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Writing on glass rods
Post 21 May 2021, 16:31 • #1 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 10/09/09
Posts: 2796
Location: US-NM
What do you guys find that works best.........Thanks Aurelio


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Post 21 May 2021, 17:51 • #2 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 11/06/17
Posts: 2498
Location: South of Joplin
To get started here's some previous threads that might help-
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=41254
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=48088
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=64036
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=45987


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Post 21 May 2021, 20:47 • #3 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 09/18/09
Posts: 5561
Location: Relocated to the Drought Stricken West.
For dark blanks, A white Gel pen. I've had a bit of luck with metalic gold and metalic silver gel pens, but they don't go on as nice as the white.

For light blanks, a micron pigma .5 mm black marker or a micro pigma brush pen. Let it dry thoroughly and brush a thin coat of epoxy over it (no thinning or things go bad).


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Post 22 May 2021, 10:19 • #4 
Guide
Joined: 06/08/18
Posts: 293
Location: Boston , MA
Most always finish off the rods I build with Spar Urethane , far from the easiest part for me is scripting on a round blank , let alone unsanded , but have had moderate luck myself with the gel pens as mentioned (a lot of attempts and erasing involved) , once you get things just as you like , make sure the ink dries completely ( I let things sit overnight ) , then I will mask off around the script and spray a light coat of clear polyurethane over the script (helmsman spray bombs) and let that dry , kinda protects everything for the following 2-4 finish coats of spar with the brush , on the unsanded blanks I try to build up a base of clear before I script with the gel pen to fill in the spiral ridges a little , and like auto body work , being urethane you can generally wet sand imperfections after the fact and recoat . Unfortunately no idea how this would work or be compatible with epoxy (?) , maybe a spray coat of clear lacquer before you apply ???


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Post 22 May 2021, 13:29 • #5 
Guide
Joined: 02/13/16
Posts: 326
Location: US-TX
I've never written over top of any kind of finish because I end up making several attempts, and I didn't figure I'd ever get it completely off of a varnish or other finish. Do you all find that a problem or what do you use to clean a bad attempt off something like varnish? I usually use DNA to clean it back down to the bare blank again, and sometimes again and again...


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Post 22 May 2021, 17:56 • #6 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 01/02/12
Posts: 1859
Location: Gig Harbor, WA
I use India ink with a regular nib pen. Written on both sanded and unsanded blanks. Let it dry overnight then apply finish. Usually finish is spar varnish but also have used lite epoxy.


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Post 23 May 2021, 07:00 • #7 
Sport
Joined: 04/20/20
Posts: 98
Location: Springfield, PA
I've been using a radiograph pen with india ink - black or opaque white depending on the blank. Usually a 0.7 mm or 0.8 mm line size (a No. 2-1/2 or a 3 tip respectively). There's plenty of NOS radiograph pens on auction sites that could be had pretty cheaply.

After writing and plenty of dry time, I usually top coat the script with 2-3 light coats of automotive enamel clear coat.

Adding one more tip you probably already know: grab your least favorite cook book off the shelf and open it to the middle. Lay your rod blank in the spine of the book when writing - if you choose a book of the right thickness, it'll give you a *relatively flat surface for your writing hand to track across when you're adding your text.


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Post 23 May 2021, 07:04 • #8 
Guide
Joined: 07/13/16
Posts: 129
Location: US-MI
I also use a nib pen and India ink. To be honest I struggled with it for a long time and tried other India ink pens that worked fine but didn’t produce the result I was looking for.

My main issue was getting a good flow of ink off of the nibs. Initially it was very inconsistent. I found a few YouTube videos posted by calligraphers who discussed the fact that the nibs are coated in some type of oil when packaged to prevent them from becoming tarnished while on the shelves. The oil prevents the ink from flowing correctly. One trick to clean them off is to insert the nibs into a potato to remove the oil. I know, sounds crazy, but works like a dream. Solved the problems I had been having with this method.


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Post 23 May 2021, 09:50 • #9 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 11/06/17
Posts: 2498
Location: South of Joplin
An article about using hobby paint and quill pen (I think he means nib rather than quill), followed by one on using gel pens- https://globalflyfisher.com/rod-building/writing-on-rods#:~:text=Writing%20on%20rods%20One%20of%20the%20hallmarks%20of,obtain%20the%20best%20results%20when%20writing%20on%20rods.


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