Thread: How to paint the logo on the scales?

A lot of good ideas in this thread. There are also some things sold under the name Lacquer Stiks which I use to redo recessed lettering. Might want to look into those as well.

Originally Posted by Leon

Yes it is.



How would you do that? I can't imagine what you're meaning. What paste are you talking about? Is it a special kind of paint?

Thanks

Rub n Buff is the stuff. But you may find that it can get a bit messy if you're not careful. It also comes in many colors. I would not suggest it for use on scales though, too hard to control where it ends up after you buff it up.

On my Glocks, I do it like Joed described, covering all the letters with the marker without making a mess, then I rub the area with a clean cloth and Hoppe's 9 (gun cleaner). I'm sure you could use some other solvent.

Thank you all, gentlemen. You all gave me some good ideas.

Originally Posted by Leon

I'm currently browsing eBay for one of these, I think I won't find those here. And even if I do, they're probably more expensive here.



Your work is remarkable, Smythe, that Union Spike really came out great. In that thread you say that you used a very small brush. What about a very thin tip permanent marker, like Navaja suggests? I'm looking at this right now. It's the finest tip I've found - 0.5 mm.

Thanks for the compliments Leon; I really should update the thread because I have done several different scales just to see the results… I have learned plenty.

At the time I used a small brush, but I’ve since gotten better results using a q-tip to “swab” the paint into the recesses then flip the q-tip and use the clean end to gently wipe away the excess around the recess. It does help to have some solvent soaked in the clean end of the q-tip.

Some notes:
-Have several more clean q-tips with solvent on hand to wipe up the excess, as soon as one gets “colored”, toss it and use a new one... or you will end up spreading the paint.
-Not all paints use the same chemicals so make sure your solvent can in fact dissolve the paint you are using (pen type or the RubandBuff) test on a sheet of glass.
-When cleaning up, don't use too much solvent or it will get into the recesses and start thinning the paint in there... but most important, make sure of the type of solvent you use won’t damage the scale material!!! (for example don't use Acetone).
- Before you even start painting, make sure you first polish the scales “slick smooth” so the excess will come off the area around the recesses easily… But as said before, be careful, if you polish too hard the recesses will become too shallow and you won’t have enough to work with.
- Most scales have simple recesses where the top of the recess is in line with the surface of the scales. Other scales, a “crater” effect where the top of the recess rises above surface of the scales, so with this in mind you may adjust your polishing technique to get the best results.
- You may also want to wash the scales with soap and water after polishing; some polishes leave an oil residue in the recesses that prevent the paint sticking to the material; however the catch is … oil around the recesses helps the cleanup of excess. If the blade is mounted in the scales and you don’t want the steel getting wet then use a q-tip or a clean cloth soaked in mild soapy water to wipe the area, then dry.

Painting the logos on scales to make it look original is can be tricky, depending on the scale material and original surface texture. One of these days I will do up a detailed tutorial with photos (or a video)… just need to find the time, but I hope this helps some.

Thanks Smythe.

I've ordered a Pentel permanent marker, model 100WF. With a 0.5 mm tip I think it's slim enough to be able to paint the logo, as soon as I have some results, I'll post it here, as always.

Great ideas and methods so far.

Here's another idea I've been thinking about trying on a couple of "spike"s. I did this on my XD and it turned out nice.
If I tried this on scales I would either heat the scales in water or just smear the melted wax in without heating the scales. I still have the crayons and I'm thinking of possibly using a couple of coats of poly over the top to seal it in.

Coloring in your engravings: the Write Up - XDTalk Forums - Your HS2000/SA-XD Information Source!

If anybody has tried this or has a reason not to, please chime in.

also you could try using some paint and a PIN...like a push pin/safety pin etc. that is how i plan on repainting the red back onto my henckels restore

This is how my Glock 17 came out, using the Pentel marker described in one of my previous posts

Some results of my experiments.
The first photo is of two “The Old English Razor” blond horn scales from Joseph Rodgers & Sons and one W&B Special celluloid scales. The other two photos are close-ups.
All three scales were “as received” devoid of paint in the recesses.
The OldEnglish in the middle, the recesses are extremely shallow so I couldn’t get the first half. I suppose if I spend more time on it maybe I get the rest. Also note the W&B with a few “dropouts” that can easily be re-done to get it perfect.
Also notice in the close-up of the Special's scales, tiny residue of paint between the "I" and the "A", between the legs of the "A" and between the "A" and the "L", again this can be easily cleaned up with a solvent soaked, pointed Q-tip.
Each scale took me less than half hour each (though the one in the middle, the longest).

As you can see in close-up of the horn scales the top of the recesses are flat with the surface of the scale, and the W&B has a crater effect (look at the light reflection at the bottom tip of the arrow the L, A and C). You can also see in the OldEnglish the paint even coats the rough walls of the recesses, a scale like this is a perfect candidate for repainting.

The experiment was indeed an education, I learned a lot about typefaces:- notice how the R in one horn scale is very different in the other… it seems two different dies “hand made” by two different type cutters at two different time periods pressed these scales. Who knows how many other variations are out there.