Update on Tube Painting / Glue Tinting

[Tn-Steve]

Hey gang,

I just finished an experiment on painting tubes, thought I'd share what I had had found. I had a problem earlier (Tube Painting Weirdness) and thought I'd share what I have found so far.

I did a couple just using the Testors Enamel (the kind in the little glass bottles), and here's what I've discovered.

• Testors seems to be pretty insensitive in terms of a time window for repainting / touch ups. I really couldn't get it to lift, bubble or get sticky no matter how long or how short a time period I used
• Que-Tips are great for painting the inside of blanks
• Easy way to tint epoxy, just dip your stirstick into the paint before you start the mixing.
• The Testors SEEMS to be pretty immune to CA, I spread thick CA on a tube that I had let sit for 24 hours or so, kept working it back and forth with my (gloved) fingers, wiped it off with a paper towel. No paint went with it, and looking at the streaks I had in the paint to start with, didn't appear to even start to shift or flow.

Don't know if this helps much, but it filled a viceral need in me to actually do a bit of a controlled test.

Have a great evening

Steve

 

[gomeral]

Exceptional reporting, Steve. Seriously. I love hearing this kind of real-world data collected from controlled tests, as you put it. Let's hear it for the scientific method!


daniel

 

[Jim15]

Thanks for the info., Steve.

 

[ed4copies]

Thanks, Steve. I will order some of the Testors and see if I can screw it up!!!

(I have a gift for such things!!)

 

[Greg O'Sherwood]

Thanks, Steve. I will order some of the Testors and see if I can screw it up!!!

(I have a gift for such things!!)

+1
:bananen_smilies046:

 

[IPD_Mrs]

Thanks, Steve. I will order some of the Testors and see if I can screw it up!!!

(I have a gift for such things!!)

That ain't no lie! :devil:

Couldn't help myself with such an easy in. :tongue:

 

[workinforwood]

It is true that Testors is not supposed to break down from CA, but I have had it happen..but that was years and years ago and they may have improved some since. The whole point of Testors is for the modeling industry, and plastic car models are glued together with CA, so the paint has to be able to take it too. The issue I have with painting the tubes with Testors is that it ends up pretty thick on the tube which makes it more difficult to get into the hole. You paint the tube and inside the hole and you might not get the tube in without scratching off a bunch of paint. You'd have to drill the hole a tad bigger, but that weakens the finished pen..depending on the kit of course.

 

[geovtx]

New to the board and have only been turning pens for about a year. The first time I turned an acrylic slim the brass tube stuck out like a sore thumb. I now "paint" the tubes with permanent magic marker; they're cheap, dry fast and come in a bunch of colors. I've done about 30 this way and have had excellent results. I don't know how it handles CA as I only use epoxy to bond the tubes.

 

[gomeral]

I now "paint" the tubes with permanent magic marker; they're cheap, dry fast and come in a bunch of colors.

Hmmm. Interesting idea! You've made me wonder about the paint pens that I see all the time at Michael's and other craft stores. I'll have to get one and see how the paint holds up to CA and/or epoxy. (I'm guessing Gorilla Glue may obscure the color...)



daniel

 

[DaveM]

I have used the magic marker approach. The problem for me is that I can still see the glue. If I am doing a short, wide tube, (El Toro) I can paint the inside of the blank. If I am doing any kind of a normal pen, I can't really paint the inside of the blank, so I have to go to a different paint. I agree with the Testors being too thick, but I still use it a lot. I drill .1mm over the standard, and try to get even coverage with the paint. Then I use the markers on the tube in case I have a bit of transparancy with the paint. This lets me get away with a slightly thinner coat of paint and still not see the tube. (Yes I wear a belt and suspenders too ;-) ) I glue with clear Gorilla glue.

I am going to order some of Arizona Silhouette's white and chrome tubes too. You can never try out too many new toys.

Dave

 

[DaveM]

By the way... For the basic colors where both are available, the flat works better than the gloss.

 

[tbird]

Can Testors be thinned? If you paint the blanks, is it necessary to paint the tubes also? I have only painted the tubes with iffy reults. Some times you see the glue some times not.

 

[Spats139]

I find that when using the coloured markers (Sharpie brand) that the CA starts to dissolve/smear the ink almost immediately; I haven't tried the markeers with epoxy yet.

I've had much better luck with Testors paints, but only used CA on it one time. That turned out very well, but the blank I was using was a translucent mix of greens and black, so if there was any problem I couldn't see it anyway.

What I like about Testors is being able to mix the colours to get a good match for the blank. It may be my imagination, but with the last half dozen pens I've done that way, the colours in the finished barrel seem much deeper, or richer, compared to the same blanks finished without the paint.

Still experimenting; lots of combinations to try yet.

 

[Tn-Steve]

I've thinned Testors enamel with both the "Official Testors Thinner" which in 1.39 for the tiny bottle, and with Acetone (which is a lot less per ounce) Just don't go overboard and you'll be ok, just remember there isn't much paint to start with, so just a little dap will do ya.

It makes it spread a bit easier, gives you a thinner coat, but still good coverage.

Steve

 

[Jgrden]

Here is another question you can get your teeth into. i am trying to make a pen with a logo inside of it. I keep getting separation between the logo and the resin. The separation appears to be air. Here is my process:
Take a brass 7 mm tube.
Print a logo on testor's paper
Spray it with their stuff that keeps the logo print from smearing.
Plug the ends of the tubes
Pour resin on them
Cure for 24 hours
Unplug, trim ends
Put on to lathe. Something is making the logo separate from the resin.

Is it heat related? I have taken a small torch to it and heated the center (brass) as it expands it erases the air in some cases.

 

[GouletPens]

If you use a Q-tip to paint the inside of your blank, you don't need to tint the glue, or paint the tube in almost every case. The Q-tip will put a relatively thin coating on the inside of the blank that shouldn't interfere with your tube, unless you're drilling the hole REALLY tight to the tube, which is not really the best of ideas anyway.

 

[GouletPens]

Oh yeah, and the magic marker or sharpie will dissolve almost immediately with CA. Also, if you do want to paint your tubes, go get yourself some Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy, less than $5 a can will do hundreds of tubes. It's the exact same result as buying the prepainted tubes from AS or WC. Thing is they only make the epoxy paint in black, white, or almond.