ideas for making plastic white?

[chrisatpsu]

i was looking around my basement trying to come up with ideas...

I saw a clear 2 liter bottle and thought it could be a good start to something. But i'd need to paint it white of color it somehow.
I don't really want to sand it as i don't think it'll come out even enough.

so any ideas on making this white? paint? what kind should i start with?

[LondoB5]

Paint the inside. As long as the inside is dry, the paint type probably won't matter.

If you want to paint the outside, you need to sand first. Then use a krylon spray paint. Works well on metal or plastic (I used similar stuff to 'rattlecan' my first motorcycle). Painting the inside will be easier, but not sure of the effects, though (reflectance, etc).

[Night Owl]

Um, what do you want to do with it?  If you plan on lighting it from the inside (like a giant light cover) then painting it white will allow little to no light transmission.  Well, I guess you would have to factor in the type of paint you use and how bright the light is.  Depending on the paint you use, it might not stick to the bottle.  The bottle also flexes a bit so that can cause paint cracking and peeling.  I use 2L bottles to make water rockets with my kids and normal spray paint comes off.  Especially after you pressurize and launch it a few times.    You might want to try sanding it a bit first to see how you like it.  If you use a fine grit, you will end up with a frosted look.  If nothing else, it will help the paint to stick.  You also might want to try the Fusion line of Krylon spray paint.  It is supposed to bond to plastic better than normal paint.

If you paint the inside, then you don't have to worry about it scratching off.  Since spraying won't work, use a solvent based paint, not latex (it won't stick).  It will take a while to cure though.

[dudehenry3]

If you have a Hobby Town U.S.A around you.They have this paint for painting the plastic shell of rc cars they have all diffrent colors It is called Faskolor.  Paint for Lexan model car bodies and other surfaces. i belive the part number you are looking for PAR40000.  Hope that helps

[mms]

I used vinyl (or whatever material) tablecloths from the $1 store to wrap some storage boxes to make "presents".  They're cheap and they're translucent enough for blinky flashy.  I used a combination of red tablecloths with a standard nightlight (also at the $1 store).  They held up to the weather quite nicely.  Worst case scenario is that I have to buy new tablecloths for $1 if it rips/fades.

Depending on what you're doing, maybe wrapping the bottle with a white tablecloth would diffuse the light enough?

Could you roll up a piece of paper so that it fits through the mouth of the bottle and then let it "unroll" inside the bottle?

The r/c car paint is a good idea too.  (Pour paint in the bottle and roll it till the paint covers.)

Keep us posted!

[kjam22]

I paint rc cars and I practice new effects on plastic bottles all the time.  Just rough up the inside with green scrubbing pad then paint.  You can get paint at michaels (use the 50% coupon) called Createx that is the same as faskolor