haha. ok, this is a completely random idea...but what if instead of trying to add paint and things to the cube, we took a heat gun and melted the LED a little bit. not a lot, but maybe just a little. that will either work well, do absolutely nothing, or make it uneven and look terrible. but it may work.
Dang. What are they covered in? I thought it was just plastic. Maybe not?
So far, searching the internet has lead me to "plastic" and "epoxy resin", which is a bit too general.
My guess is that heat will pop the LEDs before diffusing, but its worth a try.
It also seem that I've messed up LEDs by getting super glue on them (the fumes can diffuse the plastic).
suicidalacorn:
haha. ok, this is a completely random idea...but what if instead of trying to add paint and things to the cube, we took a heat gun and melted the LED a little bit. not a lot, but maybe just a little. that will either work well, do absolutely nothing, or make it uneven and look terrible. but it may work.
It may deform them but it won't roughen the surface...
Superglue and toilet paper actually works pretty well, the hard part is getting an even coating of glue, and paper. Superglue and cornstarch also worked well, but is also dependant on an even coating of glue.
I tried putting the LED in a drill, and used a file, it worked pretty good, only took about a minute, but leaves circular scratch marks in the LED. The hard part was getting concentric in the chuck. (a 4 jaw chuck would be a lot better than 3 jaws)
I tried using a lighter to melt the plastic, and it did sort of smoke it a little bit, but I dont want to get it hot enough to melt, its just too messy and stinky. but if you could get the surface to liquify, then roll it on a cloth, you might be able to unsmooth the surface.
Im also wondering if just diffusing the tip would be good enough?
Hippynerd:
Im also wondering if just diffusing the tip would be good enough?
it probably would be. all (at least most) of the light is going out through the tip. even if that was just diffused with sandpaper or a file, it might just be enough.