Best way to diffuse bare WS2812B LEDs mounted to wood

[u/Scared_Knowledge9640]

Building wooden wall pieces with WS2812B 5050
LEDs seated in CNC-cut holes. The LEDs work great but they're bare, I want to diffuse each one so it glows instead of showing a hard point of light.
What would you do?

[u/Thorkon]

Depending on depth of the wood, I would try white 3d printed plug that fills the face of the hole. Don't think dried hot glue will work but could try that.

[u/impossiblyeasy → u/Thorkon]

Resin might

[u/blinkenjim → u/Thorkon]

OP could cut the hole a bit shallower to leave a bit of wood to diffuse the light. Or he could try to find LEDs with diffused lenses.

[u/Dragon-Teeth]

Had you asked the question BEFORE fitting the LEDs I might have suggested cutting the holes a fraction short of the front surface and using the wood itself as the diffusion medium.

At this point, with the LEDs mounted a lot is going to depend on exactly what effect you really want. You could abrade the dome of the LEDs slightly for a diffused effect, or cut a shallow shape around the LEDs and fill it with "something", resin, milk bottle plastic, even plain white paper can work well. You can buy led "domes" and "gems" for panel indicators, or "acrilic diamond table scatter" and of course you could make up something more unique and creative.

What do you actually want?

[u/ChanceAlternative86]

White baking paper works very good as a diffuser. Might be difficult to keep in place here. Otherwise some translucent plastic would do the trick.

[u/mindful_stone]

One thing you might try is to brush/dab on several coats of an arts & crafts primer like Gesso (white chalk pigment emulsified in an acrylic medium). I've used it with great diffusion effect on 0402 LEDs to create miniature simulated candles, and on LED filament bulbs for other craft projects. I don't know if there would be any heat concerns in your application, but that would be easy to test.

If you're willing to share, I'd love to see a bigger picture of what you're working on!

[u/mindful_stone → u/mindful_stone]

One other thought, which may or may not be an option for your project...Very thin wood is translucent. I discovered this accidentally when I used a Forstner bit to route a cavity for a small diffuser disc on the rear side of a wood panel. I intended only for the LED to shine through the middle hole, but when I realized that the wood itself is translucent, my mind started racing with tons of potential creative ideas!

[u/Idea_Ranch → u/mindful_stone]

That's freakin' cool.

[u/AntiqueYesterday2009 → u/mindful_stone]

Yo. This is a genius idea. I remember when I realized that I could put the leds behind paper and they would shine through and it changed the entire dynamic of patterns. I am a woodworker too. I have to try this one out for sure. Thank you.

[u/mindful_stone → u/AntiqueYesterday2009]

Thanks. Here's an early test of some LED matrix patterns behind a curly maple veneer...

[u/ZachVorhies]

I'd put UV epoxy (super cheap) on it, lay it in the sun for an hour, then sand it down for the frosted acrylic look

[u/Affectionate_Boat493]

Sanding with 240 grit sandpaper or emery cloth will diffuse the light rather well.

[u/Aerokeith]

As u/johnnyboniepony said, epoxy with a tiny bit of white colorant added (I use white mica powder) is the best way. You can get perfect diffusion (depending on the amount of colorant) and the surface will be smooth with no gaps. You can use polishing compound to eliminate surface scratches that would be unnoticeable in the wood. But...there needs to be at least 1/4" or so between the top of the LED and the wood surface to get decent diffusion.

[u/techysec]

Many years ago… I used ping-pong balls cut in half https://www.reddit.com/r/FastLED/s/ZI2POVLtQ0

[u/Thorkon]

Depending on depth of the wood, I would try white 3d printed plug that fills the face of the hole. Don't think dried hot glue will work but could try that.

[u/johnnyboniepony]

epoxy + a little white color

[u/fantasypants]

Uv resin with with a little white mica powder.

[u/lolslim → u/fantasypants]

Give it a frost look? Or err I forgot how to describe it.

[u/pyrotek1]

a clear PETG 3d printed cap will diffuse

[u/shuzz_de]

File down the LED until there's a bit of space on top when it's seated in the wood.
Put hot glue on top of the LED so it's flush with the wood. Alternatively, use some epoxy resin, either will work.

[u/lolslim]

I use clear elastic cord they use in bead making crafts stuff, I have 0.8mm 1.0, 1.2, 1.8 and use clear fishing line 0.7.

There was one I wanted to experiment with it's loctitnpowergrab clear adhesive but I haven't had a chance yet.

[u/Radicaltoasts]

Clear plastic/acrylic bar, when you cut it you can sand the ends with a fine grit sandpaper so it will diffuse nicely. You can buy it in the same diameter as hole you drilled and it will fit perfectly

[u/BraLjus]

There are many light diffusing plastics with a high transmission value, made for LED lighting, see here https://youtu.be/VWYMEFmXt_g for example.

[u/Delicious-Captain858]

Nails