't fit, I would have looked for acetone or other corrosive chemicals.

Phredd

PS - My daughter was getting mad, because every time I came upon one of your messages I couldn't help but crack up at your penguins. I kept trying to scroll up so I wouldn't have to look at it. Did you take that? It's hilarious.


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## John N (Nov 5, 2005)

InfidelCastro said:


> I would buy one of them if they put a dimmer switch on.



Ditto!

-john


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## Phredd (Dec 1, 2005)

I finally got around to frosting the outer globe. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything to etch the plastic. Actually, after just seeing my friends sunglasses start to disolve from 100% deet spray, I was tempted to try that on the lantern -- seriously -- it's very corrosive. I ended up sanding the inside of the outer globe, first with rough sandpaper, then with find sandpaper. It's a bit ugly, but at least the outside is still smooth.






Here's the three lanterns side by side:





And each one with the pattern on the wall.
Original:





Frosted inner globe:





Frosted outer globe:





Enjoy!
Phredd

Oops, I forgot to fix the exposure, so you should pay more attention to the pattern than to comparing brightness between photos.


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## greenLED (Dec 1, 2005)

1 vote for "frosted" outer globe. Nice!


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## Flotsam (Dec 1, 2005)

I hit the inner globe (inside) w/ some 0000 steel wool (I made a ball out of it, clamped it in a small hemostat, and then just spun it around the inside of the globe - it's very lightly frosted now) - not as nice as the other's have done, but I suppose I could be more aggressive w/ it - it did cut down some of the glare and smooth the rings a bit.

Sam


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## Phredd (Dec 1, 2005)

Flotsam said:


> I hit the inner globe (inside) w/ some steel wool ... just spun it around the inside of the globe...
> 
> Sam



Clever. I wonder if it would work to tape steel wool to a dremel tool or electric screwdriver.

Phred


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## BlackDecker (Dec 1, 2005)

Very interesting thread, and considering it's only a $20 lantern not a huge loss if you get carried away with the sanding. My only concern is that these lanterns have become quite popular and are difficult to find in stock at local Target stores.


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## Sigman (Dec 1, 2005)

Hmmmm, I was thinking...(uh-oh! )...what if one were to cut out some of the opaque plastic from a milk jug (or a bottle with more of a round shape - though it may be possible to get what you need from a gallon milk jug), roll it and slide it inside the outer globe?

There would probably be a nasty artifact where the seam would be though (maybe overlap it a little)? Completely reversible (though I can't think why anyone would want to go back to the original beam?)

Thoughts?


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## Sigman (Dec 2, 2005)

I DID IT! I made a diffuser out of a milk jug! Took a little trimming, and I put the seam right along one of the verticle posts. 

No need for pictures, it looks just like the "sanded/frosted outer globe" pic in Phredd's post above!

It's worthy, easy, and reversible if desired!

This has got to be the easiest way to do it...


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## Skyclad01 (Dec 2, 2005)

Theres also the option of sanding the dome with 150 grit fine sandpaper as explained here in post #80 http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=92909&page=3 which also looks to work just as good.


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## attowatt (Dec 3, 2005)

Sigman said:


> Hmmmm, I was thinking...(uh-oh! )...what if one were to cut out some of the opaque plastic from a milk jug (or a bottle with more of a round shape - though it may be possible to get what you need from a gallon milk jug), roll it and slide it inside the outer globe?
> 
> There would probably be a nasty artifact where the seam would be though (maybe overlap it a little)? Completely reversible (though I can't think why anyone would want to go back to the original beam?)
> 
> Thoughts?



Check out chvylvr35O's mod HERE. His pictures were worth a thousand words, but are not showing up for me. Basically cut the top/bottom of the walmart travel kits and slide them inside the lantern. Not bad for $1.50 mod.


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## Sigman (Dec 3, 2005)

Thanks for pointing me in that direction. It's tough to catch all of the posts around here - not to mention how many River Rock threads do we have going around here! 

Less work with the $1.50 travel container mod...provided one can get the right size. I'm pretty satisfied with my version, will probably cut a few more milk jugs up for a couple more lanterns.


