The Darkness of Light

[Fangar]

I wanted to make some Flashlight pens for some coworkers out of acrylic that would hold up a little better to our use. The Berea kit is actually a nice little kit, but only comes in Gold. That finish did not work for my application. The great thing about the kit is that the plastic part can be removed which allows one to powdercoat the fittings. So black they became.

Also, it should be noted for those of you that turn the El Grande pen. I did not want to buy the bushing as I was only planning on making two of these kits. The El Grande lower tube bushings are a nice substitute. Bushing to bushing a great fit.

Here are the parts spread out:

On my PC rack. Note that the blue tape you see is special high temp PC powder tape:

The completed pen:

Cheers,

Fangar

 

[angboy]

That is very nice- and a creative way to adapt the kit to what you wanted!

 

[gerryr]

Very nice job, I need to find out about powder coating.

 

[Thumbs]

Well done, Fangar! All I've seen is someone using clear coat on cartridges. How durable is the paint like this?
Does this always come out smooth after baking? Any trouble with drips or lumps? Anything to finish off after baking?

 

[pastorbill1952]

Very creative and great work.

 

[Fangar]

Originally posted by Thumbs
<br />Well done, Fangar! All I've seen is someone using clear coat on cartridges. How durable is the paint like this?
Does this always come out smooth after baking? Any trouble with drips or lumps? Anything to finish off after baking?

Thumbs,

Thanks for the kind words. I usually do the clear on my casings too. The PC is very durable. It is like you mentioned paint, but as long as you don't have an issue with a chipped edge, it is very strong.

There are a bit of variances in the powders depending on who you get them from, and what type it is. For example, some are meant to have more of a texture to them when cured. The stuff I use is pretty smooth when it is finished. Not as smooth as a black chrome cigar for example, but still a nice finish.

With PC you won't have a problem with drips. As long as you get used to your ovens, and know when to switch the heat from the cure temp to the bake temp.

On these, once they come out of the oven and cool, they are ready to go in service. Due to the contacts necessary to activate the penlights, I did have to trim (xacto) away the PC from the underside of the pen clip to allow for a contact.

Cheers,

Fangar

 

[UKpenmaker]

Excellent work Fanger. Looks far better in black.

 

[alamocdc]

Very impressive, James! [^]

 

[jimbo 31751]

Very nice James,what supplier do you get the high temp tape from?

Jim

 

[Mudder]

I'm not sure if I understand this right..... You powdercoat right over the gold plating? (I know very little about powdercoating, please forgive me)

 

[Fangar]

Originally posted by jimbo 31751
<br />Very nice James,what supplier do you get the high temp tape from?

Jim

Well Jim,

I was going to direct you to powdertape.com, but it looks like their website is down. You might check back later. Do a web search for powder coat tape. You will get a ton. Most sell rubber plugs and heat patches for various applications. The high temp rubber plugs work well if you are planning on doing a lot of nibs. They make them that cork the holes on both sides.

Cheers,

Fangar

 

[Fangar]

Originally posted by Mudder
<br />I'm not sure if I understand this right..... You powdercoat right over the gold plating? (I know very little about powdercoating, please forgive me)

Right over the top. As long as it conducts, it can be powder coated.

Cheers,

Fangar

 

[JimGo]

Nicely done James!