To Paint or Dye Paper Lamp Shade?

[MBrennan]

So here is the plan:

Bought a couple hanging lights and big round paper (globe) shades with the thought of making lighted, hanging pumpkins. The question is - would it be better to paint or dye the paper shades?

I'm not sure if paint would be too opaque to show light through. Also, if I used a UV light inside, is there a way to make a dye fluoresce?

Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[debbie5]

I spray painted mine a few years ago. Standard blacklight bulbs are so hot, I wouldn't take a chance & put them in a paper lantern. I ended up throwing them out as they leaked too much light out into surrounding area (I like things dark).

[MBrennan]

I agree about the bulbs being too hot. I have some LED black light bulbs that are cool to the touch when on that I was going to use.

How did the shades look with the paper spray painted? Was it too opaque to give a good "glow", or is that what was too bright?

[austenandrews]

I'm looking to do something similar this year. Watching this thread with interest.

[MBrennan]

So I did a bit of a tester.

I painted the shade with some orange fluorescent paint. We still need to paint on a face.

I put the LED blacklight inside, with not great results. It wasn't very bright.

Then I hung the shade from a recessed light in my daughters bay window. It looked much better. And the fact that the dim-able light isn't actually inside the shade means it won't get hot enough to start a fire.

I think I may use a low wattage bulb (like a night light) in my original lamp cord idea. Will look even better hooked up to a Flicker Circuit.

Here is a pic of the painted shade while drying.