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## QXS71 (Dec 3, 2005)

I'll let you guys in on a little secret of mine. A while back I picked up some Pal lights offered by Seacurity Products. They had a different lens in them than my original Pal light. They had tried to make a flood beam out of it and it was very ringy and not to my liking. The pattern sorta looked like a large eyeball was looking at you. So, I was thinking of a way to frost the lens to smooth the beam and make it more pleasing to look at. 

The same fix can be done on the lantern, and probably the next time I'm at my dad's I'll fix my RR lantern. you need an air compressor w/regulator, sandblaster and white silica sand or white playground sand. Set the regulator down so that the sandblaster just works, in my case it was 45psi, hit the lens with short blasts of sand. Blast to your liking. In the case of the Pal light lens, I hit each lens 4 or 5 times with about a 5 second blast each time. The sand really does a nice job of frosting the lens and cleans up the beam patterns. 

I think sandblasting the inside of the outer globe on the RR lantern would really make for a nice effect. 

If someone would post a pic for me, I'll take one of a sandblasted Pal light lens and regular lens side by side and email it to you. 

John


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## Agent_K (Dec 3, 2005)

QXS71 said:


> I think sandblasting the inside of the outer globe on the RR lantern would really make for a nice effect.
> 
> John



I sandblasted the inside of mine about 30 minutes before reading this. 
It really does make a nice effect :thumbsup:

Here are some pictures...


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## QXS71 (Dec 3, 2005)

Agent_K said:


> I sandblasted the inside of mine about 30 minutes before reading this.
> It really does make a nice effect :thumbsup:




Agent K, Great minds think alike!! great job. Did you regulate your sandblaster down or did you hit it full bore?


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## srvctec (Dec 4, 2005)

QXS71 said:


> I'll let you guys in on a little secret of mine. A while back I picked up some Pal lights offered by Seacurity Products. They had a different lens in them than my original Pal light. They had tried to make a flood beam out of it and it was very ringy and not to my liking. The pattern sorta looked like a large eyeball was looking at you. So, I was thinking of a way to frost the lens to smooth the beam and make it more pleasing to look at.
> 
> The same fix can be done on the lantern, and probably the next time I'm at my dad's I'll fix my RR lantern. you need an air compressor w/regulator, sandblaster and white silica sand or white playground sand. Set the regulator down so that the sandblaster just works, in my case it was 45psi, hit the lens with short blasts of sand. Blast to your liking. In the case of the Pal light lens, I hit each lens 4 or 5 times with about a 5 second blast each time. The sand really does a nice job of frosting the lens and cleans up the beam patterns.
> 
> ...



This is just what I was going to suggest. Use glass beads to blast either the dome or the inside of the outer globe.

As far as posting pics, just go to photobucket.com and they will host your pics for free so you can post them yourself.


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## Sigman (Dec 4, 2005)

Agent K, FANTASTIC!! That's what I'm talkin' bout!! :thumbsup:

(Can I send you some globes?  )


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## Agent_K (Dec 4, 2005)

I hit it full bore, about 120psi. It took quite a bit more blasting than I thought it would.



QXS71 said:


> Agent K, Great minds think alike!! great job. Did you regulate your sandblaster down or did you hit it full bore?


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## attowatt (Dec 4, 2005)

Agent_K said:


> I sandblasted the inside of mine about 30 minutes before reading this.
> It really does make a nice effect :thumbsup:
> 
> Here are some pictures...




Nice work Agent_K,

How much loss of light is there looking at these two pictures? 

AND

Can you see the refractions on the wall from the refractions that are seen in the last picture?

In other words would it be possible for you to take a picture with the lantern up against a white wall?

Thanks
Jim:wave:


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## srvctec (Dec 4, 2005)

Agent_K said:


> I hit it full bore, about 120psi. It took quite a bit more blasting than I thought it would.



Wow, that's surprising! I would think it would have done too much damage to the plastic full bore. Were you using regular fine grain sand (for sandblasting steel, I use "play sand" that has been sifted, cleaned and dried) or did you use glass beads?


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## Agent_K (Dec 4, 2005)

attowatt said:


> Nice work Agent_K,
> 
> How much loss of light is there looking at these two pictures?


