Self-adhesive flocking in long tubes. Aaaaargh!!

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Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

Mike, pardon the stupid question but what is a lint remover? Bachelor question no doubt...

rolsen
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Post by rolsen »

Has anyone found these Beetle Black -cards (https://www.scrapbook.com/store/db-1898.html) from Europe?

Once again steep postage kept me from ordering.
- Rane

mawyatt
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Post by mawyatt »

Lou,

These are sticky tape rollers that you use to remove lint from jackets & cloths. You can find them at the Dollar Store, and other places.

I find them very handy for getting fibers from Protostar & Beetle Black materials.

Best,
Research is like a treasure hunt, you don't know where to look or what you'll find!
~Mike

mawyatt
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Post by mawyatt »

Rane,

I think Hobby Lobby also carries Beetle Black.

Best,
Research is like a treasure hunt, you don't know where to look or what you'll find!
~Mike

rolsen
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Post by rolsen »

mawyatt wrote:Rane,

I think Hobby Lobby also carries Beetle Black.

Best,
Thanks Mike,

Unfortunately "We do not accept international orders".

This is getting funny, when you need something special it's always in the states :D
- Rane

Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

Thanks Mike. There are no Dollar stores here in Ecuador but maybe something like this exists somewhere.

mawyatt
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Post by mawyatt »

Lou,

I would think that any store that handles clothes cleaning material should have them. They are just a 4" long 2" dia (like a cylindrical wheel) roll of tape with the sticky side out, you just roll over the area to pick up lint and stuff.

Best,
Research is like a treasure hunt, you don't know where to look or what you'll find!
~Mike

Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

Sounds like I could just make one myself when needed, right?

mawyatt
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Post by mawyatt »

Lou,

Sure you could make one, but they were only $1 at Dollar Store! Probably not much more elsewhere.

Best,
Research is like a treasure hunt, you don't know where to look or what you'll find!
~Mike

Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

$1 plus airfare....

Deanimator
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Post by Deanimator »

You could always use the technique that I use for lining my flower pot CFL reflectors with shiny foil tape.

I cut it into easily handled strips which I overlap radially along the long axis.

MarkSturtevant
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Post by MarkSturtevant »

For my flocking project, i used the Protostar with the adhesive backing. This was cut into strips and inserted one by one lengthwise into the tube. There are a few narrow seams between the strips, but these are not particularly reflective.
To ensure the strips would stay, I used a bit of modeling cement to supplement the adhesive backing.
The lint problem was addresed by picking up stray bits with fine forceps, and by using a loop of tape, sticky side out. This was used a bit like a lint roller to pick up the lint.
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters

genera
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Post by genera »

This method works pretty well for applying adhesive backed flocking inside cylinders. I know it seems like a lot of steps but after the first time it goes very quickly.

You'll need protostar, superglue, and a dowel at least a few inches longer than the protostar.

1) Cut your protostar to size plus about 5 to 10% for seam overlap.
2) Place the protostar on your desk, paper backing up.
3) Apply super glue to the adhesive backing paper at several spots along the top of the front edge.
4) Place the dowel in the superglue so that it's parallel to the front edge and hold it until the glue sets. The dowel should be several inches longer than the protostar.
5) Roll the protostar into a cylinder off to the side of the dowel and position the protostar roll and the dowel inside the cylinder.
6) Twist the dowel to start removing the paper backing. Remove about 1/2" or so to start.
7) Apply the strip of protostar with exposed adhesive to your cylinder taking care to keep them parallel. You can still manipulate it a little bit at this point.
8)Using another piece of dowel, a screw driver, or something similar press the protostar adhesive against your cylinder to endure a good bond.
9) Expose more adhesive by rolling more backing onto the dowel. Press and repeat until the cylinder is covered.

I got near perfect results the first time I tried this. The only problem was a small area near the back of the cylinder that didn't get pressed well enough to bond. The flocking in that area sits a little above the cylinder surface but not so much that it interferes with the light path.
-Gene

RobertOToole
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Post by RobertOToole »

My 20 foot roll of Prostar self adhesive tape has been sitting collecting dust, i don't think I will use it again.

Now I use black matte material in sheets from Amazon. I set up, roll up a sheet and slide it into the lens tube. Takes about 0.5 seconds and cuts flare perfectly.

The problem I have with adhesive materials like prostar is that you need to get every single part, every adapter, one tube or adapter left un-flocked can and will flare.

And to make things easy on everyone, Schneider V38 and Thorlabs parts have a smooth finish so even though there are anodized they can flare.

With the rolled sheet method you get the entire light path front to back at the same time in less than a second.

You can spend more time shooting or messing around with flocking material, I would shoot than flock.

Hope this helps.

Robert

Beatsy
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Post by Beatsy »

RobertOToole wrote:My 20 foot roll of Prostar self adhesive tape has been sitting collecting dust, i don't think I will use it again.

Now I use black matte material in sheets from Amazon. I set up, roll up a sheet and slide it into the lens tube. Takes about 0.5 seconds and cuts flare perfectly.

The problem I have with adhesive materials like prostar is that you need to get every single part, every adapter, one tube or adapter left un-flocked can and will flare.

And to make things easy on everyone, Schneider V38 and Thorlabs parts have a smooth finish so even though there are anodized they can flare.

With the rolled sheet method you get the entire light path front to back at the same time in less than a second.

You can spend more time shooting or messing around with flocking material, I would shoot than flock.

Hope this helps.

Robert
THIS! Took a while to figure it out - but easy to apply (and remove) beats geometric perfection every time!

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