Painting acrylic blanks

[RDH79]

When you need to paint the acrylic blanks are you drilling the blank a little bigger? If I drill the required size and paint the inside of the blank the tube fits too tight. And sometimes scrapes the paint from the blank.

 

[Jim Smith]

I find that some acrylic blanks melt just a bit, especially when drilled a little too quickly. Some of the softened acrylic material can remain in the blank and stick to the insides of the blank, resulting in small irregularities inside the blank. The paint only adds to the issue. To prevent this from happening, I drill the blank, then I let it sit for a few moments to cool down and then I drill it again. The second quick pass through with the drill bit should remove any of these errant bits of acrylic that make the hole seem too small for the tube. Just one possible solution...

Jim Smith

 

[CaptG]

Yes, I will drill the blank just a bit bigger. I measure the tube and use a drill chart to pick a drill about .010 bigger than the tube for wood or non-transparent blanks. For acrylic blanks that I need to paint the inside of the hole, I try to find a drill about .020 bigger than the tube. I also mix a bit of paint in the epoxy to color it also.