Any bodge/hack for lumo dots?

darius · October 2022

Does anyone have a hack or bodge that has worked to temporarily achieve lumodots on the neck (edge).

My Wolfgang has them (pro fitted) and they are a life saver at dark gigs.

My Frankie does not, and i was hitting bum notes all over the place last gig. Not fully committed to modding the neck on this yet, so is there anything that you know works?

My only plan is lumo paint, but havent got any and dont know if it will be wiped after 5 secs or 5 years.

And if lumo paint, which one?

Roland · October 2022

I dabbled with luminous paint about 15 years ago. Can’t remember which brand. It wasn’t very luminous, and wore off over two gigs. Humbrol white gloss enamel was more visible, and lasted longer.

digitalscream · October 2022

It's actually not that difficult to install them. The only hard part is using a pin to make an indentation in the centre of the existing dots so you can drill them out by hand with a drill bit without slipping.

xGizmo · October 2022

You can get some luminous powder's off of ebay/amazon and mix them with some gel super glue,then drop that on to grease proof paper to create some little domes that can be glued/added to your side markers then charged them with a UV pen light.

Without removing the one's already in there though your going to feel andthing you add on top, they also need so mass so the particals can be charged so they will last a while.

WezV · October 2022

I ordered some powders to try making some last year but this thread has made me realise they never turned up.

I think Luminlay are now shipping to the UK again.

If you want to use the powders, you can drill out the existing dot, fill the hole with powder, then add a drop of thin superglue. The other easy way would be to mix the powder with resin, and make a small sheet you punch dots from

digitalscream · October 2022

WezV said:

I ordered some powders to try making some last year but this thread has made me realise they never turned up.

I think Luminlay are now shipping to the UK again.

If you want to use the powders, you can drill out the existing dot, fill the hole with powder, then add a drop of thin superglue. The other easy way would be to mix the powder with resin, and make a small sheet you punch dots from

Another way, if you don't want to order Luminlay from overseas, is to buy some glow-in-the-dark PLA filament for 3D printers. It's usually 1.75mm thick, which should be OK-ish for side dots.

At about £17 for half a kg of the stuff, it's a hell of a lot cheaper.

SteveRobinson · October 2022

Hosco do 3mm side dots, about £10 for ten.

damm73 · October 2022

SteveRobinson said:

Hosco do 3mm side dots, about £10 for ten.

Thanks for that tip - I had just been looking for some Luminlay ones and balked at the prices!

PeteC · October 2022

On a very general note - if you need to make any luminous dots from scratch then Staedler Fimo clay has a luminous clay in the range that can be baked in the oven. Its only a few quid for a packet of clay that would be enough for hundreds of dots

Keefy · October 2022

I have a couple of instruments that suffer from indistinct side dots. I just dab on some white paint from a Posca pen every few gigs (it does wear off). I’m not convinced that luminous dots would be any more visible after you’ve caught an eye-full of stage lighting.

darius · October 2022

As I said above I’m a massive fan of the luminlays. They are very visible when there’s little or no light, and I only need a tiny glance to get my bearings, mid note shifting. If there’s a blue light pointing anywhere nearby they turn into virtual LEDs.
If I want them on the guitar I’ll get them pro installed. Just don’t want to commit to mod-img a guitar that may not be a keeper, I’m enjoying gigging the Frankie but I’m pretty sure I’ll want to sell it on at some point.

Meanwhile I got some lumo paint from b&q. It’s superbly lumo. But tests show dots are definitely going to need some height (no surprise) so will be bumpy. Which will probably suck.

LastMantra · October 2022

Keefy said:

I have a couple of instruments that suffer from indistinct side dots. I just dab on some white paint from a Posca pen every few gigs (it does wear off). I’m not convinced that luminous dots would be any more visible after you’ve caught an eye-full of stage lighting.

I was just going to say I'd have thought white would be easier to see, unless you're playing in total darkness.

Cheesyfeet · October 2022

This has got me thinking, could something like this: https://www.screwfix.com/p/nite-glo-photoluminescent-fire-exit-running-man-right-sign-150-x-300mm/457fv be used as a material to make dots out of. It's not particularly thick and the description says it has a "polyester film", which presumably is the photoluminescent bit. Could be a nice cheap source material, if a bit wasteful

Kittyfrisk · October 2022

Cheesyfeet said:

This has got me thinking, could something like this: https://www.screwfix.com/p/nite-glo-photoluminescent-fire-exit-running-man-right-sign-150-x-300mm/457fv be used as a material to make dots out of. It's not particularly thick and the description says it has a "polyester film", which presumably is the photoluminescent bit. Could be a nice cheap source material, if a bit wasteful

I saw quite a bit of this type of material installed on the exit routes of traditional photographic darkrooms.
The polyester film is to protect the base material from washing/wiping damage.
It charges quickly upon exposure to light, but loses luminescence & visibility over a fairly short time, so in darkness isn't too good to see.
I might still have some somewhere, so if you would like it, PM me & I'll send you some.
Personally, I'd look to buy some Super Luminova type powder & mix it with PVA.

Flip · October 2022

digitalscream said:

It's actually not that difficult to install them. The only hard part is using a pin to make an indentation in the centre of the existing dots so you can drill them out by hand with a drill bit without slipping.

I recently installed non-luminous dots in my grandson's guitar using ivory-coloured 1.5mm rod. I found a spring-loaded centre punch invaluable.

Cheesyfeet · October 2022

Hi Kittyfrisk, I don't have any builds on the go at the moment due to what seems like endless things needing to be done to the house, so don't need anything for now. Thanks for the offer though

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Any bodge/hack for lumo dots?

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