Thin walled barrels and resins

[sorcerertd]

This is a tough one for me. I feel like I should know this better by now, but I can't find the right technique for this yet. I've bought some beautiful blanks with such deep vibrant colors, but the colors come out looking terrible on the finished product. Painting just isn't cutting it. Maybe I just need to go with a paint colored similarly to the color I want to bring out in the blank. Perhaps the Rollester was not the best choice for these. I painted the blanks, one white and one black. I don't recall which is which, though.

The main thing that bugs me is with making Jr. style kits. With less meat on the cap barrel, it looks more washed out than on the main barrel. Has anyone tried painting the cap blank a little darker?

 

[Kenny Durrant]

There's been several conversations about paint tubes/blanks to alter the final effect. I use a color that will blend or alter the shade I'm looking for on a pen. I use an acrylic water based paint you can get at Hobby Loby or Michael's. They come in several colors and shades. When I first stared casting the talk was water doesn't play well with resin so most stayed away from it. I haven't had any trouble as long as I make sure it's completely dry.

 

[bugradx2]

I agree, there have been a couple conversations on this. One of the suggestions that I've seen this year that I shamelessly copied was to take a dowel and paint it several colors. It does mean that I might sacrifice part of a blank to experiment with the color that I think works best with the blank. I turn the sacrifice down to close to end size without a tube and then use the dowel to see what looks the best.

You could probably paint the interior of the test piece and use it but it can get a little wonky when you turn it down without a tube in it. Even if you had the blank extra long and trimmed the ends back.

 

[Jarod888]

I've used testers model paint in both spray and brush form. They seem to do well and the variety of colors helps to pick one that will highlight the blank.

 

[egnald]

... When I first started casting the talk was water doesn't play well with resin so most stayed away from it. I haven't had any trouble as long as I make sure it's completely dry.

Acrylic paint is a very unique material. It is essentially a water-soluble liquid plastic which is mostly acrylic pigments that by themselves are not water soluble, Kind of like tiny little chunks of plastic that are floating in water. When the water evaporates the chunks form a porous film. The pores on the film are big enough for water vapor to pass through but are not big enough for liquid water to pass through. That's why it is water resistant when it is dry.

Since it is mostly acrylic particles, it works well for tinting other plastic polymers like resins and epoxies. I have also found that a little goes a long way. I use a single, small drop, in my epoxy.

Sorry for the babbling - It's the engineer and teacher in me and sometimes I just can't help it. - Dave

 

[Kenny Durrant]

Wow! Thanks for the information Dave. I've thought about trying it with epoxy glue but didn't bother because I figured the water in the paint would mess it up. I'm not one to try on scrap pieces that I'd rather go on with the project. Then I don't want to mess up a project and start over so I'm not one to venture out much. It's funny when I started this hobby it wasn't long before I wished I'd payed more attention in chemistry when in school!!!!!

 

[egnald]

In my original test/experiment I mixed up two small quantities of epoxy (I use Loctite 5-Minute). In one I added two drops of water after the resin and hardener were mixed together.

The water turned the epoxy a white translucent color bordering on opaque.
The water sample started to harden faster (in about 2 minutes vs 5).
After 5 minutes, both samples were hardened to a solid, very stiff, but still kind of elastic (like rubber)
After 1/2 hour, both samples were hard, but still a little pliable.

So, I assumed that the little bit of water a drop of acrylic paint would have minimal impact on the epoxy other than perhaps contributing to the resulting level of translucency/opacity of the mixture.

I've been successful with the process so far anyway.

Dave

 

[sorcerertd]

I've definitely read (and probably started) plenty of threads about painting tubes. I just find it odd that these would come out looking so washed out even with painting. Maybe I need to use something metallic to add some depth?

@egnald - Dave, I very much like your explanations. I'm a geek at heart and always like to know the science behind things.