Coloring in your engravings: the Write Up

[CPES]

I also agree that a darker color would look good. I like the red, but looking at it again, it is pretty bright. Black would look great and acccentuate not only the frame, but the serrations of the slide that are still black.

[Myk9noseknows]

I haven't finished my XD color job, but I did my Stainless Kimber with some black engraving:

[XDADDICT]

fyi everyone, nail polish is laquer, skip the searching for laquer sticks, go the your local walgreens, but a bottle or sally hansen white nail polish for $1.29 and your off to the races. No melting, searching, etc. This is not a new trick by any means, people have been doing it for years.

[Jay_eS_Iye]

I wish I would have gone the nail polish way myself. I went the China Marker route and found out that its really hard to get the rest of the residue off the slide itself. Anyone else gone this route that has a tip?

[Myk9noseknows]

Originally Posted by Jay_eS_Iye

I wish I would have gone the nail polish way myself. I went the China Marker route and found out that its really hard to get the rest of the residue off the slide itself. Anyone else gone this route that has a tip?

The easiest way I've found to get the excess color off the slide is this:

Obviously it was hard to get the black off the chrome slide since it's such a drastic color difference.

Take a piece of copy paper and coat it lightly with gun solvent (hoppes #9, I use Butch's Bore). Lightly rug it over the slide in an even back and forth motion. The paper doesn't have any little fibers like a cloth that will creep inside the indentation of the lettering. This way only the color above the engraving, i.e. the slide, get's cleaned off.
It takes a few practice runs to figure it out, but it works great if you try it.

[XDADDICT]

also acetone (nail polish remover) works too using the above method, I use grocery bag paper (the brown stuff). I go all around the engravings with a q-tip to get the excess then use the paper wiping method. The beauty of this trick is you cant mess it up, if you rub some out of the engraving, just touch it up with a little more nail polish and kepp rubbing. I did my stainless encore barrels using black nail polish. It came out sweet.

[MrBeta]

I've heard that acetone isn't good for the finish on some barrels. Is that true?

[cid_ayrbourne]

Originally Posted by MrBeta

I've heard that acetone isn't good for the finish on some barrels. Is that true?

Depends on the finish, particularly blueing. As such, you should take care when using it.

One of the advantages to nail-polish is, if you have a steady hand and fine brush (check your local Art Supply store), you can make colors like Red, Green, or Orange pop on the black slides.

The basic trick is use white and make a shallow pass - enough that the engraving clearly shows the white but doesn't fill the engraving. Then use the color of your choice. Black naturally tones down the color you fill in with, but by using a white base first, it brings the color out better making it stand out better.

One technique you can use to apply this easier is by thinning the polish first. Take a small container (I use custard bowls) and put some of the polish in the bowl. Then put a small amount of acetone in and mix (roughly a 5:1 polish:acetone ratio). This will thin the polish, allowing it to be more easily applied.

[XDADDICT]

always use care when doing things mentioned on this board! I used acetone on my stainless which obviously would not hurt it and on my xd45 duty. Now the xd45's have a new finish on them unlike the older xd9's and xd40's. Wow I sound like an attorney.I never experienced a problem, but results vary, hey that will give you a reason to get it duracoated. I really doubt acetone will hurt a good blue or finish, I would venture to guess gun solvents are rather volatile as well.

[Gantz]

so acetone won't hurt my melonie? i'm considering doing mine in nail polish but don't wanna acetone through my finish lol