Pomegranate crush

[sorcerertd]

This is a Jr. Harold in a pomegranate crush Rhino blank. The blank and tubes were both painted black. I wet sanded through the Zona grits, hit it with some Meguire's plastic polish, then the buffing wheels with tripoli, white diamond, and carnauba. Don't know that the carnauba really did any good, but it was there.

Overall, I'm not sure how I feel about it. I don't think it would have looked good painted white. It's pretty clear between the "crush" so maybe a metallic silver? I probably won't buy this blank again, but I do have one more. Any suggestions?

 

[Jim15]

Great looking pen.

 

[AllanS]

Silver paint is the first thing I thought of as well. Or maybe even gold to 'lighten" the pen and make the red of the blank pop. Either way, I'd be interested in the results of your experimentation. (I'm shameless about stealing good ideas).

 

[ed4copies]

I will turn a few today--see what they look like.

 

[Fine Engineer]

I rather like the dark tone of this pen. It makes the crush a bit more subtle, and less flashy.
Painting the tube (or the inside of the bore in the blank) silver sounds like a good second run at this. Given the amount of chrome in this kit, a little silver in the blank could look nice.

 

[KMCloonan]

I have been pleasantly surprised with white-painted tubes or the holes in the blank. You generally don't see the white, but more light seems to come through the blank, accentuating the colors that are already there. I have also painted the holes/tubes with a light version of a color in the blank. That works pretty well also.

 

[ed4copies]

Took a little while to wait for the paint to dry, but here they are: (inside of hole painted black, white, silver and Blue.

I did not see the hole in the silver blank until I posted this picture!! Will fix it and post the results---Tomorrow!!

 

[leehljp]

Took a little while to wait for the paint to dry, but here they are: (inside of hole painted black, white, silver and Blue.

I did not see the hole in the silver blank until I posted this picture!! Will fix it and post the results---Tomorrow!!

Ed, the OP and your post both looked like there was not much lighting. I have seen blacks that with great light still showed the black but it was the color black. On these two, I know that they are dark but the color should be visible with the proper lighting. Am I missing something or am I getting cataracts?

 

[ed4copies]

The picture is actually brighter than the "real life" color.

I don't pretend to be a photographer. This was taken in a light box with 2 flourescent bulbs, as well as being "front-lit" with a
lamp that emulates "real sunlight" and a spotlight shining directly down on the blanks.

As they say, I gave it the "ol' college try"!!

 

[leehljp]

In the OP, the pict with the wood background has more light coming in from above or in front. I can tell by the reflection on the fine finish and that one particular photo does show the best color. However the others have less light in front, making them appear darker. Eds picts have a white background that washes the color out when viewed from the front.

Those look like great blanks! The color just shows up better in the one pict with the wood in the background. Thanks

 

[sorcerertd]

Took a little while to wait for the paint to dry, but here they are: (inside of hole painted black, white, silver and Blue.

I did not see the hole in the silver blank until I posted this picture!! Will fix it and post the results---Tomorrow!!

Thanks for this, Ed. Will we see this in our inboxes Sunday?
One thing is for sure, this is not a blank that can be used without paint!

In the OP, the pict with the wood background has more light coming in from above or in front. I can tell by the reflection on the fine finish and that one particular photo does show the best color. However the others have less light in front, making them appear darker. Eds picts have a white background that washes the color out when viewed from the front.

Those look like great blanks! The color just shows up better in the one pict with the wood in the background. Thanks

The lighting was about the same in them (same position and reflector anyway). They were on my phone. Generally, with auto settings, I find that having something else in the darker than the background in the picture changes the exposure and white balancing. My pics in the OP were all brightened, though very slightly so.

 

[ed4copies]

Well, the hole is fixed (I could have chosen a better color to hide it).
Here are two pics--this time I layed the blanks down instead of standing them on end--more light hits them.

AND they have a colored background-of course I have software that can (and did on the last post) eliminate the background and leave only the blanks. Again, they are black, white, silver and blue painted in the drilled hole before inserting brass tube.

A more direct pic from just above the blanks. These were not "tweaked" with software. Taken with simple IPhone.