# Cheap Light Cans Build



## matrixmom (Oct 29, 2010)

Great idea!!!
The bulb wont melt the plastic?


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## Fester D Krepid (Oct 17, 2014)

Excellent Idea, Better than the Duct tape method I've used in the past.


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## Blarghity (Sep 2, 2012)

matrixmom said:


> Great idea!!!
> The bulb wont melt the plastic?


This was my first thought. I've seen those containers melt and deform from hot tap water. However, the OP is using fluorescent bulbs, which generate far less heat that the spotlight bulbs you usually use in something like that. Now the containers wonton soup comes in from Chinese restaurants, on the other hand, being microwave safe for reheating as well as holding hot soup for hours, might make a better choice.


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## clyparkr (Oct 19, 2010)

Holy hell... I'm heading to home depot today and grabbing some of these if they have them. 

Thanks!


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## ryanlamprecht (Oct 8, 2009)

Yeah, I thought the same thing about the plastic getting hot, but so far so good. Also, I've run them through the hottest setting in my dishwasher, and they haven't deformed at all. Plus, I don't use spotlight bulbs. For one, these containers would be slightly too small for them, and second, the light and colors from the little colored florescent party lights, in my opinion, is so much more vibrant, and they don't get all that hot. For many years I've used the lids from CD spindles, that the CDs come in when you buy a pack of 50 or more. Basically the same plastic, and I've never had one melt or even deform from the heat. I'd never put a real spotlight bulb in one of these. Also, I live in the Phoenix Arizona area, so we don't get a lot of rain, like most areas of the country in the Fall, but prior to two years ago, we lived in the Chicago area, where we got tons of rain. If you're worried about rain collecting in them, just drill some small holes in the bottom edge of the containers, near where the lids fit on, to allow the water to drain out. Like most of the things us Halloweenies build, you're doing it at your own risk. Our gadgets and little inventions aren't exactly laboratory tested, so use common sense.


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## Ghost Ninja (Aug 25, 2013)

Nice cans ... sorry I couldn't resist!


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## ryanlamprecht (Oct 8, 2009)

Maybe I should have used my jugs?


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## JohannaAbbott (Oct 20, 2014)

Cool idea. Been wanting to do this.


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## ryanlamprecht (Oct 8, 2009)

Picked up another four of these spotlight sockets today. $2 each, you can't beat it.


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## Big_B (Oct 20, 2008)

These are great! I've got probably a dozen of those containers on my workbench waiting for a purpose, and some of the older lights but they have the same metal ring. I've got to get some of those lights too - probably WAY less juice to run than the big floodlights, which I haven't liked anyway because they are sometimes too bright.


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## NotTheBatesMotel (Sep 28, 2013)

Awesome. I have a bunch of CFL's and light stakes but wasn't thrilled with the light they threw off. I'm sure this help with the way the light casts onto props. Lighting newbie here, obviously.  Going to try this today. Thanks for the tutorial!


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## The Real Joker (Sep 8, 2008)

Very clever and inexpensive. Nice tutorial


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## namrog (Sep 19, 2014)

Those type of stakes usual go for $6 to $7 dollars at the hardware store , so 2 is a great deal. I can't find them on HD website. Were they in with the Christmas decorations? Also I like your idea. I have a small yard and regular floods are too bright.


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## ryanlamprecht (Oct 8, 2009)

Yes, they had them in a display of Christmas power supplies.


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## Big_B (Oct 20, 2008)

So a question: I'm having trouble getting the cans black enough. Using the green fluorescents there is significant bleed through at the lid and where there are ridges in the containers. Maybe it's because I went with the super cheap flat black paint? Did you have to do a lot of coats? I wonder if any prep would help, like maybe hitting these really lightly with some 180 grit or something.

Also the green gives off like a sickly sort of sewage color that is really interesting, but it didn't mix well with my existing green LEDs. I have individual handmade led spots (made via suggestions here somewhere) and the color difference is significant. Not bad, but they don't mix well. Just a heads up for anyone thinking about supplementing a scene and was not something I had thought about. I did end up using these cans with the green lights to add some light to the backyard for our party this weekend and they worked great.


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## ryanlamprecht (Oct 8, 2009)

I used the cheapest Walmart flat black they have. $0.98 a can. I did do two good coats, and on a couple of them had to do a third coat on the lid. That was about it, and I'm not getting any bleed through. If you do notice some bleed through, just hit those areas once again with the flat black, Another thing you can do is hit the insides of the cans with some silver. That will increase the reflectiveness and serve as another coat, but I didn't find it necessary.


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## Buckeyelights (Jul 12, 2011)

I use this same spot, but I use metal cans instead of plastic. Lots of different sizes available at your favorite food market. The tall narrow cans provide a narrower throw of light. Pick your favorite canned vegetable or fruit, enjoy the contents then onto the workshop with the can. Just be careful of the edges, that metal is sharp. I use incandescent light bulbs of various wattages depending on what I'm lighting up. Oh and inside of the can is silver too.


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## SavageEye (Aug 30, 2010)

This is just about the most brilliant thing I have ever seen! Nice work!


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## RiverBoarder (Oct 9, 2007)

Thanks for the walk thru...made 9 of them yesterday!


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## ryanlamprecht (Oct 8, 2009)

Nice! RiverBoarder, how are they working for you?


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## namrog (Sep 19, 2014)

Just did something similar to this, thanks for the tutorial. I used a qt joint compound tub and an orange cfl bulb. This gives off just the right light for my graveyard. Last year I tried to use a regular spot light and it was too bright.


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## bumpkin (Oct 20, 2015)

ingenious !!!!!!! and I have seen and bought those spot lights dirt cheap.


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## ryanlamprecht (Oct 8, 2009)

Just a quick video to show the lighting I achieved with these cheap homemade cans and colored CFL bulbs.


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## camsauce (Sep 20, 2008)

An alternative to a Yogurt container is to use garden pots which come in black already and are really cheap, usually <$1. Only thing is to make sure you find the ones that don't have holes on the bottom which would leak some light.


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## The Halloween Lady (Jul 17, 2010)

Awesome!!!!!!


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## booswife02 (Apr 2, 2013)

Great idea. Thanks so much for sharing


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## TosaTerror (Oct 1, 2015)

I have a question about can lights in general. Does doing that to a light source actually intensify the light on an object, where it makes the beam of light more vivid? Or is this just done so the light doesn't pollute the entire yard like a flood light might? If it does make the light more vivid, how much of a difference are we talking here?

I was thinking of doing this to my stake lights for my colored bulbs, because I'm all for making my blues more blue(er), my oranges more orange(er), etc....if that's the case here.

Thanks in advance.(Can't believe Halloween is 5 months away!)


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## ryanlamprecht (Oct 8, 2009)

No, it doesn't really intensify the colors or the brightness. At least not to any degree that's noticeable. Like you mentioned, it's done to have greater control over the light source so you don't pollute the area with the light.


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## dj_ripcord (Sep 3, 2018)

These are great. If you don't want to use LED or floursecent lights, you can probably make this same thing out of a metal coffee can if you're handy with a Dremel. I would also drill holes on the side facing down so water doesn't collect.


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## Badge (Aug 22, 2017)

Great ideas!


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