Painted tubes

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Woodchipper

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2017
Messages
5,138
Location
Cleveland, TN
I am concerned that sandpaper will remove the finish.
Depends on how much or how hard you sand them. I scuffed the surface of a fishing rod blank before gluing the grip in place. Just enough to dull the finish before applying the epoxy. I have some white tubes from WC and will give it a try.
 

keithncsu

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Joined
May 28, 2016
Messages
372
Location
Catawba, SC 29704
I never understood the point of colored tubes. If the blank is THAT translucent, you're going to likely see glue lines unless you color your glue too. If the blank is less translucent, but you're still worried about the brass distorting the color, then just spray paint the tube white. For that type blank, it wouldn't need to be a perfect paint job, you're just masking the brass color. Then the glue lines likely wouldn't matter.

I could be completely missing something but that is just my 2 cents.

And for the record, I started out sanding every single tube religiously. Then one day, after hearing that others don't, I just stopped. Haven't had any known issues since.
 
Joined
Mar 11, 2012
Messages
797
Location
Fuquay Varina, NC
For some of my lighter color colored blanks, you absolutely want to have a colored tube. The whole point of the pre-colored tubes are, they save time. You don't have to wait for the paint to dry before gluing them up. Plus you're less likely to had any sort of adhesion issues with powder coated vs glued tubes. Lots of issues can happen with a painted substrate with glue on top of it. You CAN see the difference in the quality of color on the light ones with a white tube vs the hint of brass color you see if you don't have a painted tube (or just paint inside the blank which solves that whole seeing glue lines problem)
 

jttheclockman

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Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
19,083
Location
NJ, USA.
I never understood the point of colored tubes. If the blank is THAT translucent, you're going to likely see glue lines unless you color your glue too. If the blank is less translucent, but you're still worried about the brass distorting the color, then just spray paint the tube white. For that type blank, it wouldn't need to be a perfect paint job, you're just masking the brass color. Then the glue lines likely wouldn't matter.

I could be completely missing something but that is just my 2 cents.

And for the record, I started out sanding every single tube religiously. Then one day, after hearing that others don't, I just stopped. Haven't had any known issues since.

The point of colored tubes is mainly for doing cast on blanks. I will use colored tubes when casting my braidings in case you see the tube through the weave. Not needed if using blanks with translucent effects or solid blanks. Doing watch part blanks or blanks of that nature where the tube is seen.

For some of my lighter color colored blanks, you absolutely want to have a colored tube. The whole point of the pre-colored tubes are, they save time. You don't have to wait for the paint to dry before gluing them up. Plus you're less likely to had any sort of adhesion issues with powder coated vs glued tubes. Lots of issues can happen with a painted substrate with glue on top of it. You CAN see the difference in the quality of color on the light ones with a white tube vs the hint of brass color you see if you don't have a painted tube (or just paint inside the blank which solves that whole seeing glue lines problem)

I do not agree with this statement. do not know about OP blanks and maybe he is correct but the best way to hide a tube is to reverse paint the blank. You can hide the glue which you WILLL see and also need to sand the drill marks before painting or else you can see those too. No adhesion problems at all if you use the proper paint and wait for it to dry. If you are in a hurry to make a pen then you messed up. Haste makes waste. Powder coated tubes are the best when it come to painted tubes. Just my point of view and have been doing this for a long time. Have to go. Happy turning.
 
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