Appelation Controlee coughed up some electrons that declared:


We have one of those naff gas fires that has the yucky moulded pretend
coals that are illuminated by a couple of red bulbs driving spinners - the
"flicker" effect - by convection. Yes, the fire will ultimately be
consigned to oblivion, but not just yet.
The other day I realised that the two tinted bulbs, at 40w each, are using
more juice than is used illuminating the whole of the room (done entirely
with CFLs - 6 in total, although unimportant to the question following).
By way of experiment, I fitted a couple of CFL lamps in place of the
tinted tungstens to see if they generate enough heat to spin the
flickerators and, although they are a little slow to start, it does work,
which is good enough for me.
Not good enough for SWMBO, of course, because the rosy red glow is now
beaming, cheery yellow.
OK, to the point, unless there's a compelling reason not to, I need to red
lacquer the CFL lamps so that the illusion of warmth is imparted to the
room, and so that, in spite of the CH turning the lounge into a sleep zone
for me, the Mrs doesn't feel cold.
So, and sorry for the long tale, what I'm looking for is a suitable
lacquer to use on the CFL lamps. Any suggestions re. type & source?

Try a transparent modelling lacquer (from a modelling shop). I've used that
on smaller bulbs before.

The other option might be some stage-light colour film which is good to high
temperatures (much higher than a CFL) - wrap around the bulb and tape in
position.

Cheers

Tim