foil tape on light fixtures

[moron88]

just wondering if anyone has done this. i bought 3 black 2 tube t8 fixtures a while back on sale (under $8 each) not thinking about the lack of reflection. suffice it to say, their a bit darker than i expected. i had the idea a few minutes ago to try foil tape to get some extra reflection. did some googling but didnt find anyone who did what i was thinking of doing so i thought i'd check here. i found a 50 yard roll for $7 which should be enough to do 2 of them (allowing for loss due to rage and frustration ). kinda broke at the moment so i dont plan to do this anytime soon (buying a new computer and ps3 on cyber monday and whats left over is Christmas money). too damn cold anyway, shop aint heated


so, has anyone done this or thought about it before?

 

[astroracer]

A dollar can of white spray paint from Wallyworld would do the same thing. Most of the lights you buy will be white and they reflect just fine.
Try it and see if there is a difference. Paint one white and tape the other... I would be interested to know.
Mark

 

[moron88]

i just might do that. heck, the pop can box is overflowing, might have enough to buy the tape and paint. gotta love MI deposit. a hidden savings account!

 

[Warrenator]

Those naughty people who in their mis-spent youth grew marijuana indoors would tape good ol' aluminum foil behind the fluorescent tubes. Or so I've heard. Doesn't have to be neat, you can just wrap the extra around behind the bulb.

 

[kbs2244]

It will work.
I had a temp set up where in put a hole in the center of cheap pie pans and threaded 100W bulbs through them into basic ceramic fixtures.
The pie pans just rested on the bulge in the bulb.
They acted fine as reflectors.