Painting Tubes

[Randy_]

I haven't done any plastic blanks yet so I haven't had to deal with this situation yet; but I have read about folks having problems with the glue affecting the paint.

Ever notice how difficult it is to get a window open that has been painted shut?? Paint makes a pretty good glue!!! I wonder why you couldn't skip the gluing process altogether and just use paint? Seems like the only problem might be time for those who lack a little patience as the drying time might be a difficulty.

 

[airrat]

I dont think you can get the bond with paint.

I did find some Metal paint at Michael's that I am liking. It seems to me to cover the brass tube better and does not come off or "streak" with the glue. Just have to make sure it is dry before the CA, else you can end up with tube 1/2 in or 1/2 out. DAMHIKT

 

[gokartergo]

I think the problem would be the paint smearing.. and then showing the brass..

 

[Randy_]

That's why I made the comment about the drying time. I think you would have to paint the tube and then wait for it to dry and then paint it again and insert while the second coat was still wet.

 

[DocRon]

Randy
Paint dries by losing solvent to the atmosphere, promoting the formation of the paint film and its adhesion to the substrate. That is why thin coats of paint are better than thick - they dry faster and bond better. Glue, especially CA, epoxy and urethane, set up by chemical reaction. If youput a wet paint between the tube and a plastic, non-porous blank, it will perhaps never dry.

 

[gerryr]

It might hold for a while, but my guess is that milling the ends would break the bond pretty quickly. I doubt it would take much heat to soften the paint and you would really have a mess. I haven't had any trouble at all with epoxy smearing the paint. What is more likely to happen is that as the tube is inserted it can easily scrap off some of the paint. I always use epoxy for gluing tubes into painted blanks and often mix pigment into it for some added insurance.

 

[Randy_]

Ron: That was something that did occur to me.

I've got a bottle of toner from an old copy machine and thought about mixing some of the toner with some epoxy. I wonder if you would get a good bond and a nice uniform dark color or if the color would be mottled because of differing thickness of the glue line??

 

[Chuck Key]

Paint the inside of the blank, paint the brass tube and depending on the kit forget the glue. I am not saying do this on every pen but on those difficult cases some exceptions may be needed.

Chuckie