Way to quickly mark black plastic? - toolboxes, power adapters

[Stephen Tashiro]

Is there a quick and convenient way to write on black plastic - such as the black plastic tool cases and black plastic power adapters that accumulatef? I don't mean engrave them to prove ownership, I mean mark them so I can look across the room and remember what is inside or glance in a box of power adapters and see which output 12V DC.

I find Sharpies don't show up on black plastic. White artist's acrylic paint does well, but breaking out the paint and cleaning up the brush after every use is inconvenient. Spray paint and stencils work well on tool boxes but that's not my definition of quick and easy.

[Doug Sparks]

Steve,

I use BIC Wite-Out Shake -N Squeeze Correction Pen, Whitefrom Amazon or Staples.

[Steve Friedman]

I use BIC Wite-Out Shake -N Squeeze Correction Pen, Whitefrom Amazon or Staples.
They still make white out? Who knew?

Steve

[Don Jarvie]

Remember growing up the model paints, Testors? Testors makes paint in the rattle pens (shake the pen, take off the cap and press down on the tip). I have a red and black one and have seen while. See if there is a crafts store in your area and see if they have them.

[Dave Bonde]

I use a silver sharpie, they make both a paint tip one and a felt tip one - both work well for me.

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

I would use white Brother labels. They are easier to read than my handwriting and the adhesive is very good.

[Joe Angrisani]

+1 for paint pens. Super convenient.

[Matt Day]

How about the old Masking/Painter's tape and a sharpie?

Those silver paint pens come in handy though.

[Van Huskey]

+2 for paint pens, simple and easy and they smell good too... :eek:

[Carl Beckett]

+2 for paint pens, simple and easy and they smell good too... :eek:

+3 I prefer the silver on black plastic.

[Prashun Patel]

+1. That's what I do.

[keith denbesten]

+4 I prefer the silver on black plastic.

[Damon Stathatos]

I need to mark very dark woods (cocobolo) on a regular basis. I've tried paint pens and lumber crayons but the paint pens were always drying out on me and the tips get fouled up. The lumber crayons were yellow and I still couldn't see them very well on the dark woods. I finally found Sharpie China Markers, basically a grease pencil, and they come in white. Always 'ready to go' and they last a long, long time. Also, easy to remove after you misspell 'nutz' or if you change the contents of your container. I get mine at an Art Supply store but they're widely available online as well.

http://www.uline.com/BL_1714/Sharpie-China-Markers?pricode=WT999&gclid=CMWA5u2dv68CFRJlhwodqSlzvw

[glenn bradley]

They still make white out? Who knew?

Steve

How do you think you clean up all that smack you were talking on Facebook!?!

[Bill White]

I'll go WAY back 'cause I use a Dymo label maker. Oh well..........
Bill

[Chris Tsutsui]

I have silver and gold metallic sharpies and they don't work too well on dark plastics and metals for me. Not that easy to see and if the surface isn't cleaned well then it doesn't go on too well.

I have a set of grease pencils in white, red, etc that are supposed to be used on glass that can write on most things...

(I just realized that Damon suggested grease pencils after I typed this...)

[Howard Acheson]

>>>> I find Sharpies don't show up on black plastic.

You can buy white or light gray colored Sharpies. I use them to identify power cord plugs, black plastic power tool boxes and anything that is black plastic. You can also use white plastic electrical type tape and write in black or any other color.

[Alan Lightstone]

I would use white Brother labels. They are easier to read than my handwriting and the adhesive is very good.

That's what I do. I use them all the time. For black objects, I use the white on black labels. Blend in great and look sharp.

[scott vroom]

White masking tape and a black sharpie. I can read those suckers on the shelf from halfway across the room. If I'm really ambitious I'll use my printer to make a label on white computer paper, then use that clear 2" packing tape to stick it to the box. That stuff sticks to anything!

I guess silver on black would work, but black on white is more visable from a distance.

[Myk Rian]

Try some of these.
http://www.supplyhero.com/Industrial-Marking-Pens.1667.1.htm

[Lee Ludden]

I wanted to label my Pneumatic Nailers and I tried various labels but non would stick to the rough surface. So I took some scraps from an aluminum flashing I had laying around and cut out some rounded metal strips and pop-riveted it to the cases that I couldn't stick labels to. Then I used my P-touch label machine to make labels for each of my tools.
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[Rich Engelhardt]

I used white out only because I had it.
It doesn't brush out all that well -- it's too thick.

Nail polish works better.
The dollar store sells it cheap.
Comes w/a built in brush and dries instantly.

Pink and hot pink show up best on black - - but - - be prepared to take some ribbing...

[Mike De Luca]

I use a silver sharpie, they make both a paint tip one and a felt tip one - both work well for me.

yup... I use the metallic silver felt tip... Shows up perfectly on black and dark colors.

http://www.sharpie.com/enUS/Pages/metallic-fine-point-marker.aspx

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[Richard Dragin]

Paint markers. White or yellow works well. Welding or office supply stores carry them.

[Pat Barry]

Get a permanent marker. I have a silver color one that works great on black / dark surfaces.

[John Coloccia]

I print a label from my label maker and stick it on, or stick a white label on it and write.



I need to mark very dark woods (cocobolo) on a regular basis. I've tried paint pens and lumber crayons but the paint pens were always drying out on me and the tips get fouled up. The lumber crayons were yellow and I still couldn't see them very well on the dark woods. I finally found Sharpie China Markers, basically a grease pencil, and they come in white. Always 'ready to go' and they last a long, long time. Also, easy to remove after you misspell 'nutz' or if you change the contents of your container. I get mine at an Art Supply store but they're widely available online as well.

http://www.uline.com/BL_1714/Sharpie-China-Markers?pricode=WT999&gclid=CMWA5u2dv68CFRJlhwodqSlzvw

To mark wood, and I know what you mean because I use a lot of dark wood, I put a strip of masking tape over where I want to mark and then write on that. Then I can get a nice, pencil this line for whatever I want to do. You can also scribe a line and rub some chalk on it, and I do that too.

[Greg Portland]

-1 on paint pens... the paint can chip off. +1 for the silver sharpie...