Thanks! Not much loss of light.



attowatt said:


> AND
> 
> Can you see the refractions on the wall from the refractions that are seen in the last picture?


Not at all.



attowatt said:


> In other words would it be possible for you to take a picture with the lantern up against a white wall?
> 
> Thanks
> Jim:wave:



Sure! Here you go...

Original





Frosted


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## Agent_K (Dec 4, 2005)

srvctec said:


> Wow, that's surprising! I would think it would have done too much damage to the plastic full bore. Were you using regular fine grain sand (for sandblasting steel, I use "play sand" that has been sifted, cleaned and dried) or did you use glass beads?



I used fine silica sand.


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## attowatt (Dec 4, 2005)

Thanks for the pics again Agent_K,

Doesnt look like much loss:thumbsup:

SWEEEEEEEEEEEET


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## Flash_Gordon (Dec 4, 2005)

WOW! This is certainly the cleanest output yet. It actually looks like more output. Look at the amount of coverage toward the ceiling and floor. There must be some type of diffraction thing happening causing the light to bounce around and spread out this evenly.

Excellent result. Of course I don't have a sandblaster or know anyone who does. I assume you have to mask the outside of the globe. Just in case I find anyone who can do this what type of sand or beads did you use?.

Mark


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## srvctec (Dec 4, 2005)

Flash_Gordon said:


> WOW! This is certainly the cleanest output yet. It actually looks like more output. Look at the amount of coverage toward the ceiling and floor. There must be some type of diffraction thing happening causing the light to bounce around and spread out this evenly.
> 
> 
> Mark



That's what I thought as well- looks brighter because the light is spread out more evenly instead of concentrated in center.



Flash_Gordon said:


> Just in case I find anyone who can do this what type of sand or beads did you use?



Umm, see his response to my exact same question above in post #37.


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## GeoScouter (Dec 4, 2005)

Wow, that really looks nice. I just emailed a friend to see if he has a sand blaster. Hope he does.


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## Agent_K (Dec 4, 2005)

QXS71 said:


> I'll let you guys in on a little secret of mine. A while back I picked up some Pal lights offered by Seacurity Products. They had a different lens in them than my original Pal light. They had tried to make a flood beam out of it and it was very ringy and not to my liking. The pattern sorta looked like a large eyeball was looking at you. So, I was thinking of a way to frost the lens to smooth the beam and make it more pleasing to look at.
> 
> The same fix can be done on the lantern, and probably the next time I'm at my dad's I'll fix my RR lantern. you need an air compressor w/regulator, sandblaster and white silica sand or white playground sand. Set the regulator down so that the sandblaster just works, in my case it was 45psi, hit the lens with short blasts of sand. Blast to your liking. In the case of the Pal light lens, I hit each lens 4 or 5 times with about a 5 second blast each time. The sand really does a nice job of frosting the lens and cleans up the beam patterns.
> 
> ...



And here are the pics of John's Pal light lens:


> "In the pic, there is an original Pal light lens on the right, the lens on the left is a
> replacement I bought for it and sandblasted. Both lenses are sitting
> on the lens of my 4AA ProPolly Lux with the ProPolly turned on. The
> replacement lens has very similar optical properties to the original,
> ...


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## Geddinight (Dec 4, 2005)

Agent K, that's very impressive. The sand blaster does a nice job. 

I just went to Target to get another RR lantern at 10% off. I tried the method Phredd described and showed in the initial post. I used the wire brush that was suggested on the first inner lens. It seemed to be very quick to "frost" that way. I used a little extra fine steel wool and reassembled. I got the same look he got. I retrieved my original RR lantern and did the same wire brush and sandblasting and got the same great result.

I wish I had a sand blaster, as that seems to be the coolest. The rotary tool wire brush method was simple though. I think it took longer to disassemble and reassemble than to work on the lens. Thanks Phredd!


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## QXS71 (Dec 4, 2005)

Thanks for hosting my pics Agent K....
John


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## srvctec (Dec 5, 2005)

Agent_K said:


> And here are the pics of John's Pal light lens:



:kewlpics: I'm gonna have to do this to my Pal lights. I like the lights, but just couldn't stand the beam.


