I found a really easy way to make milky frosted glass for light fixtures

Honestly can't believe this worked so well. SOME NOTES, THOUGH
So I screwed something up with the pour you see here. But actually I'm not entirely sure I did? It looked a bit weird so I inspected it and genius me let the cups fall into the shade and ruined it so I needed to start over again.
When I did, I went just a touch heavier on the glue and also spent more time twirling the bowl around before flipping it over. I got much better coverage, probably because it let the mixture get a little tacky.
However, on the re-pour I decided to try not-at-all with regard to eliminating bubbles and... this was a mistake. You definitely want as few bubbles as possible for best results. Gotta build that vacuum chamber.
Bottom line, this appears to be a pretty decent setup but longevity is TBD. And if you've got some techniques to improve things please share below! But my overall recipe is as follows:

1. Mix equal parts by weight water, acrylic craft paint, and PVA glue. Stir thoroughly but avoid introducing air at all steps.
2. Pour onto inside surface of whatever you're coating. Rotate object for even coverage.
3. Continue rotating for 15 minutes, ensuring every area gets covered multiple times. Mixture should thicken slightly which helps ensure a uniform appearance.
4. Stand object up and let excess drip out, then dry overnight.

Good luck!

[TechnologyConnextras]

A lot of this is "Watch Alec handle an orb"
*I have some more advice after this attempt*
Something went a little wrong with this pour and I think it was that I didn't spend enough time twirling it around and/or there wasn't quite enough glue in the mix so the coating didn't thicken as much as I needed. The appearance as it dried wasn't perfectly opaque. I cleaned it up and started again with better results. So here's my overall guide in written form:
1. Mix equal parts by weight water, acrylic craft paint, and PVA glue. Consider going a touch heavy on the glue.
2. Stir thoroughly while avoiding introducing bubbles.
2. a. If ya gotta vacuum chamber, have at it. Or you can try some other methods to reduce bubbles. Some bubbles are OK as many will pop, but too many and you'll have speckles here and there.
3. Pour mixture onto inside surface of glass. _Spend a long time (at least 15 minutes) moving the object around and repeatedly re-coat all areas as the mixture begins to thicken._ You'll see what I mean.
4. Elevate item and allow excess to drip out. Allow to dry overnight.
Good luck!

[Blake-jllh]

I love how this channel is part history of a hardly known format, part how complicated tech works, and part Alec's apparent obsession with light bulbs

[trimeta]

When you showed the original lamp, and then brought out the frosted version, I felt like there was a missed opportunity to talk about the magic of buying two of them.

[questjon]

This is very similar to what my Dad does for shading his greenhouse in the summer when it gets too hot. He uses PVA mixed with powdered chalk and water. It's handy because the whole thing can be peeled of in one piece when the temperature drops back down.

[ZakkandtheJ]

Alec I don't know how you managed to pull it off but you finally made watching paint dry interesting.

Cheers to you brother

[jameswoodish]

As someone who often thins paint for transparency, my recommendation instead of PVA glue and water, would be to just head to your local craft store and pick up a bottle of clear acrylic paint medium. It will still be thinable with water, but it will dive a more durable finish that will absolutely not yellow with age.

[artdonovandesign]

I've been designing and building lamps for 35 years (professionally) and I am TRULY impressed with your results!

[julienmans]

This may truly be the best YouTube channel ever created. Mostly subjects I don't remotely care about and yet I'm still watching the whole thing with all my attention, and still end up remembering and using what he explains in my life somehow

[libertyjones]

I love these channels because it feels equally relatable and like a kind grandpa is leading everyone through a project.

[kenjinks]

From a person who paints with acrylics, bleached titanium white pigment is opaque, zinc white pigment is translucent, you could use unbleached titanium to get a warm white. As a side note I use a mirror as my palette when painting so I can figure out just that, the transparency, and it peels right off to be used again and again. Perhaps zinc white may give a more frosted appearance. Acrylic gel medium can be watered down, the dif between liquid, gel medium and paste is the length of the molecule; liquid is short and runny, paste is long chains and is thick. All can be watered down. Acrylic artists mediums tend not to yellow.

[Giepie]

Alec found a unique way to make his audience watch (literally) paint dry! 😁

Excellent video!

I'm wondering if there's a way to give it a mat finish (inside) to help with diffusion of light (ideal for LEDS)

[plzletmebefrank]

I'm curious how it'd look with green since you mentioned coloring. Sorta like those old brass desk lamps with green covers.

[birdbrain]

Honestly I *love* that lamp design in general save for the colourless glass - very easy to see how that not only looks weird but also how it makes the light less pleasant overall. I wonder how much more popular it would have been if they'd used milk glass or some other colour instead.

[johnscully]

Couple of suggestions:
For people who do not have a vacuum chamber (we do, for metal casting), you can use a "small device that vibrates at high speed", usually battery powered and available in multiple sizes and shapes. Applied to the base of the container it will encourage small bubbles to merge and move to the surface.
Next - a mixture like this can stand for a long time if tightly capped. mix in a jar that is "just large enough", cap it and let sit for a day. virtually all bubbles will come out.
next - to pop bubbles have some toothpicks handy.
And in place of cups, purchase model maker stands at a craft store. They are just small wire or plastic pyramids that are designed to support something with minimum contact area.

[jakalair]

This would be fun to see in green for me. I always loved the old desk lamps with the green glass.

[TheGuitarman]

The "Milk Glass" fixture reminds me of all of those real Milk Glass ceiling lights and table lamps that my grandparents had in their 1950's constructed home, and they all eventually got replaced over the years. The clear fixture looks like the dome on top of the robot from the original "Lost In Space" TV series. 😉

[TombunnyHunter]

I swear, Alec has an bet with himself at this point. "Ok, what mindbogglingly boring topic can I make a video on that everyone will still sit through and be entertained?" Seriously, he is an artist with these topics. He shows us the art and beauty of the mundane.

[IACJLD]

Painter's tape around the edge to make a lip might buy you some time before the drips get too out of hand. Another tip is doing a high pour to prevent bubbles. If you don't have a vacuum chamber and you want to get the bubbles out of a thick liquid mix, pouring it high so it makes a thin long stream helps prevent them.

[tannerfoust]

17:11 I'm unreasonably happy to learn there's someone else out there in the world that feels the exact same way about owning a vacuum chamber as I do.

[SerifSansSerif]

This is the first time the secondary channel has been recommended to me, and though the first channel is my favorite, I love how informal this one is and how relaxing it is to see Alec like this