Paint pens for minor touch-ups?

[Bill58]

I've got a few black cameras that have small nicks here and there. Has anyone successfully used the auto paint pens (primer/ finish coat) for this purpose? I would use the semi-gloss black color primarily.

Thanks,
Bill

 

[FallisPhoto]

I've used the Lacquer Stik brand fill in paint sticks for filling in engraved lettering. I don't even attempt to fill in chips anymore though. The problem with what you are suggesting is that paint pens are enamel or wax based paints and vintage cameras are nearly always painted with lacquer. Filling in chips in lacquer with enamel or a wax based paint just isn't going to work very well. You will be able to see a line where the different paints touch. If the camera is old enough or beat up enough that repainting it or touching it up won't hurt it's value, you are almost always going to be better off just stripping the old chipped paint off and repainting.

 

[sniki]

Black face powder?
;-)

 

[Nikon Bob]

Bill

Your post got me thinking and I decided to try out using black gloss auto touch up paint on my old F3. The paint can be applied either by a roller tip or a built in brush. I sanded the area to be done , a little bit more really, with 600 grit wet/dry carborundum sand paper, wiped it down with household vinegar, wiped it dry with a paper towel and the applied the paint with the supplied brush. It dries quickly, I think it is a lacquer base. Then it was lightly sanded with 600 grit held flat on a popsicle stick. Wiped with vinegar and dried with a paper towel again. Re apply more paint if it needs to be built up more and repeat. After the final sanding with 600 grit I polished the area with Turtle Wax brand rubbing compound. The final result was a pretty good match to the cameras original finish. Not perfect but close enough on a user camera. I am sure somebody with more skill in this type of work could do a much better job of it. Time will tell how durable it is but it should last longer than a felt pen fix.

Bob

 

[feenej]

I had good luck with a silver paint pen on a chrome over brass finished camera.

 

[Frankie]

TAMIYA of Japan makes a line of paint markers in gloss or matte for its scale model kits. Some colours such as black or white even have needle tips for applying paint on fine details.

TAMIYA products are widely available in better hobby/RC/model shops.

To make a semi-gloss finish, first paint the surface with gloss paint, they polish it down with mild abrasives such as tooth powder or equivalent. Copper or brass polish paste also works.

Alternatively, fine grid green "scotch brite" equivalent pad (color coded light gray and white) available in woodworking/finishing shops works well.

Remember always: a clean site makes good working surface; and practise on a tin can first.

 

[ChrisPlatt]

I tried the felt-tip touch up pens sold by Fargo/Micro-Tools, flat and gloss black.
The flat black paint blends in pretty well, assuming the shade matches.
As one might expect touch-ups made with the gloss are more noticeable.

Chris

 

[Bill58]

I ordered a black pen and a primer pen from these nice guys-http://paintscratch.com/. It was funny that they asked me what color of black did I want because they have a thousand different ones. I said I thought black was black (?????), so they just picked one. I'll post my results here.

 

[momus1]

There's a lot of whites too. Black isn't technically a color, but most manufacturers treat it as if it were. I usually use artists acrylic paint for camera touch ups. Cleans up w/ water and will last for all intents and purposes forever. If you really want to do a good job use oil paints w/ a good sable brush and you can blend it in to where it looks perfect. The oils dry very slowly so you can work it slowly into shape. Takes some practice though. Mistakes are just wiped off. Obviously the chipped part should be filled in w/ something like acrylic before painting, then lightly sanded smooth. After everything is dry a small amount of wax on the repaired area and around it will level out the gloss effect. Be prepared to spend a lot of time to do it right.

 

[Bill58]

There's a lot of whites too. Black isn't technically a color, but most manufacturers treat it as if it were. I usually use artists acrylic paint for camera touch ups. Cleans up w/ water and will last for all intents and purposes forever. If you really want to do a good job use oil paints w/ a good sable brush and you can blend it in to where it looks perfect. The oils dry very slowly so you can work it slowly into shape. Takes some practice though. Mistakes are just wiped off. Obviously the chipped part should be filled in w/ something like acrylic before painting, then lightly sanded smooth. After everything is dry a small amount of wax on the repaired area and around it will level out the gloss effect. Be prepared to spend a lot of time to do it right.

I'm gonna try the auto paint pens, but if unsuccessful, I'll try the artists acrylic paint as you suggest.

Thanks,
Bill

 

[peterm1]

I remember that about a decade or more back ago it was possible to buy a special black lacquer for touching up camera bodies. It came in a small aluminium can - different in design to a normal paint tin. My local camera store had some. I recall it being quite pricey so I never tried it. I am not sure if its still available - most probably not since cameras are now all polycarbonate.I think it was or European (German??) manufacture. I think there was a flat version available too for the interiors of cameras and lenses.

When I had the need to touch up I tended to go instead to the model store - model cars and airplanes I mean. They always had a large variety of cans and spray cans of paint of various colors and lusters both satin and gloss. Usually they had a dot of the actual paint on the exterior of the lid and this gave an accurate representation of the appearance of the product inside. Combined with a tiny brush of the sort designed for model makers it was often possible to make a passable job of touching up a small nick. The trick was to prepare the area properly including using a primer if needed then fill the chip with paint and after it totally dries to use very fine emery paper to sand back slightly and very very lightly so as not to remove any of the orginal coat - very tricky. Reapply as often as needed and polish the final coat with a suitable polish to get an approximate match to the rest of the camera.

 

[FallisPhoto]

I remember that about a decade or more back ago it was possible to buy a special black lacquer for touching up camera bodies...

It is probably still possible, but it is almost impossible to find brushing lacquer these days; now it all seems to come in spray cans. Heck, I've read somewhere that lacquer is actually illegal to sell in anything but spray cans in some states (at least in California). I have never seen it in stores here, so I am assuming it is pretty much the same in Virginia.

My usual procedure is to just remove all the paint and repaint it with enamel. No problems with paints not sticking to one another, no marks where different paints touch, and if the camera is valuable enough that you are worried about lowering it's collector value then you shouldn't be painting on it anyway, not even to just retouch it.