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## nemul (Dec 5, 2005)

That looks nice and smooth :thumbsup:


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## QXS71 (Dec 5, 2005)

srvctec said:


> :kewlpics: I'm gonna have to do this to my Pal lights. I like the lights, but just couldn't stand the beam.



srvctec, you'll really like it after you've done it......make for a nice "get up in the middle of the night w/o waking your wife light" 
haha, 
John


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## Sky (Dec 5, 2005)

Anyone know Target's stock number for the River Rock lantern? The Target stores that I have checked don't seem to know what I'm talking about.........................Sky


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## attowatt (Dec 5, 2005)

Target's stock number for the River Rock lantern is: 9092080533 description: 4AA 1 1W

10% off this week


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## Sky (Dec 6, 2005)

attowatt--Thanks for the stock number........Sky


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## deach (Dec 6, 2005)

Qxs did the two lenses on my pal lights....made them a totally usable light. Tnx John


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## srvctec (Dec 7, 2005)

QXS71 said:


> srvctec, you'll really like it after you've done it......make for a nice "get up in the middle of the night w/o waking your wife light"
> haha,
> John



Plan to do all of mine this weekend- was going to do them yesterday, but way too cold here. It's supposed to get up in the 40's in a few days (it's 10 degrees out right now). I don't have a blast cabinet, so I have to blast outside.

I'm thinking of using glass beads instead of sand. I wonder how that would turn out. Maybe it would have a little more throw since the light wouldn't be broken up quite so much by the glass beads?


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## QXS71 (Dec 7, 2005)

srvctec said:


> Plan to do all of mine this weekend- was going to do them yesterday, but way too cold here. It's supposed to get up in the 40's in a few days (it's 10 degrees out right now). I don't have a blast cabinet, so I have to blast outside.
> 
> I'm thinking of using glass beads instead of sand. I wonder how that would turn out. Maybe it would have a little more throw since the light wouldn't be broken up quite so much by the glass beads?



I'm not for sure how that would work. I don't have any glass bead to play with. My thought was that the sharp corners of the silica sand would dig in and actually increase the surface area, albiet at various angles making it a really floody beam. 
If you have a regular pal light though, you'll have a different lens than Deach and myself have. The Pal lights we just got were from Seacurity products, they were called SeaPals. SP had worked with Pal light to get more of a flood beam rather than a spot, if you could call that a flood beam???? We didn't know this when I ordered the lights... My original pal light really throws quite a beam for such a small led, absolutely night and day difference between the two Pal lights. Of course Pal light does not/will not offer the original lenses for sale, so you might just try one to start with. The replacement lenses I bought were in an assortment of small plastic lenses I picked up from www.sciplus.com but they are no where near the same lens as an original Pal light. Good luck, be curious to see pics when you're done. 
John


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## Arkayne (Dec 7, 2005)

Agent_K said:


> I sandblasted the inside of mine about 30 minutes before reading this.
> It really does make a



Do you think one of these aerosol powered mini-sandblasting kits will have enough oomph to get the same effect?


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## Arkayne (Dec 7, 2005)

sorrrry, I couldnt resist! lol


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## srvctec (Dec 7, 2005)

Arkayne said:


> sorrrry, I couldnt resist! lol



LMAO!!


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## db (Dec 7, 2005)

I placed a piece of wax paper inside the (outer) globe.
Cheep, effective, and reversible.
I used a small piece of scotch tape so it'd hold it's maintain it's "tube" shape inside the globe.
It's not as artifact-free as sand blasting.


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## Phredd (Dec 7, 2005)

Arkayne said:


>



If you're starting a group buy, count me in!


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## srvctec (Dec 8, 2005)

Arkayne said:


> Do you think one of these aerosol powered mini-sandblasting kits will have enough oomph to get the same effect?



I doubt it would. The problem here is twofold.

1. Not getting enough blast material to the surface of the globe to damage it effectively, and 

2. Probably not enough air volume to do the same amount of damage to the globe as a regular sand blaster.

It _may_ work, but it would probably take several cans of propellant to get the job done because of the relatively large surface area to be blasted for the small volume of air put out by that type of blaster. Those small blaster kits are for really small areas to be blasted. If it would work, it would probably take forever to blast the entire inner surface of the globe.


