How would finish this

[RollTide]

Got some spent rifle cartridges today (and so did Hugo..sparhawk) and was wondering what would be the best finish for the brass after polishing for a cartridge pen. I don't have a powder coat machine or even access to one. I was thinking of just using a polyurethane finish. Would this stick well to the polished brass. Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Firefyter-emt]

I personaly don't think you will be happy in the long run with a paint. It will chip off and when the brass discolors will show.

Oh, and check your e-mail..

 

[stevers]

I let mine slowly tarnish to their original look.

 

[gketell]

lacquer. But you have to be careful that your "polish" doesn't leave a residue that will interfere with the paint.

But FireFyter is correct, under "pen usage" levels of handling the paint will rub off.

GK

 

[sparhawk]

I would finish it by giving me the rest of those cartridges( i screwed up 2 today trying to get the primer out) then go to bed. You have work in the morning. And i better not get called in because you layed out.[}]

 

[RollTide]

I had the same problem with the primers. I've screwed up quite a few myself. That's why I got Ralph to bring me a few with out primers.[]

You better get some sleep just in case your buddy gets picked up again.[]

 

[Rifleman1776]

I ended up using laquer. Wanted to powder coat but doing just a few was too expensive. Same with clear coat used on cars. Small quantities are expensive for experimentation. The spray laquer is a gamble. Otherwise, as suggested, you might just leave bare to take on a natural patina. It actually won't look bad.

 

[alparent]

Would using wax like TSW or Ren Wax help?

If you just leave it bare wont you fingers get that stinky metal smell from using it?

 

[sparhawk]

Actually Steve i coated mine with poly.Dont know how long it will last but John or Ray may tell when thiers wears off. How you like the way it turned out?

<br /> By the way it started out like this.

<br />

 

[DCBluesman]

Originally posted by alparent
<br />Would using wax like TSW or Ren Wax help?

I can't speak for Renaissance Wax, but TSW is not formulated to protect metal.

 

[airrat]

Frank you mentioned clear coating, for the amount used to cover these it would take forever to use up the can of it. I bought some for clear coat and catalyst for under $50 and have done about 10 pens. I have only used a few ounces of it. Most of that was waste due to the experiment part on the first few. I am still working on how thin I want it for the air brush, but right now it takes almost as long if not longer then CA.

The pens I have done have looked nice but I cannot tell a difference from CA.

I will try a few of the casings I have and let you all know how it turns out.

 

[Firefyter-emt]

For $50, you can get the Harbor Freight powder coat gun on sale and powder coat them!

Seriously, now that I have used it a few times, it's amazing. I took a pen blank and rubbed it hard against the corner of my bandsaw table and could not get it to chip off. This was done on a tube that I had to re-coat. The hardness between lacquer and a modern clear-coat with a catalyst is not a huge gap to be honest, if anything the modern clear may be more brittle.

 

[RollTide]

Firefyter.....are using a pc gun from HF? I was thinking about one at one time but wasn't sure of the quality. Ya know how some HF products are.

MAN! Hugo that turned out nice. Did you run that cartridge through the garbage disposal first?[] I couldn't get fat boy to bring me any antlers.

 

[sparhawk]

Steve, John brought me the antler. There were three pieces about 6 inches long with the tine end gnawed off by squireels.Horhay said he had some in the back of his truck he was gonna bring me, if he does do you want some? I can bring it by after work one day this week.

 

[Firefyter-emt]

No, I have the Eastwood kit myself, but I hear that the HF gun is good enough for most stuff. It's a diffrent kind on finish application (and this is from a former auto painter) It just kinda "puffs" onto the part and sticks. As long as you are making a dust cloud, the static will stick it on. There are others here that use he HF gun so they might chime in. I ordered one, but it was back ordered for about 2 months.

 

[rherrell]

I have the HF gun. It's ok for occasional use. What can I say, it's HF.

 

[JimBobTucson]

Steve,

I am just about ready to PC some cartridges myself. If you want me to clearcoat a couple of yours, I'm sure we can work something out. Shoot me a PM if you are interested.

 

[Rmartin]

I use specially formulated lacqeur from VotawTool company. They also have brass tubes.

http://www.votawtool.com/zcom.asp?pg=products&grp=745

Rmartin