I have finished 2rods and have tried to write on them with not very good results. I used extra fine oil based paint pencils and I have used white out correction fluid. Iwas sure extra fine paint would work but the paint spreads just enough to fill in spaces that should be clear of paint
. White out evaporates too fast..Some have used testors paint with a metal nib so far no satisfaction there either. Do companies like sharpie make an ultra fine paint pencil. Suggestions anyone

good luck , I gave up an use label's from the dealers on the left , if you want to do it. try try an try again no easy answer

William Sidney
AK

Robert,
I have tried a lot of things for writing over the last few years. For a few years, I was using Testors paint with a nib and quill and that worked all right. However, most of the paint dried so quickly that it was tough to keep the nib flowing freely.

For the last couple of years, I have been using the Speed Ball nib and pen and the Speed Ball acrylic ink. That is working very very well. Just make sure that the ink is well stirred before starting and try to avoid putting a lot of bubbles in the ink from mixing or shaking. Again, it is important to clean the nib frequently, to insure that you do not have dried ink in the nib, or the nib will stop flowing. With acrylic ink, water works just fine as a thinner. But for cleaning the nib, I use Xylene and that works very well for cleaning the nib.

[www.dickblick.com]

The 512 nib seems to work well for most lettering work.

You can find the individual bottles of ink available if you search. I have found that the acrylic ink works very well for my needs.
[www.dickblick.com]

I have gotten rid of all of the other ink and paint that I used to use and only use the acrylic ink, but it gives really good results; as long as you keep the nib clean.

My lettering is terrible, but fortunately my wife is an artist and does a great job with the lettering.

Robert, I have noticed that there is a huge difference in the colors of Testors model paint and how well they "flow" when using a metal nib and a calligraphy type pen. White is especially difficult as are most of the other "regular" colors (like gloss blue, red and yellow) in enamel and acrylic. I've found that the enamel in silver flows the best. Gold also works well with frequent stirring, wiping off the nib and re-dipping with fresh paint after just a couple of letters. I've tried using a few different paint pens, but find that the point isn't quite fine enough and doesn't leave a very crisp lettering.

regular liquid lighter fluid and a paper towel will take testors paint off your blank or nib. there is very little smell and it gives you the chance to work at it till you get what you want

I have had success with the Pilot Markers....I think they are also called paint pens

More good ideas. I'll give them a go thanks again.

I have to second Jared about the differences in the testor paints. I've tried a blue color that I couldn't write with at all, but with the silver color it seems to write a lot easier and that's what I use with all my rods now.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2016 11:37AM by Michael Maclean.

sharpie does make an ultra fine marker pen. Ive used this with success, though I'm looking for something even finer...

[www.sharpie.com]

Check out Janns I have used there pen and ink I would think it would be as fine as one could get Ink worked well Let dry I heat several times with a hair dryer then spray with Fixative Dust coats two should be enough

Bill - willierods.com

I have good success with Dr. Ph. Martin's calligraphy ink. I use the copper gold guild. You can get any line size you want depending on the nib used. I use an extra fine to fine nib most of the time. Dries quickly, is permanent and can epoxy over it within a hour or so without any smearing. Can be found in most hobby shops like Micheals along with the nibs.
Norm