Fingernail polish?

[BobbyD]

I was wondering if anyone has ever tried using fingernail polish to paint pen tubes.

The colors are endless, dry time very fast, and very hard/durable? A variety of finishes are available too... metallic, pearl, color shifting, ...

I suppose the glue being used would be a factor as well, I am using Gorilla Clear and letting my glued blanks/tubes sit for a day before putting on the lathe.

Came up with this idea because I have a custom 72 Opel GT with a unique paint that can't be reproduced, and found fingernail polish is almost an exact match for very small touch-ups under the hood or stone chips.

Bob

 

[Curly]

Nail polish works and some can be used with casting resins you are doing imbedded objects. Paint some on a tart cup or kitchen foil and test the glue or resin before committing to using it. Try a different brand if one doesn't work. Don't let your buddies see the bottles in the shop or you might get razzed.

Pete

 

[Gary Beasley]

Ive used the glitter nail polish to make slimline pens. They will cast in resin pretty good but they have a tendency to delaminate from the tube if turned too thin. Also depends on the brand of polish, some types dry harder and resist coming off the brass better than others.

 

[PatrickR]

i have found most of it to be very translucent.

 

[eharri446]

CA will dissolve it. You will need to use epoxy to glue the tube in.

 

[JohnU]

I've used it over the years for both tubes and in resin. It works well when you want a shimmery color as a background in clear casts. A word of warning if mixing in resin as a colorant... your casts will smell very strongly of mail polish long after the resin smell is gone. It's not as good as mica, very transparent and you need to use a lot at one time. I would only use it in resin as a last choice.

 

[greenacres2]

Nail polish works and some can be used with casting resins you are doing imbedded objects. Paint some on a tart cup or kitchen foil and test the glue or resin before committing to using it. Try a different brand if one doesn't work. Don't let your buddies see the bottles in the shop or you might get razzed.

Pete

I didn't have any problems when they saw the bottle--but did get some snickers when they saw my toenails.

Good call to test the glues with the specific polish--even different colors from the same manufacturer might react differently.
earl

 

[Crashmph]

I have found it to be better to paint the blank hole rather than the tube. You can still see glue one the tube when using translucent blanks. Painting the drilled out hole, you will not see any glue on the tube.