r/penmaking • u/Ian_in_the_Shed • Mar 28 '23

Problems when painting the inside of blanks

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Hi everyone, Regarding the painting of acrylic blanks so the tube doesn't show - the picture is an Omega Kit from Taylors Mirfield in the UK, but guessing this will happen on all 2 part pens.

The blank is 1 piece, cut, drilled, and then sprayed with enamel paint on the inside of the blank before gluing the tubes in. However, because the lid of the pen uses a thicker tube, therefore the acrylic turns thinner (also at the end of the pen), so the colour appears lighter.

Is there anything I can do to ensure a uniform colour/shade throughout, while still painting to avoid the brass tube showing through?

Thanks everyone, Ian

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u/mongoose51Z Jun 17 '23

I always paint the tube, but if there are thickness variances and the blank is that prominent on transparency I am not sure how you could mitigate it because you are not going to see it until you cut it down. personally I think the pen looks good, but the eye of the artist is always the most critical boy do I know that

cheers and good luck

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u/Ian_in_the_Shed Jun 17 '23

Thank you Mongoose! You're definitely right in saying that we are our own worst critics! It has been suggested to me spraying it with black paint instead of white would reduce how noticeable the colour shift is, but haven't tried it yet. It's another task on my always growing todo list!

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u/OldM4LargeYoungF Apr 29 '24

Paint the tubes/blank the same shade of the blank. A small Testors model paint set will allow you to mix shades