Turning Clear(ish) Acrylics...

[bgray]

I've been working with some acrylics that have some clear-ish spots...black and white acrylics with some smoky spots, brown and beige, etc...

I decided to paint my blanks black before turning these pens, so that the blank will not show brass through the blank.

Is this really necessary? It was just an extra step, and I'm wondering if I can eliminate it in the future.

Thanks.

bg

 

[fiferb]

You can eliminate painting the brass tubes if you don't mind them shining through the clearish spots.

 

[JimGo]

I'll second Bruce's advice. It doesn't look bad when the tube peeks through, depending on the blank. I have two Sierras in my album where you can see the tube; most people think it gives the pen extra depth.

 

[twoofakind]

I have turned them both ways and have had mixed results. From what I've learned so far, if the blank has some colors that would match the tubes then I leave them. If I am turning a color that is way off, then I try and match the tube to the color to compliment it. I have been using nail polish recently and it is working very well.
Andy

 

[gerryr]

If you use either epoxy or poly to glue the tubes in, the air bubbles in the glue will show, depending on how transparent the material is. You can avoid this by painting the inside of the hole, instead of the tube. If you use epoxy, you can also color the epoxy and skip the painting entirely, but air bubbles can still show.