Acrylic pen blank question

[DRDJR]

this acrilic pen blank has been drilled but not turned. you can see light through it. when i start turning the blank the tube will show. So should I use brass black on the tube or paint the hole through the acrylic? To give you an idea how thin the tube will be it will be used on a Diva pen. Also should I glue the tube in with CA glue Or Origional Gorilla glue?

 

[jttheclockman]

My suggestion is to paint the hole in the blank. Do not worry about the tube. Now what color is the question? Using different colors will give the blank a different look. I do not know how close you have the blank turned down to actual useful size but that can make a difference too. I suggest you do some sample testing. many people take a dowel and paint sections on it with various colors and then slide the dowel in the hole and hold the colors one at a time against the blank to see how it would look. The thinner the blank gets turned down the more pronounced the color shows through. trying to keep the color of the blank that you have will probably call for a paint color close to what the blank is. Using white could wash out the color. Black would make too dark. But as I said painting a dowel will help.

Do not use CA because it usually has a negative reaction to paints and will crinkle the paint and it will show. I prefer to use an epoxy. I never used Gorilla glue so know nothing about its effects. if you want you could tint the epoxy with some of the same paint color chosen in case you scrap any off when sliding in tube. remember when painting the hole in blank it may tighten the fit so make sure to test before you commit. Good luck.

 

[Woodchipper]

Paint the blank. There is a ton of information here; check the library. One YT video experimented with a certain blank, showed the difference in using white, black and blue (blank was mostly blue) and showed the different appearances.

 

[Leonardo]

If you have any colored paper (like a construction paper multi-pack for kids), you can roll some up in different colors and slide into the tube to get an idea of what different color paints will look like.