Paint Tubes/Blanks

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PTownSubbie

PTownSubbie

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Joined
May 15, 2009
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Chesapeake, VA
How do you guys paint your blanks holes? I have tried but don't get really good coverage.

What type of paint?

When you paint your tubes, do you rough both before and after the paint or just before or after?
 
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I use testors model paint. Enamel paint i think it is.. I only rough the brass, then paint both the tube and the hole. Thei i use gorilla glue which mixes with the paint and fills in all the cracks. I have had spotty results. I usually can't tell if it is any good or not till it is half way through the sanding process. If it is bad even a little bit, I reject it. Once in a GREAT while, i will get one with weird coverage that looks cool so i will leave it, but otherwise..
 
I just use spray enamel. I take a plastic grocery bag, silp it over my hand and pick up the blank. A couple of sprays in each end and it's painted in about 10 seconds.

Jim Smith
 
I use Q tips. Not the name brand ones. The cheapo ones. They start pulling apart almost instantly and become more like a mop than a q tip. Sometimes i have to do two coats. When i do two, I only let the blank set for 20 or 30 minutes before i apply the second coat. When I take my time, I have good outcome with 9 out of 10, especially since i have started using more color in my PR.
 
PTownSubbie said:
What do you use to get the paint inside the blank's drilled hole?

I have tried Q-Tips but the coverage is spotty.:frown:
Click to expand...

I pick up disposable chopsticks (like .. 100 pair for $5) and use those to
spread the glue inside the tubes. They can last forever.. if the glue dries
in a clump so you can't fit it back into the tube, just touch it to the disc
sander to re-shape it. I think I brought about 20 pair to the shop around
2 years ago .. I still have a couple of pair I haven't used.

If you don't want to spend the $5, you could just keep ordering Chinese take-out..
 
Q-Tips if it's something other than black or white. I use 99c spray paint for those colors. For long tubes like the Zen or click I use medical swab type Q-Tips... The ones with the long stick.
 
BTW: Those are great for polishing the inside of transparent tubes... Chuck one up in a drill with Plast-X on it and go to town.
 
I use acrylic poster paint and a small brush stolen from my grandchildren :):)

A blast with a hairdryer for a couple of minutes and you're good to go.
 
I only paint the tubes, then I use white GG to glue. it dries white so it doesn't effect the color I want since I always paint the tubes white.

I've had no issues since I started doing the white spray paint and white GG combo.
 
Ditto on the long stick Q-Tips with Testors Enamel Paint. I also agree that they tend to push the Testors around instead of actual painting.

I find that if I really coat it well, then put a final dollop in one end and set the tube down with that end up, gravity will pull the extra dollop in the top down the rest of the blank to give a nice even coat- it even looks seamless with no runs or drips.

I like the idea of Plast-X on the Q-Tip in a drill to polish the insides! :) I gotta try that!

-Doug
 
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