I have replaced all the leds in my daughters pc's for blue ones, the power led, hdd activity led and even the leds in her card reader and the activity led in the dvd drive. It all looks great but they are crazy bright, the dvd is fine. Is there anyway to tone them down with out adding resistors (this would be possible in the card reader really), I have heard of people using magic markers to tint the lense etc. Also anyone know where to get some lower mcd 3mm blue leds, ebay just seems to have ultra brights and rs and maplins are really expensive in comparison.
If the LEDs poke their heads through a hole you could fill the remaining space with hot glue and cut the excess cleanly with a craft knife or razor. Never covered bright LEDs with hot glue so I have no idea of how much they'll be dimmed. Maybe too much for your liking or perfect.
I've used Pebeo Vitrail White glass paint to soften the brightness on some of my LEDs. Note: Too many coats on a white LED turns the light colour to yellow. I got mine from a local art shop.
This is the right idea. However, I would use some sandpaper and sand the LEDs down some 2mm in addition before filling the holes with hot glue. Aand yes, blue LEDs are awfully bright sometimes.
