Painting Blanks/Tubes for Multi-Color Blanks

[beck3906]

Several folks are offering multi-color pours with 5-9 or more colors. I'm trying to decide the best color to paint the blank/tube to not wash out the colors but still add depth.

What would be a good suggestion for painting? I first thought about silver as a general use but it may not be the best.

Consider the blank to have white, yellow, red, orange, blues, and greens.

 

[CREID]

I try to pick out the dominate color and paint it that color.

Curt

 

[Sabaharr]

The lightest color is the one most likely to show through.

 

[beck3906]

Beginning to sound like a poll is needed.

 

[Brooks803]

I would say anything but white! White will give you pastel colors. Silver will sometimes work well, but can lighten up certain colors. Not always in a good way.

The type of blank would dictate how I painted them as well. If it's full of mica powders (in other words sparkly) I would try to reinforce what color I DON'T want to lose. Unless there's the bare minimum of mica in the pour you won't really change what the colors are...only enhance. For example. Using your color considerations, I wouldn't worry about accidentally changing the blue to purple if I painted red.

If the blank has a lot of different transparent colors (like most of mine) yeah the reverse paint choice will dictate things heavily. When it comes to those situations I either pick the color I want to stand out most and go with that, or black. It really depends on the maker and how they do things. I can only speak to my own blanks bc I know how they'll react.

 

[larryc]

I read somewhere that if you take a dowel and paint different colors on the dowel and then insert it into the drilled blank that you could see which color worked best for that blank.
The problem is the blank is so thick before you turn it that this tip may not be of any help.
Now if there was a way that you could turn the blank without gluing the tube in?

 

[nativewooder]

I once ordered 6 acrylic blanks from one pour from someone no longer in business. I coated the tubes in red, yellow, blue, green, black, and white. My customers could not believe that all those blanks were the same color to begin with! Lots of fun!

 

[Edgar]

I read somewhere that if you take a dowel and paint different colors on the dowel and then insert it into the drilled blank that you could see which color worked best for that blank.
The problem is the blank is so thick before you turn it that this tip may not be of any help.
Now if there was a way that you could turn the blank without gluing the tube in?

You can leave the blank a little long, turn it between centers to nearly the desired size, then drill the hole & decide what color to use. Then paint, glue & finish turning to final size.

 

[KenV]

I have cut a thin slice off the end of a blank as a color test piece.

 

[CrimsonKeel]

Usually when in doubt I do black or white.
Black seems to make lighter colors pop and the white just blends for me. I have tried silver but it seems to muddy up blanks.

 

[ElMostro]

Several folks are offering multi-color pours with 5-9 or more colors. I'm trying to decide the best color to paint the blank/tube to not wash out the colors but still add depth.

What would be a good suggestion for painting? I first thought about silver as a general use but it may not be the best.

Consider the blank to have white, yellow, red, orange, blues, and greens.

Rick hello, I hope all is well. If you are talking about the blanks you purchased from me they may (very likely) not need painting of the tubes. I put enough pigment in the mixes to make sure that the tubes do not show. HOWEVER, in some sierras that I have made that leave very little "meat" at the end of the tubes if I look hard enough I can make out the tube but these are the exception. So for those kits that are thin at the ends it may be a good safety measure.

The best way to test is to cut a very thin sliver from one end of the blank and put the tube under it and see if it shows, if you can see it then painting is required.

Also a good way to test which colors look best is to take that same sliver and paint the back side of it with a permanent marker then look and see if it makes a difference. That should get you close enough to make a decision.

Take care and thanks again, Eugene.

 

[Sandsini]

I've had good luck with Eugene's blanks recently by using nickel plated tubes (or by using unpainted brass tubes in blanks that feature gold tones). It adds a depth that's lost when you use paint. Some of my most popular recent pens have been prepared this way, and it's now my preferred way of presenting his beautiful blanks!

 

[The Penguin]

I read somewhere that if you take a dowel and paint different colors on the dowel and then insert it into the drilled blank that you could see which color worked best for that blank.
The problem is the blank is so thick before you turn it that this tip may not be of any help.
Now if there was a way that you could turn the blank without gluing the tube in?

I read somewhere that if you take a dowel and paint different colors on the dowel and then insert it into the drilled blank that you could see which color worked best for that blank.
The problem is the blank is so thick before you turn it that this tip may not be of any help.
Now if there was a way that you could turn the blank without gluing the tube in?

You can leave the blank a little long, turn it between centers to nearly the desired size, then drill the hole & decide what color to use. Then paint, glue & finish turning to final size.

I've done this several times when I'm not sure how the backpaint will affect the blank.