Painting wood pen blanks?

[Aces-High]

My daughter would like to paint some pen blanks. Has anyone done this? Looking for advice on what paint to use and what finish to apply. Maybe Bob can chime in here since he does a lot of really interesting things... Many thanks!

Jason

 

[mark james]

Hi Jason.

Check out some of the previous threads from Jon Tello. He was active in the Ohio IAP Chapter until he moved to Italy. He does still visit IAP, and is still very active in penturning and art.

 

[JohnU]

Here's a snowman pen I made with acrylic craft paint on a maple blank.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/attachments/f13/162582d1491874667-my-mpg-2017-demo-pens-snowman.jpg

I sealed it with a non yellowing artist spray used on charcoal drawings, waited a day and applied a CA finish. I used medium with very light pressure for the first couple coats. Just let the paint and spray dry a dry between uses. After the first couple CA coats it will be sealed enough to apply pressure for a normal CA finish. Good luck!

 

[magpens]

Wow, John !! . You're an artist as well as a gentleman !!!

 

[greenacres2]

My wife used acrylic paint pens on a few scrap slim sections as a test. We found spray lacquer then letting it dry for a few days (shorter may have worked--but I had the flu so it was 3 days or so), followed by CA. CA by itself ate the paint--no surprise there!! I've got to get her some blanks turned to tinker with--she's good. I can't paint anything. I think I tried Woodturners Finish as well, results not as good as the lacquer/CA.
earl