glow in the dark powder mixed with paint

  • It is non-toxic, non-radioactive, and eco-friendly
  • Can be mixed with paint for building decoration or art painting
  • Used on walls and road markings to improve visibility and safety
  • Many color options are available
  • Mix with transparent, colorless paint (pH 6-8) for best results
  • Enhances nighttime visibility and artistic creativity

table of content

Other Mediums

1. Paint Types for Glow in the Dark Applications

Glow in the dark powders need to be mixed with colorless, transparent, and neutral paint with PH of 6-8

Water-based paint and oil-based paint are both applicable. For water-based paint, waterproof-grade powder is required.

Colored paint will obscure the luminous effect of the glow in the dark powder. It is not suitable for use.

2. Common Applications of Glow in the Dark Paint

Safety and escape signs, road markings, building decorations, clothes and shoes, toys, household products, fishing gear, jewelry, art paintings, nail polish, etc.

3. Safety of Glow in the Dark Powders

Glow in the dark powder is safe, non-toxic and eco-friendly. It has passed the European standard SVHC testing, ensuring they can be mixed with paints for use in toys, tableware, clothes etc.

4. Glow in the Dark Powder Color Options

4.1 GlowUp® glow-in-the-dark powder are available in three series, offering 19 colors totally:

Natural color series: 4 colors; Dyed glow powder series: 8 colors; Red and white glow powder series: 6 colors.

4.2 Differences in Color Properties and Applications

4.2.1 Natural Color Series

The body color of this series is milky white or grayish white. It offers the highest brightness and the longest afterglow duration, with a minimum visual perception of 8-10 hours in a completely dark indoor environment. High brightness grade can reach 10-12 hours. This series is suitable for products that require high brightness and long-term illumination, such as safety and emergency signage, outdoor markings, or some consumer products that have high requirements.Glow-in-the-dark color chart showing yellow-green, blue-green, sky blue, and purple day and night glow effects

4.2.2 Dyed Color Series

This series provides a variety of body colors during the daytime, but their glow brightness is lower and the afterglow time is shorter. They can be perceived by the naked eye for about 2-3 hours in a completely dark indoor environment. They are suitable for products requiring colorful appearance in the daytime and can accept lower glowing brightness. The applications include clothing patterns, toys, accessories, and craft items, etc.

This series is a physical mixture of the natural color series and fluorescent powders. Customers can also mix according to their own specific needs.

Eight glow-in-the-dark dye colors with daytime colors and night glow effects






4.2.3 Orange-Red Series

The body color of this series is milky white or orange-red (the two orange-red powders have a distinct odor). This series has the weakest afterglow brightness and the shortest glow duration, with only a few minutes to around half an hour. Due to its cost being the highest among the three series, its common applications are art painting, jewelry, or some high-value products.
Glow-in-the-dark red and white dyes, featuring 6 different orange-red powders and 1 white glow powder





4.3 Differences Between Glow-in-the-Dark Powder and Ordinary Dyeing Pigments

For ordinary color pigments, for a certain application, customers only need to get the color card and choose what they like, but luminous powder can’t be like this. There are some differences in the characteristics and performance of different colors of luminous powder. The choice of color is determined by the usage. We will communicate with customers about their specific needs for the end products, such as daytime body color, brightness requirements, production methods, and budgets, etc., so as to accurately select the applicable colors for the customers.

4.4 Custom Colors by RAL or Pantone Code

We are unable to offer color customization based on RAL or PANTONE color codes because:
  • Color matching conditions require color stability and reproducibility in order to tailor formulations to specific color standards. However, the body color of luminous powder is significantly affected by the ambient light and cannot be reproduced and kept stable.Different intensities of irradiation light and the duration of irradiation will make the luminous powder emit different brightness of light, thus showing different body colors. When the luminous brightness is greater than the brightness of the surrounding environment, the body color of the luminous powder will appear as a brighter yellow-green. With the continued release of light for a period of time, the luminous brightness is close to the ambient brightness, the luminous powder body color will return to the body of milky white. This is a dynamic process, so the luminous powder body color will continue to change, and there is no fixed reproducibility.

