Hey guys. Has anyone ever tried tinting their interior lights a different colour? I'm not a fan of the super bright orange dome lights, especially when paired with the cool ambient and Abstract Ocean footwell lights, but unfortunately no one seems to sell different coloured LED bulbs for the footwell or dome lights. So I'm looking at options for tinting the existing bulbs.
I'm thinking of tinting my dome lights to a darker and cooler daylight colour temperature, or perhaps slightly blue, and turning the bright footwell lights a deep blue. I may also tint the ambient lights to a cooler colour temperature as well, though they may end up too dim. I can do this with sheets photographic colour-correction gels (like celophane) but this wouldn't be too elegant since I'll have to tape or glue them to the lights. This might be fine for the footwells and ambient lights since they're hidden, but the dome lights will be a challenge since they're in plain sight and are concave (and pressable).
Ideally, I'd like to coat the bulbs with some sort of removable paint or thin rubbery coating for a cleaner look. Does anyone know what the light transmission property is like for plasti dip? I know they make a "smoke" colour for this purpose but I wonder if I could use a thin coat of the blue colour for the effect I want. Or maybe some sort of non-permanent paint?
If not, I might just go ahead with the colour-correction gel option. I'd probably get 20x24" sheets of the following:
- Rosco 3220 Double Blue (10% light transmission for Abstract Ocean footwell lights): Rosco # 3220 Double Blue CTB Color Conversion Gel 101032202024
- Rosco 3202 Full Blue (36% light transmission, for dome lights): Rosco # 3202 Full Blue CTB Color Conversion Gel Filter RS320211
- Rosco 3204 1/2 Blue (52% light transmission, for ambient lighting): Rosco # 3204 1/2 Blue CTB Color Conversion Gel Filter RS320411
I have a sample pack of these gels, as well as many other colours (green, red, orange, etc.) if anyone is interested in seeing what other colours look like when applied to the lights.
Here are some shots I took with a few of my sample gels. They were all taken with the exact same exposure and white balance for direct comparison:
Covering the Abstract Ocean footwell light with blue gels:
Covering the dome light with blue gels:
For something a bit different, I also tried a couple of red gels for the footwells but I think they were both a bit too dark. There's also a "scarlet" gel with 20% light transmission which may work better, but I didn't try it. Either way, you'll definitely want the brighter Abstract Ocean bulbs if you want the coloured light to be visible.
Let me know what you think and if you have any thoughts on other options.
Thanks,
Michael
I'm thinking of tinting my dome lights to a darker and cooler daylight colour temperature, or perhaps slightly blue, and turning the bright footwell lights a deep blue. I may also tint the ambient lights to a cooler colour temperature as well, though they may end up too dim. I can do this with sheets photographic colour-correction gels (like celophane) but this wouldn't be too elegant since I'll have to tape or glue them to the lights. This might be fine for the footwells and ambient lights since they're hidden, but the dome lights will be a challenge since they're in plain sight and are concave (and pressable).
Ideally, I'd like to coat the bulbs with some sort of removable paint or thin rubbery coating for a cleaner look. Does anyone know what the light transmission property is like for plasti dip? I know they make a "smoke" colour for this purpose but I wonder if I could use a thin coat of the blue colour for the effect I want. Or maybe some sort of non-permanent paint?
If not, I might just go ahead with the colour-correction gel option. I'd probably get 20x24" sheets of the following:
- Rosco 3220 Double Blue (10% light transmission for Abstract Ocean footwell lights): Rosco # 3220 Double Blue CTB Color Conversion Gel 101032202024
- Rosco 3202 Full Blue (36% light transmission, for dome lights): Rosco # 3202 Full Blue CTB Color Conversion Gel Filter RS320211
- Rosco 3204 1/2 Blue (52% light transmission, for ambient lighting): Rosco # 3204 1/2 Blue CTB Color Conversion Gel Filter RS320411
I have a sample pack of these gels, as well as many other colours (green, red, orange, etc.) if anyone is interested in seeing what other colours look like when applied to the lights.
Here are some shots I took with a few of my sample gels. They were all taken with the exact same exposure and white balance for direct comparison:
Covering the Abstract Ocean footwell light with blue gels:
Covering the dome light with blue gels:
For something a bit different, I also tried a couple of red gels for the footwells but I think they were both a bit too dark. There's also a "scarlet" gel with 20% light transmission which may work better, but I didn't try it. Either way, you'll definitely want the brighter Abstract Ocean bulbs if you want the coloured light to be visible.
Let me know what you think and if you have any thoughts on other options.
Thanks,
Michael