Reverse painting - different effects

[elkhorn]

Someone posted a thread asking about painting tubes and was given a lot of good advice. Someone also pointed out the different effects you can get from reverse painting the blank.

Here are 3 tritons, all made with a cream matrix blank (I really love this blank!).

The first is reverse painted with a sparkle nail polish, then white acrylic. The second is reverse painted with a teal acrylic, then an orange acrylic. The last one is reverse painted with a black acrylic. Same color blank to start - but 3 very different effects.

C & C welcome.

 

[wyone]

Wow.. those are pretty dramatic changes

 

[lwalper]

Nice! That must be a fairly transparent material.

 

[magpens]

Thanks for showing the results of your experiment ... very interesting.

Where could I buy that same cream matrix blank ? ... or did you make it yourself ?

 

[Simsonicole]

Ummm....maybe a stupid question...but I am new so please don't laugh too hard....but what is reverse painting?

 

[Imaginethat]

Wow! What a difference. Remarkable! I would have guesses three completely different blanks. Impressive work. Did you borrow your wife's polish or was it your's? :tongue:

 

[longbeard]

Ummm....maybe a stupid question...but I am new so please don't laugh too hard....but what is reverse painting?

Reverse painting is when you paint the drilled hole of the blank.



Harry

 

[Cwalker935]

Nice job, thanks for sharing. Do you oversize the bore hole to provide an allowance for the paint, especially the ones with extra color?

 

[Band Saw Box]

Those are some big differences, thanks for sharing.

 

[ladycop322]

Beautiful...esp the teal!

 

[kruzzer]

Thanks for showing that experiment... The pens all look great but if I had to choose i'd go with the teal...

 

[elkhorn]

Mitch, the results are very dramatic - I was not expecting that difference when I turned them. It's hard to tell when you just have the full blank with the inside painted.

Leslie, it is a very transparent blank. All of the matrix blanks I have are the same way.

Mal, I've never cast a blank - beyond my talent. To the best of my knowledge, these are an Italian lucite that is no longer available. I've got my trusty 125 pound attack Labrador guarding them - just don't offer him any treats

Dennis, I'll never tell if you won't:wink:

Nicole, there are never any dumb questions, only those that you never ask. This forum is a great place to ask questions and learn. One thing to point out is that you get different effects from reverse painting vs. tube painting. I posted two purple matrix pens, one reverse painted & one tube painted. Quite different.

Harry, thanks for answering Nicole's question.

Cody, I don't over bore the hole, but I do run the tubes through dry several times to make sure they move freely. I had to run the drill bit by hand on just one blank.

Dan, you're welcome!

Michelle & Rich: thank you. I do like the teal one best myself.

 

[BSea]

Ummm....maybe a stupid question...but I am new so please don't laugh too hard....but what is reverse painting?

Reverse painting is when you paint the drilled hole of the blank.



Harry

And depending on the transparency of the blank, you may need to sand off any tool marks left by the drill bit. I have some small dowels that I use for this. I have about a 3/4" slit that I insert a piece of sandpaper. Turn on the lathe (about 600 for me) and gently sand the inside of the blank to remove the marks.

Also, when you reverse paint, be sure the paint is totally cured before gluing the tube. Dry to the touch isn't the same as cured. I put my painted blanks in front of a small fan to help cure the paint. Others use a toaster oven set at about 150 or lower.

 

[elkhorn]

Thanks, Bob, that's good advice. I'll give it a try.

 

[SteveJ]

Well illustrated. I've always painted the tube instead of painting the blank. How do you get good even coverage on the blank?

 

[elkhorn]

Thanks, Steve. I just use a cue tip and then check the inside of the blank. I'm sure others have more experience and have some great ideas.