[deleted]
Maybe a couple of coats of slightly thinned clear nail polish?
[deleted]
Submitted 1 month ago by xorollo@leminal.space to [deleted]
Comments
mantra@lemmy.zip 1 month ago
Orbituary@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Don’t do this.
MrZee@lemm.ee 1 month ago
This person is correct.
I’ve finished, painted, sealed, and repaired enough stuff to know that “maybe try clear nail polish” is a terrible idea for OP.
Nail polish is very hard to get to go on smoothly over a large area and OP is very likely to end up with an uneven or marred finish. If you just put down nail polish, you are not going to get a lasting finish on much of any material without cleaning and degreasing it first.
I would clean/degrease (I don’t know what to use as I can’t tell what the material is). I would lean toward using some type of spray top coat (again, I don’t know which product because I don’t know the material). You still need to know how to spray on finishes, but I find it much easier to do well than brush on finishes.
spankmonkey@lemmy.world 1 month ago
A clearcoat spray paint could work.
Do check what the optimal humidity conditions are first, since it can turn cloudy if it is too humid and that is very noticible on small objects.
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 1 month ago
also some of the “clearcoat” sprays I’ve found have flecks in them by design, and can only have a single letter hidden somewhere on the can difference from the ones without flecks in them. that was a fun learning experience.
xorollo@leminal.space 1 month ago
[deleted]spankmonkey@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Yeah, I clear coated some tabletop minis over the course of a week and one time didn’t check humidity and ended up with some looking frosted because it was apparently 70% humidity when I sprayed them that one day.
agent_nycto@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Could always use clear nail polish
fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 1 month ago
How does it clip?
It it’s simple, and you want, take a picture with a zoom lens from a decent distance away, straight on, with no angle at all. Then measure the height, width at widest point, and thickness.
If I have time after the holiday, I could craft that into a 3D model that you could provide to a place like PCBWay to have printed, or even machined in actual brass.
Posting that in a 3D Printing or CAD community might also find you a volunteer that could do this for you with a more definitive timeframe.
That being said, thats easy with a flat piece, but I’m not sure what I’m looking at as a “clip”.
xorollo@leminal.space 1 month ago
[deleted]fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 1 month ago
And flooding with comments but I’m bored ATM, here’s a premade model of similar style: printables.com/…/1001548-black-cat-and-moon-wall-…
fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 1 month ago
Looks like there are a number of styles of these in case you weren’t aware: www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807120439578.html
fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 1 month ago
When I’m back from holiday (in the new year) I’ll take a look at the pictures.
PCBWay can machine brass: www.pcbway.com/rapid-prototyping/cnc-machining/
You basically just upload the model and it generates a quote.
waz@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Similar to the nail polish suggestion, they also make clear spray paint.
fondue@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Just two cents here - not an expert. Brass that is unlaquered oxidizes and tarnishes extremely easily, and touching it with your skin/hands will certainly do that. If it used to stay shiny, the laquer or other coating probably has worn off. No biggie.
Get some brass polish from a hardware store and clean it up. You may want to hit it with some very fine steel wool first to clean off any remaining laquer/coat for an even polish. If you want to keep some parts darker, be careful and finicky to only polish what you want to brighten up.
Fresh clear coat or a laquer when you’re done would keep it looking shiny when done. Make sure all of the polishing compound has been completely wiped clean before you coat. Wear gloves when you polish to keep skin oils and salt off the material.
If you clear coat it as is, it will just be maintain the current tarnish, which doesn’t sound like your goal.
Personally I like how brass weathers and patinas. Google brass finishing to find guidance from the internet freaks.
xorollo@leminal.space 1 month ago
[deleted]fondue@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Ya if very thinly plated and a high use item you may have just worn through the pretty part. Then the paint/coat options might be better if you want it to look new again. Seems like a lot for a little, but choose your battles I guess. Good luck!
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 1 month ago
dip it in lacquer or epoxy, shave out the middle where the paper goes once it’s set?
GeorgeGR@lemmy.world 1 month ago
I don’t know how much you want to spend or how many other things you might want to preserve. But they actually make specific lacquers for jewelry.
www.riogrande.com/product/…/335149GP/?code=335149
You can also find them on Amazon.
www.riogrande.com/product/…/335149GP/?code=335149
I bought the one on Amazon, it was absurdly expensive for what it is, but I wanted to protect a slice of meteorite from rusting.
xorollo@leminal.space 1 month ago
[deleted]GeorgeGR@lemmy.world 1 month ago
I don’t, but all I did was buy a cut price of meteor and some decorative wire and pliers. Practiced wrapping it until it didn’t look awful, then dipped it in the lacquer.
Krudler@lemmy.world 1 month ago
No.
This is a mixed-material piece that looks good but is going to be destroyed regardless. Modgepodge, lacquer, shellac, varnish, clearcoat… they’re all going to wreck it. Just use it and throw it away, looks like it’s Chinesium
AndrewZabar@lemmy.world 1 month ago
There are brass paints you could apply and then seal it with any of a variety of products. I use something called Protectaclear, but you could get a cyanoacrylate spray, or something like that. Don’t get something cheap and generic because who knows what crap they might put in there.
CobblerScholar@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Much more involved but you could give it a resin or a CA glue finish. That would involve some hand sanding and polishing potentially but would be way stronger
ryathal@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
If you have clear nail polish that would probably work. Otherwise I’d buy a clear acrylic spray paint, probably glossy finish, but any would work.
Orbituary@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Get clear coat spray. Test a little in a spot that isn’t visible to make sure it doesn’t react with the surface negatively. Spray some onto cloth that won’t leave behind fibers or you’ll be sad, then wipe a little on a corner and make sure the material and surface coloring down react or run.
After you’ve let it dry, check it.
Spray clear coat LIGHTLY.
Like… SUPER LIGHTLY. One small pass. Let it dry. Spray from about 6-8 inches from the clip and move your hand in one direction smoothly… left to right or whatever. Don’t do the hairspray thing where you’re just dousing it.
Look at the clip again, make sure you’re not messing it up.
Spray again LIGHTLY.
You don’t want to build up a thick goop on the outside or it will be awful looking and you’ll ruin your thing.
Let it dry.
Don’t handle it while it’s drying. Hang it from a wire or something so you can get all sides in one pass.
Did I mention to spray LIGHTLY? (It will make all the difference).
xorollo@leminal.space 1 month ago
Orbituary@lemmy.world 1 month ago
You could, but I think that if you preserve it as-is, you’ll be happier.
I work on vintage guitars and other instruments. Wear and tear is called “patina,” which I’m sure you’ve heard. In years to come, you’ll come to enjoy that little bit that’s gone away… but if you try to fix it, it might get worse and you’ll end up like Calvin trying to cut his own hair.
Image
xmunk@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
Alternatively, there’s always Shellac - it’s kind of a lost artform now but it’s a really awesome material to use.
Orbituary@lemmy.world 1 month ago
It’s a lost art form because it’s not easy to work with and you often have to buy it from specialty stores to get the good stuff. It’s made from inspect carapaces. I use it when refinishing guitars for an aged, amber appearance.
grue@lemmy.world 1 month ago
I’m not sure how much of a “lost artform” it can be when you can just buy a can of the stuff at Home Depot.
(Sure, that isn’t “the good stuff” as per @Orbituary@lemmy.world, but IMO it’s not a big deal. “Clear” and “thin” are the correct choices for OP anyway, so the only disadvantage to this premixed spray compared to buying flakes and mixing it yourself is that whatever is leftover in the can will probably go bad before OP has a use for it.)