Painting/Tinting Plastic LED Cases? Arsenal Young Justice Arm

Hello, Everyone!

I'm new to this community but incredibly impressed by the art I've seen from many of you. I'm also relatively new to prop making, so I've got a question for you!

So: I've got one hand (I was born without a right hand), and I've actually got a bionic arm! My costumes typically revolve around that fact, so I'm currently building an Arsenal costume from Young Justice. Arsenal's arm has two large red lights on each side, and I found some red LED's that look pretty much perfect for it (see below). However, while the lights look perfect in the dark, in daylight the red color is barely visible and they look fairly lame. Is there any way for me to color or tint the clear plastic casing so that I get that bright red color even in a well-lit area? Not sure if there's any paint or material I could use to get that effect.

You could use some thinned paint for coloring. I think any dye/tint you add is going to restrict more light. It may be worth scratch building something with better leds. Welcome to the RPF.

iDye Poly works on most plastics. I used it to dye the visor on the Code Geass helmet I just posted about. It's easy to use and cheap, though messy. You'll want to work outside. Also, it might take more than one packet of dye depending on how dark as you want it.

It's available at fabric stores and some art supply shops. Make sure you get iDye Poly. Regular iDye doesn't work on plastic.

If you decide to scratch build something, LED strips are very easy to work with. You could use a high density strip like these https://www.hitlights.com/luma20tm-series-led-light-strips-smd-2835. Put 2 segments (6 LEDs) about 1/8" - 1/4" under a translucent red plastic lens. The spacing will help defuse the light, so you get an even glow rather than separate point lights.