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## Arkayne (Dec 8, 2005)

srvctec said:


> I doubt it would. The problem here is twofold.
> 
> 1. Not getting enough blast material to the surface of the globe to damage it effectively, and
> 
> ...



I figured that was the case. Oh well, I need to get a compressor for the garage anyway so I might as well get a decent sandblasting kit while I'm at it.

Good info, thx!


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## srvctec (Dec 8, 2005)

Arkayne said:


> I figured that was the case. Oh well, I need to get a compressor for the garage anyway so I might as well get a decent sandblasting kit while I'm at it.
> 
> Good info, thx!



Here's the sandblaster I have and got it probably about 10-12 years ago for the same price. I'd like to get a benchtop blast cabinet, but don't have the funds for something like that as of the moment.


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## Arkayne (Dec 8, 2005)

srvctec said:


> Here's the sandblaster I have and got it probably about 10-12 years ago for the same price. I'd like to get a benchtop blast cabinet, but don't have the funds for something like that as of the moment.



Sears is just 1 block away! Thx for the info. Does Sears carry the abrasives?


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## srvctec (Dec 8, 2005)

Arkayne said:


> Sears is just 1 block away! Thx for the info. Does Sears carry the abrasives?



I don't know if they do or not. 

I just use "Kiddie's Fun Play Sand" 50 lb bag. It's screened, washed and dried. I got it at a local hardware store for around 3 bucks. It says on the bag not to use it for sandblasting, but it works just great- probably a liability issue- if someone uses it this way when it's not the intended purpose and puts an eye out, they can't be sued since it's not bagged for sandblasting.


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## shaman (Dec 8, 2005)

Hi all,

Just passing through and thought I would ask if anyone has tried wax paper? Just curious (for those who don't have the etch/frosting acid or a sand blaster).



Sincerely,

Shaman


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## srvctec (Dec 8, 2005)

shaman said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Just passing through and thought I would ask if anyone has tried wax paper? Just curious (for those who don't have the etch/frosting acid or a sand blaster).
> 
> ...



Yes, someone did. See post #57.


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## shaman (Dec 8, 2005)

Ah...

I tell ya I'm blind as a bat sometimes. Sorry about that. Glad to know it works!

Sincerely,

Shaman


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## Flying Turtle (Dec 8, 2005)

Wax paper works fine, but the Glad Press-n-Seal is better.

Geoff


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## srvctec (Dec 10, 2005)

QXS71 said:


> I'm not for sure how that would work. I don't have any glass bead to play with. My thought was that the sharp corners of the silica sand would dig in and actually increase the surface area, albiet at various angles making it a really floody beam.
> If you have a regular pal light though, you'll have a different lens than Deach and myself have. The Pal lights we just got were from Seacurity products, they were called SeaPals. SP had worked with Pal light to get more of a flood beam rather than a spot, if you could call that a flood beam???? We didn't know this when I ordered the lights... My original pal light really throws quite a beam for such a small led, absolutely night and day difference between the two Pal lights. Of course Pal light does not/will not offer the original lenses for sale, so you might just try one to start with. The replacement lenses I bought were in an assortment of small plastic lenses I picked up from www.sciplus.com but they are no where near the same lens as an original Pal light. Good luck, be curious to see pics when you're done.
> John



The lights I have are Safe-Lights but the lens looks the same as yours although the beam does not. These have the tiny little surface mount LEDs and don't put out a whole lot of light. Because of the small LEDs and matching light output, I probably won't blast the rest of mine. Obviously the throw is cut down tremendously. I suppose there would be a place for such a floody beam, but it's just not bright enough of a flood beam for me. I suppose it wouldn't be bad for navigating to the bathroom in the middle of the night, but I already have a light for that- an Inova microlight on a lanyard to hang around my neck. See pics below.



Original lens for Safe-Light.








Original lens after sandblasting.







Beamshot @ 40" with original lens.







Beamshot @ 40" with sandblasted original lens.







Left is original Safe-Light and right is sandblasted lens with the interior of dome
painted black as well for less side spill and rearward glare.







