Importance of painting acrylic blanks

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satchm0h

satchm0h

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These two pencils are made from the same blank. I painted the interior drill hole with a thin layer of basic rattle can spray paint (one white and one black).

Many beautiful acrylic blanks are translucent. If you paint the interior of you can massively affect the look. If you don't, the brass tube may very well show through. This can be a desired look, but more often than not it will detract from the blank.

Why not just paint the tube? Because there will be a layer of epoxy/glue between the tube and the blank that may end up being visible.

Anywho, I thought this visual would be helpful to newer turners (like myself). I first saw an example of the effect on a yellow blank in a Youtube video of a demo done by Mark Dreyer. That guy is awesome.
 
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Very nice examples of the different effects the color of the painted hole can have on the finished pen!

I started a very similar thread only a couple weeks ago, with the same basic message :

Coloring the tubes....

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...
www.penturners.org

But I also agree that painting the hole is better than painting the tube.
 
Thanks for posting this. There are many who are unaware of it. Your visuals prove the point - that many are unaware of.

This subject and similar photos comes up about twice a year and even then it still is "new" 6 months later. This is one thing I like about this forum, many people willing to help out and repeat something regularly for the new guys and ladies rather than saying "Look it up, it is in our Library" or "Do a search,". Those two phrases have driven many new people away from different forums through the years.

Helping is never out of style.
 
Great visuals. I once cast several blanks in a color rendering that was very "fairy" colored in pinks, blues & purples that would require painting for any kit.

I took one blank, turned it to aproximate finish size and polished with a slightly oversized hole for a 7mm tube. When I planned a kit with those blanks, I would paint a section of extra 7mm tube and slide into the hole to see the effect of different colors before choosing a color to paint the actual hole on the blank for a pen.

Remembered this because I just disposed of the model this week.
 
As soon as I begin reading I thought if Mark Dreyer and his example with the different painted tubes in the same blank. He is awesome and a great instructor. And… today is his birthday. I'm sure he will enjoy seeing this. 😬… and if he does… Happy birthday Mark!

Also, I love that blank painted black! What a great looking pen!
 
satchm0h said:
View attachment 332982
These two pencils are made from the same blank. I painted the interior drill hole with a thin layer of basic rattle can spray paint (one white and one black).

Many beautiful acrylic blanks are translucent. If you paint the interior of you can massively affect the look. If you don't, the brass tube may very well show through. This can be a desired look, but more often than not it will detract from the blank.

Why not just paint the tube? Because there will be a layer of epoxy/glue between the tube and the blank that may end up being visible.

Anywho, I thought this visual would be helpful to newer turners (like myself). I first saw an example of the effect on a yellow blank in a Youtube video of a demo done by Mark Dreyer. That guy is awesome.
Click to expand...
I wish i knew that a month ago or so. The pen on the left has a painted black tube and the pen on the right has a painted white hole, as well as the tube. The left pen is a disaster as the epoxy glue is visible which makes the hybrid pattern look awful. The right pen is much better although i did not achieve the pattern i was looking form. Note that the white coat is more visible at the ends where the epoxy is thinner. The epoxy has a light blue pigment that works well with the white undercoat. If the undercoat or the epoxy had a more dark colour (like the black pen on the op) a whole different pen would result.
Just a note for us beginners, cheers everybody.
 

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satchm0h said:
View attachment 332982
These two pencils are made from the same blank. I painted the interior drill hole with a thin layer of basic rattle can spray paint (one white and one black).

Many beautiful acrylic blanks are translucent. If you paint the interior of you can massively affect the look. If you don't, the brass tube may very well show through. This can be a desired look, but more often than not it will detract from the blank.

Why not just paint the tube? Because there will be a layer of epoxy/glue between the tube and the blank that may end up being visible.

Anywho, I thought this visual would be helpful to newer turners (like myself). I first saw an example of the effect on a yellow blank in a Youtube video of a demo done by Mark Dreyer. That guy is awesome.
Click to expand...
I really like the effect of the black paint. I typically like to paint with a light color that matches the blank, so light blue for a blue blank. I should try playing around with colors that light add more contrast
 
MRDucks2 said:
Great visuals. I once cast several blanks in a color rendering that was very "fairy" colored in pinks, blues & purples that would require painting for any kit.

I took one blank, turned it to aproximate finish size and polished with a slightly oversized hole for a 7mm tube. When I planned a kit with those blanks, I would paint a section of extra 7mm tube and slide into the hole to see the effect of different colors before choosing a color to paint the actual hole on the blank for a pen.

Remembered this because I just disposed of the model this week.
Click to expand...
That's a REALLY good idea! Thanks!
 
