Home Sign Up!

Browse Community Submit

All Art Craft Food Games Green Home Kids Life Music Offbeat Outdoors Pets Photo Ride Science Tech

Fast & Easy Sun Jar

by sylrig on October 2, 2010 Table of Contents Fast & Easy Sun Jar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: Fast & Easy Sun Jar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 1: What you need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 2: Prepare for painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 3: Frosting the jar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 4: Assembling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 5: Securing the unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 6: Using your sun jar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 7: Final thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 2 3 4 4 5 6 7 7 7

http://www.instructables.com/id/Fast-Easy-Sun-Jar/

Intro: Fast & Easy Sun Jar

There are many great instructables for sun jars, but by the time I decided to try making one myself, I realized that changes in solar garden light design had made it even easier to transfer from stake to jar. No longer do you need to disassemble the lamp and battery case; the units of these small, compact designs can slip as is right into your jar. This means that the making a solar jar only takes a little more time than you need for paint and adhesive to dry.

Step 1: What you need

The most important part of making the Fast & Easy Sun Jar is finding the right solar lights. This clean design by Westinghouse was on sale for much of the summer. I found them at Orchard Supply Hardware for $2 each, but even at the regular price of $4, they're the most economical solar lights available. You will also need a jar with a glass lid. The tiny SLOM jar from Ikea is only $2.99. You may pay a little more for a jar from a kitchen store, a little less if you can find one at a thrift store. Finally, you'll need glass frosting spray, adhesive (I chose a clear silicone adhesive), a utility knife and some painter's or masking tape. A few sheets of newspaper (not shown here) are used in the painting process.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Fast-Easy-Sun-Jar/

Step 2: Prepare for painting

Frosting the jar helps diffuse the light and gives a nice glow to the entire jar, but I found it unnecessarily time-consuming to take apart the jar and frost the outside. For much less time, you can make a newspaper mask and spray the inside of the jar instead. As an added benefit, you will not have to worry about paint scratching or flaking as it is moved around. Place a quarter sheet of newspaper snugly over the mouth of the jar to create an impression and cut around the inside of the mouth using a utility knife. Once your hole is cut, attach the newspaper with painter's or masking tape. Place your jar (or jars) in a shady location for painting.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Fast-Easy-Sun-Jar/

Step 3: Frosting the jar

A few things to pay attention to when using spray paint: Spray outdoors in a well-ventilated area. It's probably a good idea to use a mask and goggles, as well. Be sure and thoroughly shake the can before using. This will mix the paint so you get more even coverage. Hold the can upright or at a slight angle at the recommended distance from your jars. Keep the can moving slowly but continuously. If you stop at any point, you'll get gloppy paint; ideally, you want a light, even coat. If you need to add more paint later, you can--but it's hard to fix a dripping finish. The frosting spray goes on nearly invisibly, so have faith that it is covering and keep a light hand. I used two light coats to thoroughly frost the insides of these jars.

Step 4: Assembling
These solar lights simply unscrew from their plastic bulb. The entire solar unit is self-contained and can be used without further disassembly. Be sure to remove the plastic covering from the solar cell, add your silicone adhesive if necessary, and fit the unit into the lid. Note: it's a good idea to test the fit before using adhesive. After putting the first unit in, I realized this particular unit fits so snugly into the SLOM jar, no adhesive is necessary. This was a nice coincidence that allowed future sun jars to have a clean look without any adhesive showing through the top of the glass.

Image Notes 1. solar garden light

Image Notes 1. solar garden light with solar unit removed

http://www.instructables.com/id/Fast-Easy-Sun-Jar/

Image Notes 1. protective plastic covering over the solar cell

Image Notes 1. protective plastic covering removed

Step 5: Securing the unit

Run a bead of clear silicone adhesive around the edge to secure the solar unit. You can smooth it out with your finger for a cleaner appearance.

Image Notes 1. this area in particular would benefit from smoothing with a finger

http://www.instructables.com/id/Fast-Easy-Sun-Jar/

Step 6: Using your sun jar

Your jar is finished! Just remove the strip of paper that prevents battery contact, close the jar, and place it outside in full sun. It will glow most of the night after charging.

Image Notes 1. pull out paper--

Image Notes 1. jar ready to be closed

http://www.instructables.com/id/Fast-Easy-Sun-Jar/

Step 7: Final thoughts

My cost breakdown on this project went like this: $3 Ikea SLOM jar $2 Westinghouse solar garden light $10 Krylon Glass Frosting Spray $4 GE Premium Silicone Glue I already had the knife, tape and newspaper. You can see that the cost to make a single jar is nearly $20, but if you make 15 at a time, each jar will cost you only $6. The spray and glue are good for at least 15 jars. As has been mentioned, the jars make wonderful gifts--particularly in the summer, when sunlight is abundant; and in winter, when it becomes a way to extend the limited sun. Mine will become this year's Christmas/Chanukah/solstice presents, depending on the recipient. Now the only problem is what to do with the remaining solar light parts. Anyone know of a project which uses stakes, stainless steel tubes and plastic bulbs?

