Glow in the Dark Letterbox Numbers

Have you ever driven down a street looking for somebody's house but you can't see the numbers on the letterbox because it's too dark? You pull into random driveways to shine the headlights on letterboxes but there has got to be a better way. Well here it is!

Presenting "Glow in the dark letterbox numbers" inspired by my son's invention Glow in the Dark Seatbelt Buckle Band - (tintinmovie) With this invention, your visitors will never have to squint to see the numbers on your letterbox at night time ever again. Have fun with it.

Silicone gun - from hardware store

2g Glow in the Dark powder (available online - NZ$10 for 10g)

Icecream container lid

(Hokey Pokey to remind you of good old New Zealand ingenuity)

Spatula

Scissors

Turps or Kerosene for clean up.

Mix the glow in the dark powder with the silicone on the icecream container lid with the spatula. Spread it out evenly and you can press the surface down with damp fingers until it is smooth. Allow to dry for about two hours.

Carefully scrape the skin off the icecream container lid with the spatula. If the skin sticks to the spatula wipe it clean with a little turps or kerosene.

Place the skin over a template or in this case over the letterbox numbers. Mark out the numbers with a felt pen.

The skin will be very thin and fragile. So cut carefully with sharp scissors or a craft knife. If the skin sticks to the blade then wipe it with a little turps or kerosene.

As the skin will not be completely dry you should be able to stick it directly onto the letterbox. However I put a little silicone on the back to make sure that it is firmly glued to the surface. The silicone requires a fully 24 hours to cure before it will be water proof.

There a couple of things for improvement:

Cookie cutters could be good way of cutting the glow in the dark skin

Also if your letter box has upraised numbers, you could fill it with glow in the dark paste.

Don't be discouraged by the photo as it was taken with a poor quality camera that doesn't do justice to the project.

Whatever you try be creative and encourage your neighbours to do the same to their letterboxes.