Painting Tubes

[BobBurt]

It's been asked before........Do you paint your tubes for Acrylics/PR?????

I have a couple of yellow and red acrylics. Do I paint the tubes?????? If so, What color????

I was thinking that painting them white would be ok....

Comments please

Thanks in advance

 

[PTownSubbie]

Bob,

I have a couple of cans of spray paint and I paint the inside of the blanks with all acrylic blanks.

I use either white or black. Just hold the blank in your hand covered by a plastic shopping bag and shoot the paint inside the drilled hole. Let it dry and then glue in your tube.

 

[Displaced Canadian]

Some use testors brand model paint and a color to match the tubes. I haven't done a lot but I use grey primer in a spray can

 

[RHunter]

+1 on the Testor's Model Paint.

I actually paint the inside of the blank and not the tubes- that way you can't see the glue lines of the epoxy.

I use the enamel and not the acrylic, and just use a Q-Tip.

There was a post some time ago showing the difference in appearance in using a dark color vs a light color in the blank- it REALLY made a difference.

I have been experimenting with a contrasting color to see what comes out.

-Doug

 

[jasontg99]

Good advice. I will definitely try these tips.

 

[TellicoTurning]

+1 for the testors also... and like Doug, I paint the inside of the blank... I like to use a predominent color in the blank... I would think a white or black would show in a really translucent blank... also with testors, you can mix and combine colors to try and match your blanks.

 

[jttheclockman]

Painting the tubes or blanks or both can make a huge difference. I have shown this photo before but this is the same blank material with black and white as the paint colors.

 

[mick]

A wise man....actually it was Ed Brown so that would be a "wise Guy" once said to always assume that an acrylic blank needs painting. I agree...better safe than sorry. That being said here's the important points I agree with. The rest is just trying different stuff and having fun!
1. Paint the inside of the blank...this will hide your glue lines and bubbles.
2. Use whatever paint will cover the best and also not react with your glue of choice.
3.If you like the color of whatever blank your turning paint the inside that color...or close to it.
4. If you want a lighter color than the blank you chose then paint it white(although I
can't figure out why you chose the blank onlyh to want a lighter color :biggrin:
5.If you want some interesting effects experiment with different colors.
as JT shows in his picture above, the inside color can and will make a
BIG difference! I do a entire series of pens in what I call "Glacier Swirls" I
take the same white blank from Woodcraft and paint the insides different colors and when turned because of the varying opaque areas of the blank end up with very interesting patterns

Another plus of this...you get to use cool terms like " reverse painting when you describe the process to customers!
6. Go try different thing...remember there are no mistakes ...just design
opportunities!

 

[NewLondon88]

I mentioned this in another thread, but I should have put it here.

The craft store I went to had a sale on acrylic paints for $0.39 for a two
ounce bottle. Haven't tried them yet (tomorrow) but at that price it didn't
make sense not to. I know the Testors can get pricey.

 

[TellicoTurning]

This was a clear cast cactus pen that I painted the inside of the tube red...

 

[omb76]

Looks like this topic has been well covered, but have to put in my 2 cents too! I always paint the inside of the blank and the tubes as well. Probably overkill painting the tubes, but for no more effort that it takes, I don't mind. I just use the cheap spray paint from the Dollar General. $.99 a can, lasts a long time and works great! I mainly use white and black paint depending on the depth of color I'm looking for in the finished blank. White tends to keep the blank an more true to the original color (lightening a little bit) while black will darken it and give most blanks that "jewel" tone look.

Have fun experimenting!

 

[mick]

I mentioned this in another thread, but I should have put it here.

The craft store I went to had a sale on acrylic paints for $0.39 for a two
ounce bottle. Haven't tried them yet (tomorrow) but at that price it didn't
make sense not to. I know the Testors can get pricey.

Acrylic craft paint is what I use. I know some haven't had good luck with it but I always let it dry over night and have yet to have a problem with it using either CA or epoxy to glue tubes in. I've got probably 50 to 60 different colors and usually match the blank pretty close unless trying for a different effect

 

[BobBurt]

Thanks guys for all of your suggestions, I picked up some Testor's Model Paint today.