What paint and how?

[r1237h]

I understand that sometimes it's a good idea to paint the tubes. Before gluing carbon fibre, feathers, translusent acrylics, and so on. However, there are about a zillion types of paint. As far as I can tell, enamel is a used. Matt or glossy? Does it matter? Spray or paintbrush? Is the paint one gets for model planes good? I remember it being nice and shiny. But if brushed, won't you see the brush strokes?

Also, in the case of translucent blanks, if the drilling is done correctly (and yes, sometimes I manage this), then there shouldn't be that much wiggle room between the tube and the blank. Won't adding paint make the tube not fit?

 

[mick]

Ron I personally use acrylic craft paint as it works for me. The are many colors available so you can almost always find a color close to the blank you've drilled. PAINT the inside of the blank to hide the glue bubbles...but let it dry overnight to let it cure completely.Test the fit of the tube and if necessary either use a slightly larger bit or file the hole slightly with a round file. Hope this helps..feel free to ask any other questions you might have

For the tubes I use spray paint, a color close to t he material you're using such as black for the carbon fiber.

 

[theidlemind]

Carbon fiber is dense enough that gloss or matte paint wont matter.
If you are casting the fiberglass sleeves you will need a matte paint that very closely matches the fiber color as it does show through a little.