lucite blank question

[jimr]

I am about to turn my first non-wood pen. It is one of the lucite blanks from pipemakers.org. I have used polyurethane glue on all my previous pens and have never had any disasters. I am not sure if it will work on lucite. If not I will use CA. I would appreciate any advice from "professional" non-wood turners.
Also, after reading everything here I will coat the tubes with black paint or permanent marker, is it also advisable to do the inside of the blanks.
thanks for the help

 

[DWK5150]

I would use CA or epoxy. I have used epoxy on mine and not had any problems. Yes I recomend painting or coloring the tubes and the inside of the blank to be on the safe side depending on which color it is you are using. A few of them are very transparent.

 

[wayneis]

I use epoxy glue on everything but Poly glue will also work. Yes paint the holes in the blanks, if you don't then you will see ugly bubbles inside. I use flat paint as it blends in better, I just choose a color that comes the closest to the main color of the blank.

Wayne

 

[LAKingsFan]

I just turned some of the black blanks from pipemakers.org. It turns great. Always good to paint the blanks, but when I did it...it was black as night! No see through at all.

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Good luck

Ron

 

[Jim in Oakville]

Originally posted by wayneis
<br />I use epoxy glue on everything but Poly glue will also work. Yes paint the holes in the blanks, if you don't then you will see ugly bubbles inside. I use flat paint as it blends in better, I just choose a color that comes the closest to the main color of the blank.

Wayne

Hi Wayne,

Can you share what brand of paint you use, I was thinking of model paints...is that a good choice?

thanks!! Merry Christmas!

 

[LanceD]

Jim, I have been using Krylon spray paint with very good results. It's fast drying. I plug one end of the tube and use a 1/4'' dowel to hold the tube then after spraying i shove the dowel in a block of styrofoam to dry. Then I spray some on a piece of cardboard and use a Q tip to paint the inside of the blank, normally two or three coats. Also, like Wayne I prefer to use a flat paint as it seems to dry and cure a lot faster, but glossy works just fine but it tends to take a little longer to cure. Also I always use 5 minute epoxy so after an hour it's ready to turn.

 

[Jim in Oakville]

Originally posted by LanceD
<br />Jim, I have been using Krylon spray paint with very good results. It's fast drying. I plug one end of the tube and use a 1/4'' dowel to hold the tube then after spraying i shove the dowel in a block of styrofoam to dry. Then I spray some on a piece of cardboard and use a Q tip to paint the inside of the blank, normally two or three coats. Also, like Wayne I prefer to use a flat paint as it seems to dry and cure a lot faster, but glossy works just fine but it tends to take a little longer to cure. Also I always use 5 minute epoxy so after an hour it's ready to turn.

Thank You Lance!! Do you use sand paper to score the surface of the tube before you paint them?

 

[LanceD]

Jim, I use 150 grit sandpaper to roughen the tubes prior to painting. I don't know if it helps t adhere after painting but it only takes a few seconds.

 

[Deere41h]

If you are going to us CA (And I would suggest epoxy) do not use a magic marker to paint the tubes. CA will cause the marker to flake off and you will have a brass showing. CA and magic markers don't like each other.

Which Lucite are you going to use?