Any advice on how to paint tiny copper wire black ? does it need to be conditioned or cleaned , Ive tried vallejo black and Tamyia black , they just kind of bead up and don’t want to adhere very well
Copper wire comes in two variants, plain copper and insulated copper wire.
Coil windings in motors, electromagnets, speakers et.c. are insulated with a thin layer of shellac or other lasquer. This lacquer gives a smooth surface which most paints have problems adhering to.
If you have used this type of copper wire you will have problems getting acrylics to stick to the wire.
Three options:
- Find some uninsulated wire
- Remove the insulation, rub it with very fine grade “sandpaper” but 0.1 mm is rather thin so the wire could break. Washing with strong solvents (acetone, nail polish remmover) could also work.
- Use a primer to bite into that insulation layer. It needs to be one of those strong solvent based use with respirator primers.
Since I use enamels I usually don’t have these problems.
Ronald, could it be the lack of a primer? I always give my crew figures a blast of primer once I’ve finished installing headset wire and any other accoutrements:
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VMS has a product that may be useful:
@ varanusk
The VMS product is a good product, but will not work on shellacked metal wire. The product is an etchant for metals.
Maybe it can be removed with a small flame from a lighter or tea candle?
I would use that method for a thicker wire
but…
with a 0.1 mm cable the margin between burning off the shellac and the whole wire is awfully narrow …
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Or just buy black copper wire.
Unfortunately a bit thick for headset wire.
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Another option would be to color it with black permanent marker.
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THIS! There’s 1000 women in China with Sharpies making that wire for AK…
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Women or children?
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