EricRN said:
I really like the effect of the black paint. I typically like to paint with a light color that matches the blank, so light blue for a blue blank. I should try playing around with colors that light add more contrast
Click to expand...
JohnT has shown on several occasions how different colors affect the outcome tremendously.

Look at this link and post # 3

Advice on back painting

I ordered this blank not realizing just how translucent it is. I will be painting the tube, coloring the epoxy, and back painting the blank. But what color? Black? Gold? Copper?
www.penturners.org
In that case, blue enhanced the color greatly. And I think most of use would not have believed how much more vibrant blue back paint could be with that color blank.

Each person who back paints, should experiment on some extra cast blanks for themselves. It is a helpful learning experience, and each person will probably come to a different conclusion for color choice based solely on their own personal preference, which is fine!
 
Great posting everyone! It is comments on details like this that make good pens into great pens. Excellent work on the pens Ted. Thanks for Sharing.
 
Great post. Recently, I have been cutting off about 1 mm from the end of the blank. This provides for a mini "canvas" in which to try different, paint colors on one side, thus providing a general idea of what the final pen may look like.
 
Twojugs said:
I'm interested to know how you spray-paint a 7mm hole? Just put the nozzle up to the blank and hope and (s)pray?
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I use a q-tip to help with spreading it around. Either spray it in and then even it out with the qtip or spray the qtip until saturated and then use that to paint the hole. A lot of spray nozzles accommodate a thin extension tube that can also help get it 'in the hole'..

Kevin
 
NJturner said:
I use a q-tip to help with spreading it around. Either spray it in and then even it out with the qtip or spray the qtip until saturated and then use that to paint the hole. A lot of spray nozzles accommodate a thin extension tube that can also help get it 'in the hole'..

Kevin
Click to expand...
What is a q tip?
 
As Hank eluded to in this thread I did show an example of different colors used on a blank. Here is another example I did several years ago. Same blank. One on the left is painted in black and the one on the right is white. Have done this a few times over the years. Painting the blank is best to get full effect. As someone brought up getting glue between blank and tube really is ugly. Works well. S
Copy of IMGP0451.JPG
pray is easiest but small brush or q-tip works too.
 
Twojugs said:
I'm interested to know how you spray-paint a 7mm hole? Just put the nozzle up to the blank and hope and (s)pray?
Click to expand...
Pretty much. I spray into a cardboard box. The "cone" of paint does a pretty good job on the far end. So I spray one or two very short bursts and then shake out any excess. Then I reverse the blank and do the same from the other end. Finally I put the blank up to a strong light source and inspect for and missed spots by looking down the tube and seeing if I can see the light coming through the sides.
 
Interesting and informative. What is the result if you paint the tube and glue the blank? Woodcraft has white tubes; bought a couple JIC.
 
Think about it. First you have the blank, then the glue, and then the layer of paint, and then the tube. If you put a layer of paint between the blank and the glue you should not see anything past that layer of paint.
 
has anyone tried to mix some kind of material with the epoxy glue?is there a point in making a coloured glue? i am thinking about glitter but i don't know if its a good idea
 
MedWoodWorx said:
has anyone tried to mix some kind of material with the epoxy glue?is there a point in making a coloured glue? i am thinking about glitter but i don't know if its a good idea
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Anything that you add to epoxy will weaken the bond. That said, I highly doubt that the bond between tube and blank is under a significant amount of stress. I would experiment with it and report back.
 
MedWoodWorx said:
has anyone tried to mix some kind of material with the epoxy glue?is there a point in making a coloured glue? i am thinking about glitter but i don't know if its a good idea
Click to expand...
They sell paint designed for epoxy resin use but even a small drop of testors paint will do fine. As far as glitter goes, remember when you add material that has volume it now takes the adhesive from the surface you are attempting to adhere to. The glue is not absorbed into the material so alot of glitter will have a negative effect on adhesion to tube.
 
I have really found this exercise entertaining and so I recently conducted my own experiment. Surprising because this blank was not very translucent but still enough that the results speak for themselves.

The pen blank was painted white, the knife blank was painted black

colorcontrast.jpg
 
satchm0h said:
View attachment 332982
These two pencils are made from the same blank. I painted the interior drill hole with a thin layer of basic rattle can spray paint (one white and one black).

Many beautiful acrylic blanks are translucent. If you paint the interior of you can massively affect the look. If you don't, the brass tube may very well show through. This can be a desired look, but more often than not it will detract from the blank.

Why not just paint the tube? Because there will be a layer of epoxy/glue between the tube and the blank that may end up being visible.

Anywho, I thought this visual would be helpful to newer turners (like myself). I first saw an example of the effect on a yellow blank in a Youtube video of a demo done by Mark Dreyer. That guy is awesome.
Click to expand...
This is a great example. I have had a few undesirable results from the tube showing through, especially on light colored acrylics. Thanks for the tip.
 
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