I posted this pic so others who wanted to sandblast these lenses could see a good way to hold them. I drilled a 5/8" hole with a Forstner bit on the edge of a scrap piece of wood and used a piece of paper to wedge the lens in the hole (the lens is just slightly smaller than 5/8"). I put the hole at the edge so I could easily pop the lens out when done blasting.


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## Illuminated (Dec 10, 2005)

Hmmmm...you guys are making me think...

I have a homemade blast box set up with crushed walnut hull media. It was built for use in cleaning an aluminum cylinder head before porting/polishing/flow testing.

I bet this media would slightly texture polycarbonate lens/globe material while leaving a more smooth surface, as opposed to the etching that sand or glass media does.

Damn, now I gotta try this to find out soon...

John


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## QXS71 (Dec 11, 2005)

srvctec said:


> The lights I have are Safe-Lights but the lens looks the same as yours although the beam does not. These have the tiny little surface mount LEDs and don't put out a whole lot of light. Because of the small LEDs and matching light output, I probably won't blast the rest of mine. Obviously the throw is cut down tremendously. I suppose there would be a place for such a floody beam, but it's just not bright enough of a flood beam for me. I suppose it wouldn't be bad for navigating to the bathroom in the middle of the night, but I already have a light for that- an Inova microlight on a lanyard to hang around my neck. See pics below.




When I sandblasted mine, I thought that if the outside was textured that the lens would still work to focus the light and the textured surface would diffuse it. Maybe by texturing the inside, the lens doesn't get a chance to do it's thing and so you end up loosing your throw??? With my particular Pal light I did loose some throw, but it wasn't that big of a deal for me. Sorry it didn't work out to your liking. 
John


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## srvctec (Dec 11, 2005)

QXS71 said:


> When I sandblasted mine, I thought that if the outside was textured that the lens would still work to focus the light and the textured surface would diffuse it. Maybe by texturing the inside, the lens doesn't get a chance to do it's thing and so you end up loosing your throw??? With my particular Pal light I did loose some throw, but it wasn't that big of a deal for me. Sorry it didn't work out to your liking.
> John



I debated for quite a while on whether or not to blast the inner or outer surface of the lens. I figured if I blasted the inside, the lens would take that diffused light and throw it. But I wasn't thinking- your assessment may be correct since the lens is focused on the LED at a certain distance. I'll try blasting the outer surface and see what happens.

I just got my RR lantern tonight at Target and will be blasting the inside of the outer globe of it tomorrow anyway.


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## srvctec (Dec 11, 2005)

srvctec said:


> I debated for quite a while on whether or not to blast the inner or outer surface of the lens. I figured if I blasted the inside, the lens would take that diffused light and throw it. But I wasn't thinking- your assessment may be correct since the lens is focused on the LED at a certain distance. I'll try blasting the outer surface and see what happens.
> 
> I just got my RR lantern tonight at Target and will be blasting the inside of the outer globe of it tomorrow anyway.



There is no difference in the throw or beam as far as I can tell after blasting the outside of the lens on another Safe-Light, which surprises me.

I got my RR Lantern blasted and WOW- totally different light! It now puts out a much more pleasing light.

I don't know if anyone noticed this or not, but with the top off and the light on, quite a bit of light diffuses through the bottom side of the circuit board. I painted the bottom of it with a silver paint pen where the light was coming through. This may be a little nit-picky, but hey, we can't can't have stray photons flying around and not being used!

A side note: The flasher function is now more functional as an emergency flasher because the entire globe lights up, making it more visible. I still wish it had low and high instead of the flasher, though.


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## Beacon of Light (Dec 12, 2005)

I tried this out last Friday evening, and I wanted to post this sooner but my new account wasn't activated until Sasha got it going this morning. 

It may be a little ghetto looking but I tried some small bubble wrap on the outer globe and two small pieces of scotch tape to hold it in place. Nice diffusion and the bubbles act as lenses so there are no artifacts and it displaces the light much more evenly. 

Totally reversable, and FREE considering everyone gets things through the mail that gets packed with bubble wrap. Once again this is the small bubble wrap and it works great. 

I haven't take the lantern apart so I can slide the bubble wrap on the inside of the lantern. Try it, it works great.


