Friends - Thank you, again, for the kind and very generous words regarding the pen. I'll have to admit that this one is near and dear to me. I had a lot of help and encouragement in getting it to this point. FYI, the first attempt was an abomination!
I'll try to cover the questions as best I can. As far as the type of paint, I use acrylics exclusively. Acrylic paint adheres nicely to just about any surface we encounter in pen making. I also protect the pain with numerous light coats of lacquer. This particular pen is finished with a nice nitrocellulose lacquer as I wanted a a slightly aged appearance that comes with the mild amber color of most nitrocellulose lacquers.
In terms of my never posting an ugly pen, that is not the case. I have posted a few. The secret is not to post the ones that turn out ugly! Yes, I still make some that are beasts, I just don't let them see the light of day.
As for the smoke and mirrors, I give a lot of credit to Gerry Rhodes (Gerryr) who has taught me more about photography than I thought I wanted to know!
Finally, every now and then I need to remember where I came from. I started with a lot of desire and zero ability. My improvements over time are directly a result of literally scores of talented turners on this forum. While I cannot possibly name all of the folks who helped me along the way, I would like to single out just a few.
Without Russ Fairfield's wesite on making pens and finishing secrets, I would likely be sitting on the couch watching television. I still go back and re-read everything Russ has written from time to time.
Jeff Brown and Scott Greaves are next on my list. In creating this site, they gave me a chance to learn at my own pace from literally hundreds of turners. The sharing never stops here and neither does my learning.
Without naming names (they know who they are), I would also like to thank those who have befriended me, encouraged me, cajoled me, threatened me, chided me and generally treated me like my effort matters. Without the nudge, not always so gentle, I would be careless and lazy.
Again, friends, thank you all for the nice things said about my pen. It is humbling and gratifying.