Fiber Painting Procedure

Overview Optical cross-talk is a concern with closely packed fibers. An air gap between fibers is an excellent way to minimize the possibility of optical cross-talk, but for the tagger microscope's 17 closely packed fiber bundles this is not an option. Therefore, the individual fibers are painted in the section that comes in contact with the other fibers.

Procedures

• Before painting the paint should be mixed with water to thin it out. It was found, through experimentation, that a 50/50 mixture by weight of white titanium dioxide paint and water yielded the best results as far as coverage and ease of use were concerned. If the paint is too thick, it will clump up in the paint gun, but if it is too thin, it will not cover the fiber well enough.
  • Open the lid to the scale.
  • On top, place an open Tupperware container and tare it out.
  • Into the plastic container squeeze 20 - 30 grams of paint.
  • Add, using a pipette, an equal weight of clean tap water.
  • Place a lid on to the container and shake vigorously until the paint and water are well mixed and smooth.
    • It was found that mixing/stirring the paint did not get rid of paint clumps, so shaking is the preferred method.
• Pour the paint into the airbrush reservoir until it is about 3/4 full.
  • The lid should seal any unused paint in the plastic container. When the airbrush runs out of paint, it can be replenished from this source.
• Use the airbrush painter to apply a thin, even coat of paint to the fiber.
• Start at the scintillating end of the fiber.
  • To avoid painting the face of the scintillating fiber, butt it up against a flat surface and apply paint to the sides. Be careful not to lift the fiber from the flat surface until all of the painting is done on the scintillating fiber.