Related Instructables

Solar Jar (Photos) by Jennifer Chen

Home-made Sun Jar by cre8tor

Sun Jar by paranhos

Sun Jar of Happiness (Photos) by SuperCoPilot

How To Make Solar Tea by sparkleponytx

Diy The Best Sunjar in www.instructables.com :-) by efanfengshun

Comments
41 comments Add Comment

Pink&BlueDesigns says:

Feb 18, 2011. 12:55 PM REPLY This is the best sun jar instructable I have seen! I made a few and it was quick and easy! I had a few small round mirror tiles lying around, so I glued 1 to the bottom to reflect more light out of the sides. They are great little conversation starters. I use them for outdoor tables for evening events like BBQs. Thanksnagain for the great instuctable!

sylrig says:
Thanks! I'm planning to hang some outside this summer, as well.

Feb 18, 2011. 8:39 PM REPLY

fretted says:

Jan 10, 2011. 7:30 PM REPLY Instead of Painting why couldn't you actually etch the glass with liquid etching found in craft stores like hobby lobby or such then you could color the glass with glass stain no runs or globs Just a thought Great instructable anyway !

http://www.instructables.com/id/Fast-Easy-Sun-Jar/

Pink&BlueDesigns says:
I etched mine the old fashion way! (Sandblasting) I guess whatever way you want to get the etched effect will work.

Feb 18, 2011. 1:00 PM REPLY

sylrig says:

Jan 10, 2011. 7:37 PM REPLY I've never used liquid etching--sounds like an interesting idea. And I really like the idea of glass stain. I'll have to look into both--thanks!

jrickclark says:

Feb 8, 2011. 11:14 PM REPLY Hey, on that Westinghouse unit, there's also a little mirror piece that you can unscrew from the clear enclosure piece. If you glue it to the bottom center of the jar, it'll reflect a little more light away from the bottom of the jar and back out the sides. Great instructible. I really like your trick for frosting the inside of the jars, and not disassembling the solar unit. Thanks!

sylrig says:

Feb 9, 2011. 8:17 AM REPLY That's a really great idea--thanks! I would definitely use it on any future sun jars, as it would be a big improvement and is otherwise a wasted piece.

Breann, yo. says:

This is superb. I'll have to try it when all the snow melts away.

Jan 30, 2011. 11:07 PM REPLY

skimmo says:
mine came out grand, i use it to find the way to my tent in the middle of the night

Jan 27, 2011. 9:39 PM REPLY

sylrig says:
Great use--I'll have to remember that!

Jan 28, 2011. 9:02 AM REPLY

skimmo says:

Jan 28, 2011. 3:14 PM REPLY i find they i have to leave it in full sun light all day, in Australia atm they are very hot days, within a glass jar is there a chance that it will melt, or are they built for that?

sylrig says:

Jan 29, 2011. 10:40 AM REPLY We have long, hot summer days here, too, and I've never had a problem with anything melting. I imagine everything in the solar light is meant to withstand extended sun exposure. Jan 10, 2011. 6:12 PM REPLY

lucianaliacs says:
Hum ey where did you bought that solar light? because i don't know where they sell that! (:

sylrig says:

Jan 28, 2011. 9:01 AM REPLY Yes, I got mine at Orchard Supply Hardware, but I've seen them at other hardware stores in the garden section. They've been very inexpensive lately-just under $2 around here.

omgflyingbanana says:
Garden store :P

Jan 17, 2011. 5:31 AM REPLY

impecaby says:
The main drawback of such lights is that accumulator runs too little. http://rabotynet.ru

Jan 6, 2011. 5:31 AM REPLY

Browncoat says:
I'm wondering if white paint & clear nail polish could be mixed to imitate the frosted glass paint. Anyone have any ideas?

Oct 9, 2010. 6:42 PM REPLY

sylrig says:

Oct 10, 2010. 1:27 PM REPLY I'm not much of a materials expert, so I'm not sure. My first thought, though, is that nail polish has a lot of toxic substances and I'm not sure how they would interact with the paint. Would anyone else know this? If you don't want to mess with the spray paint, I've seen instructables in which the inside of the jar is sanded with much the same effect as frosting.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Fast-Easy-Sun-Jar/

jomac_uk says:

Dec 22, 2010. 7:07 AM REPLY Without starting a chemistry lesson,yes nail varnish does contain some nasty things,some of which are petroleum based and are NOT soluable in water. Assuming you wanted to use a water based paint, mixing nail polish and a water based paint would be like mixing water and oil, it just wont mix properly, if you mix nail polish and a solvent based paint, the nail polish and the paints solvents will just mix, and you wont see any results. At the end of the day, the result you are aiming for is a "Frosted" look inside the glass jar, without having to resort to setting up a Dr Frankenstein's laboratory to do so. The emulsion look above is quite effective, try mixing some silver sand with the emulsion, this will give the effect of stars as the light hits the sand, sugar may also work as it doesnt dissolove very well in cold mixtures. Another thing to try is white LIME powder used as a fertiliser in some cases. The advantage of using chemicals like these, is they are relatively harmless,and if you dont get the effect you want...wash it out!! At the end of the day, its all about playing.

