Coloring the tubes....

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KMCloonan

KMCloonan

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I have watched several videos on coloring tubes, to keep the tube from showing through. I wanted to do a quick experiment to see the difference in appearance between a pen with a black tube, and a pen with a white tube, using the same resin blank.

I cast some translucent resin blanks last weekend, then cut a blank in half, and made two Diamond Knurl pens - one that I colored the tube black with a sharpie, and the other that I colored the tube white with some acrylic craft paint.

I'll let you guess which pen has which tube.
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I was amazed how much more vivid the white tube pen colors were. The black tube pen was still nice, but the colors are more subdued. The two photos are of the same pens, just looking at the opposite sides of the pens.
 
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White reflects the full spectrum of light, black reflects almost none. So the vibrance of the upper blank makes sense. Even though the blank appears opaque, there is pretty much always some degree of translucency. Resins actually usually have quite a lot, so a white tube will bring out the full range of color.
 
But white can also wash out colors so you have to be careful when explaining this. Not all black and white. 😀
 
jttheclockman said:
But white can also wash out colors so you have to be careful when explaining this. Not all black and white. 😀
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Sure, every tube (and hole) color you might use will have an impact on the results. I don't generally even use white myself. I usually use a color that complements the color of the blank...but, that isn't simple either.

Just in the context of this thread, though, its no surprise the white brought out the colors and their vibrancy.
 
jrista said:
Sure, every tube (and hole) color you might use will have an impact on the results. I don't generally even use white myself. I usually use a color that complements the color of the blank...but, that isn't simple either.

Just in the context of this thread, though, its no surprise the white brought out the colors and their vibrancy.
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On this blank. Yes. It is your post #4 that I am remarking about.

I hate to keep bringing this up but here is an example of what I am talking about and I have seen so many examples here over the years about picking a color to compliment the blank and many times it is a matter of taste.

Same blank. One on the left is painted white. The lower end of the one on the right is painted a brownish red and the top portion is the metallic blue. I chose the blue.


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jttheclockman said:
On this blank. Yes. It is your post #4 that I am remarking about.

I hate to keep bringing this up but here is an example of what I am talking about and I have seen so many examples here over the years about picking a color to compliment the blank and many times it is a matter of taste.

Same blank. One on the left is painted white. The lower end of the one on the right is painted a brownish red and the top portion is the metallic blue. I chose the blue.
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I'm not sure what you are debating here....i don't disagree with you,,,
 
jrista said:
I'm not sure what you are debating here....i don't disagree with you,,,
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John is showing that it is not always just about black or white! The more vivid color comes from painting it blue on those demos. And it shows that white can wash out the vivid colors in some cases.
 
jrista said:
White reflects the full spectrum of light, black reflects almost none. So the vibrance of the upper blank makes sense. Even though the blank appears opaque, there is pretty much always some degree of translucency. Resins actually usually have quite a lot, so a white tube will bring out the full range of color.
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This statement is what I am debating. White does not always bring out full range of color. It will lighten the blank. That is what it did with the OP blank. He could have used silver or maybe even yellow and it may have given even a different look.
 
leehljp said:
John is showing that it is not always just about black or white! The more vivid color comes from painting it blue on those demos. And it shows that white can wash out the vivid colors in some cases.
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jttheclockman said:
This statement is what I am debating. White does not always bring out full range of color. It will lighten the blank. That is what it did with the OP blank. He could have used silver or maybe even yellow and it may have given even a different look.
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You guys seem to be missing the fact that I was replying to a specific post in a specific thread with a specific context... The op was musing about why his white blank was more vibrant than the black...

I don't disagree with you, John. Different colors will give different looks. But that is beyond the scope of the original post, which just had to do with white and black. We could get into a deep, detailed discussion of color theory here if you guys really want to...but, it didn't seem like this thread was the place. 🤷‍♂️

A white tube is going to reflect the full spectrum of light that reaches it without changing the color of that light. A yellow tube, on the other hand, will not, and it will undoubtedly change how the blank looks, from a color standpoint. White light won't necessarily "change" colors, yellow, blue, likely will. I would not say yellow is capable of bringing out the full range of color...not the same way white could. Yellow will blend with the colors of the blank...given this blank has a lot of blue, blues and yellows blend to make greens.... There are decades of color theory that underpin all of this. We could debate for eons about what every different color of tube might do...but, the thread was originally about black and white. So, I responded in kind, about black and white. I wasn't trying to make global statements...only statements in the context of the thread.
 
Sorry for all the back and forth. My intention was simple. Show how light and dark tubes can really make a difference in the appearance of a pen. We all knew that, I just had to do my own test, and was happy with how both pens turned out - but I like the vibrancy of the colors on the white tube pen more than the darker tube blank. Others may like the darker tube pen. It's all a matter of taste.

John, I remember seeing the example you posted above, and it is amazing the difference the white and blue had on your blank. They look completely different. Just shows there are many variables to making beautiful pens, which everyone on this site knows and has demonstrated time and again.
 
KMCloonan said:
Sorry for all the back and forth. My intention was simple. Show how light and dark tubes can really make a difference in the appearance of a pen. We all knew that, I just had to do my own test, and was happy with how both pens turned out - but I like the vibrancy of the colors on the white tube pen more than the darker tube blank. Others may like the darker tube pen. It's all a matter of taste.

John, I remember seeing the example you posted above, and it is amazing the difference the white and blue had on your blank. They look completely different. Just shows there are many variables to making beautiful pens, which everyone on this site knows and has demonstrated time and again.
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kevin I have no knowledge of light spectrums and reflections and do I ever want to. I am not a scientist. All I wanted to point out that white will lightens the color in many type of blanks. It does not bring out the true colors. I am not going to debate this because it is pointless. Your blank looks better with the white behind the colors in this case. Nice job on the pen. You could probably even change the look with other colors. That is what is fun. Same blank and yet different looks. It is like getting multiple blanks for free. :) Would liked to have seen the blank in raw stage.
 
jttheclockman said:
kevin I have no knowledge of light spectrums and reflections and do I ever want to. I am not a scientist. All I wanted to point out that white will lightens the color in many type of blanks. It does not bring out the true colors. I am not going to debate this because it is pointless. Your blank looks better with the white behind the colors in this case. Nice job on the pen. You could probably even change the look with other colors. That is what is fun. Same blank and yet different looks. It is like getting multiple blanks for free. :) Would liked to have seen the blank in raw stage.
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John, I did take a photo of the blanks I made from the pour. The photo is not the best, but you can see the 4 colors I used - deep blue, green, lavender, and black.
Kevin
IMG_1749.JPG
 
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