Therefore, when using luminous powder to match colors, it is not possible to achieve accurate color matching based on RAL or PANTONE color numbers.

4.5 The Body Color of Dyed Glow Powders May Not Always Match Their Glow Color

Basically, for dyed glow powders, the body color and glowing color are nearly the same, but there are a few exceptions.Take the pink-red dyed glow powder as an example. This glow powder is made by natural yellow-green with pink fluorescent powder physically mixed together.

For body color: The natural yellow-green has a milky white body color, but when mixed with pink fluorescent powder, the base color appears pink, which is the pink-red color.

For glowing color: The natural yellow-green ones emit a yellow-green glow. However, when mixed with pink fluorescent powder, the two colors combine, resulting in the final glow color as orange.

This example shows that some dyed glow powders may have a different base color and glow color. This phenomenon is determined by the properties of light combination, and it’s important to keep this in mind when using these powders in practical applications.

5. Glow Powder Proportion in paint

The proportion of glow-in-the-dark powder in paint directly affects the glowing paint performance.
  • Normally, the recommended proportion is 15%-40%. Around 30%-40% is the most common choice since it can provide a relatively better glowing effect.
    • Here, 40% means:

      40% luminous pigment + 60% clear paint = 100% finished glow paint.

  • If the ratio is below 15%, the glow effect may not be fully visible. If the ratio exceeds 40%, such as 50% or 60%, the cost increases without a significant improvement in the glow effect, but the cost will still increase. Therefore, a 40% ratio is considered as the reasonable maximum proportion.
  • In practical applications, the best ratio should be determined based on the desired glow effect and cost factors.
Glow-in-the-dark ink mixed with varying addition rates, showcasing glow effects

6. Methods for Applying Glow in the Dark Paint

Glow in the dark paint can be applied using common methods such as rolling, brushing, and spraying.

When using a spray gun, a top-feed spray gun is recommended. It is important to provide the nozzle sizes so that we can match the appropriate particle size of the glow powder to ensure optimal application and glow effect.

7. Precautions When Making Glow in the Dark Paint

7.1 Glow in the Dark Powder Physical Properties and Mixing State

Glow in the dark powder is in the form of tiny particles and has a hard texture. During the mixing process with paint, it is only suspended and dispersed in the paint liquid system. It will not melt.

7.2 Settlement Problems and Solutions

The density of luminous powder is relatively large, reaching 3.6g/cm³. After mixing it with paint, it is easy to settle dow if it is left for some time. In order to ensure product quality and use effect, it is recommended to use soon after mixing. If due to special circumstances, such as making luminous paint for sale and having to store it for a period of time, it is necessary to improve the sedimentation problem by adjusting the viscosity of the system to ensure that the luminous powder is evenly distributed in the paint liquid.

7.3 Choosing Mixing Tools and Key Operation Points

Avoid using iron stirring rods and mixing containers to stir paint and luminous powder. Glass or ceramic materials is suggested. Due to the high hardness of the luminous powder particles, it is easy to generate high friction when stirring with iron tools, causing impurities to mix into the paint and affect the product quality. If a stainless-steel mixer is necessary, be sure to adjust the speed to the lowest and use the inching control mode to effectively reduce friction during stirring and prevent impurities from being generated.

7.4 Primer Coating Layer

It is recommended to use white primer before glowing layer. White primer has good reflective properties and can effectively enhance the luminous effect and make the luminous brightness reach the best state. Luminous paint should be avoided on dark backgrounds, because dark colors will absorb some light, weaken the luminous brightness , and cannot fully show the luminous effect.

8. Common Issues and Solutions

8.1 Issue 1: Glow in the Dark Paint Appears Layered after Mixing, with the Bottom Bright and the Top Lacking Brightness

Possible Reason: Glow powder settling.