Browncoat says:
Perfect timing! Menard's has solar lights similar to these on sale for 49 cents after rebate! Can't wait to find a jar & try this!! :)

Oct 8, 2010. 1:17 PM REPLY

sylrig says:

Oct 8, 2010. 3:14 PM REPLY That's an amazing price--you can load up. There's got to be a great Halloween jack-o-lantern project that can be done with these, too, huh?

Browncoat says:

Oct 14, 2010. 4:57 PM REPLY I went to Goodwill & found 3 jars that I think will be PERFECT for this! 49 cents each! Onlyl "real" expense is gonna be the frost paint! :D

sylrig says:
That's great! And the frosting spray really goes a long way.

Oct 14, 2010. 5:39 PM REPLY

Browncoat says:

Oct 16, 2010. 8:37 PM REPLY How kickass is THIS??? I got frosting spray at Hobby Lobby today. It was marked as $7.99 & was 25% off!!! Got my first jar taped & excited to spray it tomorrow! :D

sylrig says:

Oct 17, 2010. 12:57 PM REPLY You definitely have a genius for finding great prices! Post your jars, and if I can figure out this patch thing, I'll send you one.

Browncoat says:

Oct 17, 2010. 2:16 PM REPLY I've TOTALLY gotten lucky! I'm actually having a problem with the paint though. It's almost like it's "crackling" paint... It's not giving full coverage on the sides. Any tips? Maybe the jars just have to be shorter than mine, but the spray just seems to shoot OUT of them when I'm trying to spray it in...

sylrig says:

Oct 18, 2010. 2:52 PM REPLY Did you figure out the problem? I'm not sure what it would be. The Krylon I got worked well, but it was hard to see the paint coverage until it had dried a little. Maybe it is the depth? Hope you can get it working somehow.

Browncoat says:

Nov 5, 2010. 8:26 PM REPLY Maybe it was just a different paint brand. Anywhere, here are 2 pics. One in the light & one where it's lit up. (I still need to center & "glue" the light.)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Fast-Easy-Sun-Jar/

jomac_uk says:

Dec 16, 2010. 5:51 PM REPLY If its of any interest, i used white emulsion paint diluted with water, pour a little into the jar, swirl it around until all the glass is covered, and lay the jar, opening down onto newspaper for the excess to drain out.

sylrig says:

Dec 21, 2010. 9:00 PM REPLY That's really helpful--thanks. Seems like a great option, especially for those who may already have paint on hand.

Earths_hope says:
I thoght photoresistors were illegal!

Dec 2, 2010. 4:00 AM REPLY

tstark1970 says:
Make A Home Chandaler out of it. using solar power to power it at night.

Oct 5, 2010. 3:37 PM REPLY

sylrig says:

Oct 8, 2010. 3:11 PM REPLY I did think of hanging this from a tree branch to have some hanging outdoor lighting. I guess you could string several together for a chandelier--would love to see it.

NHquilter says:
I really like these! I'm thinking of maybe doing a tissue paper decoupage instead of the frosting, to add a little color....

Oct 4, 2010. 10:53 AM REPLY

sylrig says:
That's a great idea--I'd love to see what you come up with. Would make a great instructables, too!

Oct 4, 2010. 11:10 AM REPLY

Whales says:
small futuristic shot glasses?

Oct 3, 2010. 12:53 PM REPLY

sylrig says:
Great idea--thanks!

Oct 4, 2010. 10:31 AM REPLY

depotdevoid says:

Oct 2, 2010. 5:44 PM REPLY "Now the only problem is what to do with the remaining solar light parts. Anyone know of a project which uses stakes, stainless steel tubes and plastic bulbs?"

I save them all. They come in handy after a while, I've used my sun jar leftovers for all sorts of random projects! Very clear and well written, thanks for sharing your build.

quantumkittty says:
random projects such as impaling zombies so they drain out?

Oct 2, 2010. 7:34 PM REPLY

depotdevoid says:
Good thinking, maybe I should add that to my Zombie Survival Kit!

Oct 2, 2010. 8:52 PM REPLY

sylrig says:
Thanks for your encouragement. I'd love to try your Creepy UV LED Sun Jar sometime, too!

Oct 2, 2010. 10:58 PM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/Fast-Easy-Sun-Jar/