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## HGB (Dec 13, 2005)

Has anyone tried these two distinct mods:

1) Attowatt => "sand down the outside of the halfmoon shaped dome" >> https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1129309&postcount=80

2) Agent_K => "I sandblasted the inside of mine (outer globe) ..." >> https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1180303&postcount=36

I'd really like an opinion of someone who has seen both mods results, as in a comparison of quality of light patern and losses.

-


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## Beacon of Light (Dec 16, 2005)

An example of my ghetto version of frosting.


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## Beacon of Light (Dec 16, 2005)

The light may look underwhelming but I am trying to grind my Eveready Rechargeable Ni-cads into the dirt. The AA's basically only had 145 Mah's when tested on my La Crosse charger. I did the refresh cycle on all 4 cells and they are now about 500 - 550 Mah, so excuse the dimmer than normal output.

Still not too bad for diffusing purposes.


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## SIG (Dec 24, 2005)

A friend of mine bought the River Rock lantern and I showed him this thread. To "frost" the outer globe, we used Scotch tape around the centerline - It did a good job diffusing the light and eliminating most of the glare. It's a cheap reversible method, if anyone wants to try it.


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## Donald (Jan 26, 2006)

Flying Turtle said:


> Wax paper works fine, but the Glad Press-n-Seal is better.
> 
> Geoff



I used Glad Press-n-Seal Freezer wrap and it diffused fine. It is however very blue. I really don't need to add that much extra blue to a "white" LED. Does anyone know if the regular is less tinted?


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## flashlife (Apr 7, 2006)

I just used a piece of the white plastic Target bag that I carried the light home in. 

Works great! Cut a strip about 6" long X 2" wide...fit inside the outer globe and tape with transparent tape. My lightmeter says it reduces the output about 10%...not noticeable to the eye.


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## webley445 (Apr 7, 2006)

Wow, glas I saw this thread. Time to start experimenting. I really appreciate everyone's McGaiver-ized reversible methods. Great for those with limited means or access to equipment.
Keep up the good work fellas.


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## filibuster (Apr 11, 2006)

My wife was replacing a shower curtain which was clear in color but opaque in that it has some very fine lines as a texture in it. Turns out it was from the dollar store and even better a section of it made a great defuser for the RR lantern. I tried the glad wrap suggestion too and couldnt see much difference in light output between the wrap and the shower curtain. The only problem the shower curtain has is that it doesn't secure to the outside of the globe very well. If I opened it up and placed the piece of shower curtain on the inside I bet it would be as good or better than frosting.

Question: would phosphorus powder like what coats the inside of a fluorescent tube make a difference here or does all the phosphorus coatings require a UV source?


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## Phillipx (Jun 17, 2006)

A scotch brite pad is very pliable, inexpensive, irreversible but has the same characteristics of 000 steel wool. I frosted the inside of my lantern using this method and it looks great. Not as harsh (or financially commited) as sandblasting and more uniform than sandpaper. I'll post photos as soon as I get around to it.


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## srvctec (Jun 17, 2006)

Phillipx said:


> A scotch brite pad is very pliable, inexpensive, irreversible but has the same characteristics of 000 steel wool. I frosted the inside of my lantern using this method and it looks great. Not as harsh (or financially commited) as sandblasting and more uniform than sandpaper. I'll post photos as soon as I get around to it.



Welcome to CPF!!

Hold on to your wallet.


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## FlashlightPhreak (Jun 18, 2006)

I'm going fishing tomorrow night, think I'll use the Scotch Brite method on my RR. Hope I don't regret it.....


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## rawhide_clyde (Jun 22, 2006)

FlashlightPhreak said:


> I'm going fishing tomorrow night, think I'll use the Scotch Brite method on my RR. Hope I don't regret it.....



I just finished scotchbriting mine, easy and I'm digging the result!
Stay Safe,
Clyde


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## Shaocaholica (Jun 23, 2006)

Anyone here willing to sandblast mine if I paid for shipping and material costs?


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## Handlobraesing (Jun 23, 2006)

If its plastic, you can most likely achive the same result by rubbing it with acetone/nail polish remover.


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## FlashlightPhreak (Jun 29, 2006)

800 grade sandpaper frosted mine successfully...


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