Reverse painting questions

[Herb G]

Not sure where to post this, but here goes.

When you guys & gals back paint or reverse paint the blanks & tubes before inserting the tubes, what kind of paint do you use?

And, does the paint affect the glue you use to hold the tube in the blank?

For instance, would acrylic paint found at a hobby store react with CA glue, and prevent the glue from sticking in the blank?

Also, would lacquer based paint (like the rattle cans) react with epoxy or CA glue?

I am very curious about this because I don't want to ruin an expensive blank by using some paint that reacts with the glue I plan on using.

FWIW, I usually use epoxy glue for my blanks. I do use CA from time to time however.

Thanks for any help you might have.

 

[jttheclockman]

No exact answer to your question. Everyone is different. I use Testors enamel paints and use epoxy and never had a problem. I have also used rustloem high heat spray paints and no problems. Others will use different paints and have different results. But one thing is constant is to let the paint dry. I never paint the tubes. To me no need and you are just increasing the diameter of the pen tube and may have to redrill for a larger hole. Good luck.

 

[ed4copies]

Epoxy is less likely to react with the paint, so it is a good choice!!

I have used many different paints and they all have worked, as long as they are given time to cure before the tube is inserted.

Last, please don't take this personally, cause I hear it often: "I don't want to ruin my expensive (or one of a kind, or expensive kit) blank!!" THEN EXPERIMENT WITH OTHERS FIRST!!!!! Don't buy expensive stuff to "try"---learn on cheap stuff!!!!! I can tell you what works for me and you can tell me you did exactly what I said and it did not work---so first find out what works for YOU!!!!!

Penturning is supposed to be fun---it is more fun if your failures are cheap!!! We ALL have FAILURES!!! Keep the price of education down!!

Sorry to preach----Ed

 

[low_48]

A search on this site should give you about 4 days of reading on that subject.

 

[mark james]

Lessons...

I started two pens a few days ago. Both were Alumilite blanks. I painted the tubes after drilling the holes. Then I tinted the 2-part epoxy with ONE drop of color - this was enough to give a nice color to the epoxy. After the blanks were allowed to dry for 24 hrs, I glued in the tinted epoxy tube.

Result... In both blank sets the tube insertion still resulted in spots being "scrapped" and the brass tube showed. In the yellow blank it was not a game-killer; in the blue blanks, I did not even finish my sequence of polishing - a No Go!

Lesson... Even with precautions, s..t happens. Maybe a longer time to set. Maybe a different epoxy. Maybe a different paint. Maybe a larger hole drilled to allow more epoxy/tinted to be applied??? Just need to experiment.

So, I did most of what I needed to do, but it still did not result in a good product. I guess I need to turn more pens and figure this out!

 

[ed4copies]

Hey Mark,

Lesson #3: If you think it looks like sh.... and it is NOT an expensive pen, finish it.

SOMEONE will think it is beautiful and buy it!! Dawn and I often joked about the ones we hated all had someone who LOVED them!!

If it IS expensive, it requires a salesman---if you truly think it's ugly, you shouldn't be trying to sell it. So, those are better to get new tubes and start over.

 

[Monty]

Herb,
FWIW, I use spray paint all the time, usually the least expensive from WalMart or Lowe's, or Krylon or Rustolium, it all depend on what color I want. I first check to make sure the tube barely fits the hole, if too tight, it can scrape the paint.
My method is to lightly sand the tubes, suspend the tubes on a thin wire and give them a coat of paint. I also give a short spray of paint into each end of the blank and set it on end so the paint runs down the inside of the blank. I let these dry at least overnight. Then I glue in with thick CA. The few times I've had a failure, it's the paint that let go of the tube as there was no paint on the tube when it came out of the blank. So far, the only brand of paint I've had trouble with is DupliColor. Everytime I tried it, the paint failed on the tube as it came out of the blank with no paint.
Hope this helps, YMMV.

 

[qquake]

For a while, I was reverse painting the blanks with acrylic paint and a q-tip, and not painting the tubes. But I found that the acrylic paint took forever to dry inside the blanks, even though I made sure they were open to the air. Lately I've been painting the tubes with spray enamel, and sometimes spraying some paint inside the blanks. I've had much better results with the spray paint. I still use the acrylic paint to color the epoxy, using just a drop. Sometimes it makes the epoxy take longer to set, but that's not an issue. Just be patient. I never use CA so can't comment on coloring it.

 

[qquake]

This happened one of the last times I painted the blank with acrylic paint. You can see the spiral pattern in the paint when I twisted the tube in. Since then, I only use spray paint.

 

[Joey-Nieves]

I'm one of those tasteless people Ed mentioned, because all the failed pictures you guys have posted I like.
I don't give out the ugly pens, I put them on display, sooner or later someone will buy it.
FYI I use spray paint also

 

[mark james]

This happened one of the last times I painted the blank with acrylic paint. You can see the spiral pattern in the paint when I twisted the tube in. Since then, I only use spray paint.

I like your "mistakes" better than my mistakes. :redface:

 

[qquake]

I like your "mistakes" better than my mistakes. :redface:

Thank you. I think. LOL

 

[SteveG]

This is a useful step if you paint the hole: Use sandpaper to smooth the end of the tube prior to insertion. That little tube is a GREAT paint scraper until you 'soften' the tube end that likes to scrape off little areas of paint in the hole.