painting acrylic blanks

[sbwertz]

OK my first attempt at an acrylic was a success. It was an orange and black blank, so I didn't paint the blank, figuring the brass was the best match for the orange acrylic. It turned out fine. But now I have red and blue and tortoise blanks and I don't know how to paint the blanks. I'm told to paint the inside of the blank, rather than trying to paint the tube.

My big question is do you paint them all the same color, or do you paint them to match the color of the blank? What kind of paint? Does the paint affect the glue?

Thanks for your help

 

[BigguyZ]

You can paint with white, black, or a color that compliments the blank. Each choice will have a different effect, but in the end it's up to you. I'd experiment if you have more than one of the same blank.

As far as glue and painting, I think it'd depend on what paint and what glue. First, I'd reccomend using a high quality paint, liek Testor's model paint. Secondly, any glue will probably be OK once the paint has cured. I like gorilla glue, but CA will work as well.

 

[nava1uni]

It is important to let the the paint dry well or the CA can make it separate when you put the tube into the blank. I use Testors and I also use spray paint to paint the tubes and the blanks. Often I paint both to avoid any difficulty when gluing the tube into the blank.

 

[Chasper]

I paint them to match the color of the blank. More transparent blanks are more critical than those that are more opaque. I use Testors or any other oil based enamel, I use water based latex when I can't find anything else that is a good match, it works pretty well.

I glue with CA and it has no effect on the paint if the paint is dry.

On a highly transparent blank, painting the tube or using a tube that is already colored to match the blank is never enough, glue is always blochy and not perfectly even spread. The purpose of painting the blank is to hide the glue, not to hide the tube.

 

[JerrySambrook]

Another small, but time consuming idea is to drill the blank one size under, then sand the insides of the blank progressively to get an even better finish on the inside of a translucent to transparent blank. Then the painting of the blank will actually turn out even better.