Hi,

New to the forum here. Cheers to engineers.

I'm looking for a polymer that will go from clear to bright white.

This can be through any reasonable pathway that is safe for consumers, for example:

-Heating

-UV treatment

The polymer can be in a monomer state to start with or already polymerized

Let me know if you have any ideas, thanks,

Mike

... the easiest way to 'whiten' a clear plastic is to paint it white or to inject/create microscopic air-bubbles in the surface.

This 'foaming' could be achieved with a laser, that heats the surface to boiling but without cracking the polymer, or it will get yellow/brownish because of carbonizing - this can be made either with ultra-short pulses with a CO2-laser or with an UV-laser with a short enough wavelength, so it won't penetrate the clear body.

Another trick could be chemistry, where a solvent reacts with the polymer to create a micro-foam in the surface region ...

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Viktor
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To clarify the application:

I need something that one could draw on like a canvas while it was see through and then the polymer substrate would be whitened to produce the final product that would be the painting against a white background.

Could you suggest a possible setup? i.e.:

Some polymer that would take paint on one side while it is clear and then would turn white on the other side when the user applies a specific solvent in a specific way.

Thanks,
Mike