Forged Finish Question

[panch0]

I made some gifts for a couple folks in Church who have helped me out alot. I was messing around with the forge and made these. I am going to use some hemp string and make a necklace for them. These folks probably don't know a bout carbon vs stainless and the last thing I would want is for this to stain their Sunday shirt. What type of paint would you use for something like this. Clear, black, or primer color? I was thinking maybe a dull black, What do yall suggest?

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Paint will probably be as bad as patinaed steel on a white shirt. You could make some out of brass or copper stock, but they might cause a stain,too.

The only finish that might help is a clear coat of hard lacquer.

 

[panch0]

Thanks for the tip Stacy!

 

[jawilder]

I have heard that a clear nail polish would also work for an application like this.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Nail polish is an acrylic. It isn't all that abrasion resistant, especially the clear. I get jewelry to clean up all the time where people put it inside rings and on jewelry to make it not tarnish or turn their fingers green....it didn't work , and usually made a mess.

 

[jawilder]

Stacy, that is great to hear because that is where I've heard of using it, inside rings. I love having a Jeweler on the forums!

 

[Horsewright]

Frank a couple of 3 coats of a spray lacquer will work for ya as Stacy mentioned. I make and sell wildrag slides out of dyed stag. So not only are they in constant contact with a variety of silks but often are worn against a white shirt. I lacquer all of these as a final step. I've sold a couple hundred of these and have not had an issue. Also I've worn the first one I ever made, almost on a daily basis for several years without any dye transfer. Nor have I noticed any of the lacquer wearing off. Wildrags are the silk scarves worn by cowboys. They are worn around the neck and either tied with a knot or fastened with a slide to hold the rag in place.