SouthsideDon48 Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 I tried looking all over the internet, but I couldn't really find anything. So I thought I'd ask you guys: Does anyone have any experience in painting coins? If so, what kind of paint do you use? The reason I'm asking is because I'm planning on having a silver coin engraved with a design, and the engraved areas will provide excellent little "pools" for paint to be applied and kept separated without blending together. If anyone have ever seen military challenge coins and how they have that shiny glossy enamel-looking paint, that's the effect I'm shooting for. I'm not sure if I should try and get some kind of enamel paint (don't even know what kind) from a hobby store, or just get glossy red and black fingernail polish. I'm not sure if fingernail polish would work as well as enamel paint, or if enamel paint has to be applied in some complicated manner. Any input or advice would begreatly appreciated, and if anyone's wondering, I'm trying to make a custom poker card guard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Traditional enameled painted coins use a high-temperature firing process that you may or may not be able to replicate at home, but good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Start with a paint manufacturer and work backwards. Call their consumer hot line, explain the project, and see which paint and process they recommend. You will need to know the material and finish of the coin. I'd pick a broad based paint manufacturer like Rustoleum as a start. You may also find yourself at an auto parts shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartattack19 Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 I would start with a good primer to give the paint something to stick to......probably the gray primer. I would assume model enamel paints would work, i do not know about the acrylic paints, i always have trouble with those. Good luck! not sure if this helped at all.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Be selective. . . if they're not worth sniffing, they're not worth painting with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 also, "pools" of paint are not a good idea. They do not stick as well as many lighter layers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthsideDon48 Posted November 5, 2009 Author Share Posted November 5, 2009 Thanks for the responses, guys. I find it a little hard to figure out exactly what kind of paint I should use. If anyone want to see the kind of coin I'm thinking of getting engraved, it's the ones they provide in this site: www.pokerguard.com Among the 3 choices for the coin, I'm planning on getting the 3rd one with the chip design. Since it's silver, I'm not sure if there's a certain kind of paint I ought to get for that, hmmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthsideDon48 Posted November 5, 2009 Author Share Posted November 5, 2009 QUOTE (Heartattack19 @ Nov 4, 2009 -> 04:47 PM) I would start with a good primer to give the paint something to stick to......probably the gray primer. I would assume model enamel paints would work, i do not know about the acrylic paints, i always have trouble with those. Good luck! not sure if this helped at all.... Primer, that's a great idea. Last year I made homemade lamps for relatives for christmas, used primer before applying glossy black spraypaint, and it came out beautiful. With the size of the engraving, I will have to delicately apply the primer and paint, do you by any chance know if there's any small bottles of primer out there that comes with a teeny brush? Almost like how a bottle of white-out or nail polish does? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthsideDon48 Posted November 5, 2009 Author Share Posted November 5, 2009 QUOTE (Tex @ Nov 4, 2009 -> 02:14 PM) Start with a paint manufacturer and work backwards. Call their consumer hot line, explain the project, and see which paint and process they recommend. You will need to know the material and finish of the coin. I'd pick a broad based paint manufacturer like Rustoleum as a start. You may also find yourself at an auto parts shop. That's a good idea, thanks, man. I work at a hardware store, and it seems like all my place got is just big cans of spray paint and small bottles of painter's paint. Which is not what I'm looking for, what I'm looking for is more along the lines of small bottles of paint that needs to be applied delicately in tiny spots, almost like model paint, I suppose. Hmmmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthsideDon48 Posted November 5, 2009 Author Share Posted November 5, 2009 QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Nov 4, 2009 -> 05:39 PM) Be selective. . . if they're not worth sniffing, they're not worth painting with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthsideDon48 Posted November 5, 2009 Author Share Posted November 5, 2009 QUOTE (Tex @ Nov 4, 2009 -> 05:40 PM) also, "pools" of paint are not a good idea. They do not stick as well as many lighter layers. My bad, I should've been a little more clear when I made my "pools" comment. What I meant was: after the coin is engraved, there will be separate areas to paint that will all be separated by the raised parts of the coin that hasn't been engraved. So there would be different "pools" for me to apply thin layers without having to worry about different colors bleeding together if there were no raised edges instead. For example, with the letter "D", you have one "pool", but you want to apply 2 different colored paint, which is a bad idea since they'll bleed together. However, in the letter "B", you got 2 "pools" one on the top and another on the bottom, which will work better on keeping different colored paint separate. Sorry for the confusion, bro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 Another thought, silver is both a color and a metal. There can be various amounts of silver in a silver coin. When talking to the paint manufacturer, know the metal being painted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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