Glow powder has a high specific gravity of 3.6g/cm³, and if the mixture is left for too long, or if the used paint has low viscosity, settling is likely to occur. This settlement makes the luminous powder in the mixed paint distribution uneven, with a large amount of powder at the bottom, resulting in higher brightness at the bottom while the upper part brightness is obviously insufficient.

Solutions:

It is recommended to use the mixed paint immediately after mixing, in order to maximize the luminous powder distribution uniformity.

In the mixing process, the viscosity of the paint can be adjusted by adding thickeners, anti-settling agents, and other additives to effectively inhibit the settlement of luminous powder. When implementing viscosity adjustment, the following three key factors need to be considered comprehensively:

  • Emulsion properties: Different chemical composition, molecular structure, and physical properties of the paint viscosity are different, and there are differences in the response to the thickening agent and anti-settling agent. It will significantly affect the final system viscosity regulation effect.
  • Glow-in-the-dark powder particle size: Glow-in-the-dark powder with larger particle size may need higher system viscosity to maintain its suspension state, whereas the finer particle powder can be stabilized with lower viscosity paint.
  • Proportion: The proportion of luminous powder will have an important effect on the rheological properties of the system. When the proportion is high, the viscosity of the paint needs to be adjusted higher to realize a good mixing effect.
  • Example: Take our self-produced glow-in-the-dark paint as an example, we use water-based acrylic emulsion with 25 – 30 micron super-bright glow powder. When the addition ratio is 40%, the viscosity is about 100KU.

8.2 Issue 2: The Mixture Appears Clumps, Whitening, Foams, and Does Not Glow after Absorbing Light

Possible Reason: The luminous powder is hydrolyzed.

When the paint is water-based paint, but non-waterproof luminous powder is used, the powder will be hydrolyzed, causing the luminous powder structure to be destroyed, thereby losing its luminous performance.

Solution:

It needs to be replaced with waterproof luminous powder. Waterproof grade powder has a special protective layer that can resist the erosion of water-based paint and avoid hydrolysis reaction, thus ensuring that it can maintain its own luminous performance after mixing with water-based paint, and also ensure the stability of the mixture.

8.3 Issue 3: Sparkling or Spotty Glow Shows in the Mixing Paint or Paint Layer

Possible Reason:

The glow powder has not been mixed evenly, causing clumping of the powder particles.

Solutions:

Extend Mixing Time:

Appropriately extend the mixing time to ensure that the luminous powder in the mixing system can be fully dispersed, so that the luminous powder is uniformly distributed in the whole material, to avoid the spotty performance caused by insufficient dispersion.

Add Glow Powder in Small Batches:

Add luminous powder in a small amount and several times, so that it can be uniformly integrated into the system, to prevent the dispersion difficulties caused by adding too much at one time.

Use a Dispersant:

Add an appropriate amount of dispersant during mixing. The dispersant helps reduce the attraction between particles, allowing the glow powder to disperse evenly in the mixture, improving both the dispersion and the overall product quality.

8.4 Issue 4: Uniformly Mottled Glow Appearance on the Finished Paint Layer

Possible Reason:

The particle size of the glow powder is too large, leading to lower coverage.

Solution:

Replace the glow powder with smaller particle size. From the luminous powder’s own characteristics, the smaller its particle size, the lower the brightness. However, when the small particle size is applied to the product, due to its higher coverage and more evenly distribution, the final product may show a more excellent luminous effect.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

A transparent and colorless paint with PH 5-8 is needed. Any solid color will cover the luminence.

15%-40% is okay. the higher dosage is , the brighter the paint is. according to our test, 40% is highest.

Yes, we have waterproof powder available for waterbased paint.

Do not stir with ironware.

Use while mixing to prevent precipitation.

Avoid dark color base,and use white paint as the primer ,which can make the paint brighter.

The luminous paint can be brushed, rolled or sprayed. If you use a spray gun to spray paint, you need to use a upper-pot spray gun, and you need to select the particle size of luminous powder according to the nozzle size of the spray gun.

Mixing the transparent paint and glow powder physically according to the specified ratios with additives (such as thickener, dispersant, anti-setting agent) if needed. See this video: How to mix