I've remade my MAK French Arm Chopper to make it look historical and I've done the same to turn my Abbott's/Arturo Twin-Di into some less die-box-like.

However, take my advice. Don't bother trying to do-it-yourself with small items that you may as well just buy from somebody who can do it a whole lot better. The other night I dropped and broke an Eggs-Actly egg.

"Oh," I said. "Those cost $14.95 each," I said. "I'll make my own, much cheaper, non-breaking egg."

I went to Walmart and found some perfectly sized party favor eggs. $1.98 for 6 of 'em. I bought a can of spray paint. $3.98. "I'll have a half-dozen eggs in no time at a tiny fraction of the cost," I said.

The first glue I had at home didn't work very well. Next trip out, I bought a tube of better glue. $4.95. Still WAY cheaper than an Eggs-Actly egg.

Second glue works. Spend some time with extra-fine sand paper smoothing the seam. Then paint, let dry, paint, let dry, paint, etc. Hmmm. Seam's still showing. Okay to the audience, but an assistant will spot it right off. More sanding.

In the meantime, I find with practice that a plastic egg alone is a bit too light for my Malini bag. So, while I'm waiting between coats of paint on egg #1, I decide to make egg #2. This one, I'll tuck a piece of cloth inside to give it a little extra weight. Glue. Sand. Paint. Wait. Paint. Wait. Then tonight for some reason unknown, the "final?" coat of paint makes the previous coats wrinkle and peel off!! What?

So now, over the course of three days, I'm about four or five hours and two trips to the store into these G** D***** eggs.

Not counting the supplies, if I paid myself a fare wage I could have bought a few real Eggs-Actly eggs, even with shipping and handling. . .

And my hands wouldn't smell like mineral spirits.

I'm probably going to end up doing just that. . .

You gotta know when to do-it-yourself and when to just spend the money for the perfectly manufactured prop.

The egg I made is still going strong after 17 Years. I found a good strong plastic egg that came with some candy in it once. Threw the candy away. Plastic needs to be washed with soap and water. Then painted, that coat when dry needs to be roughed with 4-O steel wool or 6.0 wet and dry sandpaper. Then wiped completely clean or just wash it again. The 2nd coat should stick then, unless you handled it with our bare hands.

I painted mine with epoxy paint, really covers any see though.

I am curious why you thought the egg for the Malini egg bag was to light. The bag is supposed to be used with a blown egg, and the hole sealed with spackle. The plastic egg had to heavier then a real empty eggshell.

My Egg-Actly was a blown egg with a coating of resin inside to make it stronger. That also made it a bit heavier than a plain blown egg. The one that came with my egg bag was a "small." It worked great. When I dropped it, I wasn't even using it with the bag. I was moving it to put it away in it's box and it slipped out of my hand.

The plastic eggs I found at Walmart are were a bit longer than the "small" Eggs-Actly, but a bit lighter. The one I practiced with tended not to slide where and when it was supposed to. I had to either give the bag a little shake or give the egg a bit of a push with my fingers. Even though the egg was shiny and smooth, it would not move on its own between the layers of fabric.

The Eggs-Actly egg worked great and I'm going to cut my losses and buy a couple while they're still just $15 each. . .

Sounds like it was the plastic in the egg. The one I found was harder plastic and not shiny, same look as a real egg. The eggs at Wal-Mart with a piece attached worked as a hinge. They are shiny, but the plastic used makes them not slide very well.

Research and development can be expensive, but I find satisfaction in accomplishing the final prop.

Krylon?

Michael, it was, in fact, Krylon spray paint. So is that a thing with that brand?

Krylon used to be known for its good clear finishes. Did they make a wrong turn when the branched into paints. (Or did they always make paints, too?)

This post really wasn't supposed to be as much about this particular project as it's turning out to be. It was more of an eaxample of "sometimes it's not worth the bother, and the store-bought prop was, at least, made by professionals. . ."

Well, it might help you down the road. Knowledge is power.

Krylon changed their formula several years ago in a move away from lacquer. It used to be easy to use. No recoat window, etc. The worst you had to worry about was blush... this happens when the humidity is too high. It causes a whitish, milky haze to form. This could be very pronounced on darker colors. Krylon had (has) a gorgeous and extensive color palette... lots of great colors and they seem to add new ones all the time.

But at the time they changed the formula, it looked for all the world that all they did was change the label design. There was no indication of any other change. The stores mixed the old with the new, and many people started experiencing big problems. I eventually called Krylon and they gave me the low down, although that did not make-up for ruined projects and lost time and $$. There was a thread here years ago at the time and several magic builders including me, chimed in after ruining projects. Steve Chezaday and I still talk about it when we run into each other.

Steve's solution was to buy up as much of the old stock as he could find, and I believe he is still working from that stash. I decided to re-learn and find out what the new stuff was capable of and its limitations. I botched a few projects along the way.

But this is not exclusively a Krylon issue. Several brands have their own idiosyncrasies. The key to Krylon is not to apply it too heavily, especially over existing coats... even of the same color. The problem however is that Krylon is typically a thinner paint than say, Rustoleum. It can take more coats to achieve the look desired.

