#20 in Safety signs & signals
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Reddit mentions of 3M 3430 White Micro Prismatic Sheeting Reflective Tape - 0.5 in. X 15 ft. Non Metalized Adhesive Tape Roll. Safety Tape
Sentiment score: 1
Reddit mentions: 2
We found 2 Reddit mentions of 3M 3430 White Micro Prismatic Sheeting Reflective Tape - 0.5 in. X 15 ft. Non Metalized Adhesive Tape Roll. Safety Tape. Here are the top ones.
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- Adhesive Tape: this safety reflective tape is designed to surpass reflectivity within the engineer-grade class. It increases the visibility of baby strollers, bikes, and bike accessories, camping/outdoor equipment, pet collars/leashes, automotive, etc.
- Usage: reflective tape is designed for creating reflective commercial signs, non-critical traffic control signs, and general high-visibility safety marking. It ensures a better daytime and nighttime brightness as compared to glass bead optics
- Durability: this engineer-grade prismatic reflective sheeting adheres to ASTM D4956 Type I specification and has a performance life of seven years
- Applications: safety tape is recommended to be used on railings, stairs, corners, or floors in your home to make objects more visible
- Specifications: the 0.0068 in. thick tape roll measures 0.5 in. in width and 15 ft. in length. The prismatic tape is white in color
Features:
Specs:
| Color | White |
| Height | 0.7 Inches |
| Length | 3 Inches |
| Number of items | 1 |
| Release date | April 2021 |
| Width | 3.1 Inches |
i got this on sale for 5$ CAD recently: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B007Y7I1LW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and just cut to size
I have quite a bit of experience with retroreflective material. You don't need to worry about IR wavelengths as all visible light retroreflectors (generally beads or corner cubes) will work (almost) just as well for near infrared wavelengths.You can buy some paints that have some retroreflective beads in it, but they're not remotely strong enough to really do what you want. Most of the beads are totally coated with paint, so you end up with really poor coverage.You could buy some retroreflective beads and glue them onto your arrows (lying right at the surface of the glue), but unless you did a lot of experimentation, I'm guessing the durability would be really disappointing.The absolute best retroreflectors are corner cubes, but they need an air gap meaning that small regions have to be sealed all the way around the edges to prevent water ingress. It's not impossible, but again, you'll be fiddling with details that you shouldn't have to.Here's an example of this product. https://www.amazon.com/TapeCase-3430-0-5in-White-Reflective/dp/B007Y7I1LWNote the grey pattern that seals the shiny regions to keep water out. Everywhere you cut the seal, water will defeat the reflectivity.What you really want is a beaded retroreflector, preferably with a silver backing to increase the reflection. Look for a uniform look (with no seal pattern). You can get different colors, but white will always reflect most strongly (and avoid blue and green for sure if you want to use IR)
https://www.amazon.com/3M-Scotchlite-Reflective-Silver-36-Inch/dp/B000BQSY6K
Even the smallest sliver of this tape will reflect back to the light's source, although I don't know if this particular tape is thin enough and the adhesive strong enough to really pull down on a tightly curved shaft. Honestly, I'd stick it down with some epoxy or superglue if it didn't obviously conform.
I've had some of this tape (or a similar beaded version) on my bicycling shoes for years. Bits have rubbed off and it looks ragged since I heavily use the toes and heals to push and pull on things, but I've been really impressed that where I didn't actually rub it, it has stayed on.
FULL DISCLOSURE -- I work for 3M. I don't get paid to post on social media, but I am required to disclose my employment when I discuss 3M products so here's my 3M throwaway. There are other 3M and non 3M retroreflective options out there you should consider. I honestly just picked the first two products on Amazon that showed up on my Google search (and to be fair, my Google search probably knows I sometimes look for 3M products).
[EDIT] One more note -- using IR is really weird in this application. Retroreflective material will shoot light back at the source, so it'll flash brightly whether you're using IR or visible light. Honestly, unless you're being chased by zombies, I'd just use a bright flashlight to look for things tagged with retroreflective material. If you don't have a ridiculously powerful flashlight powered by lithium ion cells, go over to /r/flashlight and they'll sort you out.