Pen tubes

[dennis kranz]

For the pen turners, When you use the acrylics what type of paint do you use on the tubes? Any special color work best? Thick, thin, watered down?
Dennis

[Mike Vickery]

I use rustoleum usually black and paint the hole in the blank not the tube.
Some people use a special product that is made to blacken brass usually gun smith stores and hobby shops will carry some brand of it .

[Alex Elias]

The one thing you need to consider is what look at you after. Some acrylics are dark enough on their own, some others you provably look for a different effect. The one pen here http://www.flickr.com/photos/17038403@N06/1871320288/ was made with celluloid from CSUSA called white marble painted the tubes and the inside of the blank with tamiya glossy pink and glued it with 5 min epoxy
on this one no color was needed Celluloid from CSUSA called black and white
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17038403@N06/1814973349/in/set-72157602827715081/
And this one here is the same white marble whitout any paint at all. I must admit that I should use white pearl or something along the line. You can see the tube. http://www.flickr.com/photos/17038403@N06/1814951725/in/set-72157602824997774/

So again it depends on the look yu are after
Hope this helps
Alex

[robert hainstock]

My expierience with chemical brass blackener is that it tends to make the tube brittle, ad scratches when installing the tube. just made a couple of slimoines with "corian", turns nice and polishes up great.:)

[Justin Bukoski]

CSUSA has black tubes.

[Bobby Perry]

Don't paint the tubes paint the inside of the blank. Then the glue don't show.

I forgot to add if you are pouring your own poly blanks paint the tubes with krylon paint.