So, here is my solution... Begin with as smooth a sanded surface as possible, minimum 220 grit. Then I use an oil-based sanding sealer. I use ACE brand (others are inferior in my opinion).

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index......12365825

They sell it by quart also, which even at the rate I use it is the better option. Unless you are making furniture, a gallon would go bad before you could ever use it. The Ace Hardware stores may or may not have it in stock, but most will order it for you.

OK, so a coat of this seals the wood so that successive finish coats will not sink into the wood. You can apply more than one coat, if desired, but sand between coats and after the last coat.

Now you want to apply a spray primer. The first coat of this will usually reveal any dings and voids in the surface. This is a good time to patch, sand and reapply primer. Light sanding between coats to knock down any burrs. Eventually the patch will have the same look as the rest.

For what it's worth, I use white primer when ever I am going to use a color coat that is lighter in color, or anytime I plan to use Krylon over it. The reason is that darker primer (while they have their place) will continue to show through the color until a sufficiently thick coat covers it. Recalling what I said about Krylon being thinner, this usually means MANY coats. With Krylon, the thicker the paint, the more you risk it going down the toilet on you.

With a white primer, it takes very little color to achieve the desired color. You can top coat with clear to get that "depth" desired.

Speaking of clear coats, if you use gloss, you can usually use several coats, as desired. Just be wary of any that specify lacquer, as they will wreak havoc on you nice color finish. If you desire a matte, flat, or satin finish, use it sparingly over the gloss. Too many coats of those others will give you a foggy haze, as they contain microscopic particles that create the flat appearance by distorting the light.

I use Rustoleum American Accents (available at Walmart) for primer and clear coats on ALL projects now. (I also use many of their color paints, too.)

http://www.walmart.com/ip/37326858?wmlsp......&veh=sem

Krylon and Valspar will go fine over the primer, but don't put anything else on top of their color or clear coats, not even other types of Rustoleum. It will wrinkle in seconds.

I have recently purchased a few cans of the new Krylon SuperMaxx. Supposedly it has a a better coverage. I have not tried it yet.

Finally, if you want to get some great advice on paint finishes, see what you can pry out of Ron Reid. His finishes are as good as a Rolls Royce paint job. I've seen much of his work first hand and it is amazing.

Thanks for that, Michael. I value your expertise. And anyone looking at your work can see the results of your knowledge and experience.

Yes, after recently "saving" myself a few dollars by making my own circle square illusion I laughed when I saw this

I probably could of spent half the money on a shop bought one. But I did add a few extras that make mine unique I guess

Click here to view attached image.

That's really the point. If you desire a prop that is unique and customized to YOUR wants and needs, then sometimes there is no other way. But, if you are thinking it will save you money, you will often learn differently.

Most newbie DYIers (not assuming anything about anyone) don't take into account all that goes into a project, from supplies, to tools, to research, to experience, to you name it. It all comes at a cost, whether time, money, or just peace of mind.

I do whatever I can to help someone who earnestly wants to learn. But, many times the questions don't begin until after there are problems.

I enjoy making my own stuf sometimes. But mostly because I am a crafty guy and just enjoy doing it. I learn a lot, and have a lot of fun. Not sure if I acually save any money - but it is fun. (ok with mouth coils and hat tears I save a bundle). I also have no problem just buying the darn things sometimes too. I never tried to make an egg... yet...

I'm a crafty guy, too. Art student, even. Designed and built and painted scenery for shows. Made puppets. Made lots of miniature dollhouse furniture. Ive even sewn clothing. That's the very thing that makes me want to try first to make something myself.

But if I can buy an Egg-Actly egg for $15, or two of Jeff Hobson's eggs for $15, spending a couple of days with a plastic Walmart egg, glue, sandpaper, spray paint, etc. is really kind of crazy.

I made my own circle square because I didn't like any of the designs I saw. They all looked too much like something a magic manufacturer would make.
So I designed and made my own my way.
Along the way I realised I could hide a large appearing wand in it. Next thing you you know I've added something to hold a Fantasio cane ready to pull out.
So I went the whole hog and put a Fantasio candle in there as well and a wee device to light it.

If you are still seeking eggs, the best ones I have found were supplied for an egg lathe. This lathe is intended for decorating eggs with nice designs for Easter, using magic markers. Included with the lathe were three or four plastic eggs that were so realistically made that they even had the proper texture. All that was required was to carefully use an X-Acto knife as a scraper to remove the flash seam.

I had gotten this lathe as a gift for Christmas one year. Being young and foolish, I immediately saw the potential for a practical joke. I managed to put just enough water within one of the eggs to weight it so that it was indistinguishable from a real egg, then I hid in in the egg drawer in the fridge. Unfortunately, my mother was in a bad mood on the morning that she tried to crack it. Hearing my name taken in vain and the egg bouncing across the floor, I made a quick retrieval and get away. ; )

These eggs would be perfect - a large, grade A egg for the egg bag, for even at close range, they look & feel authentic, and as stated above, are unbreakable. An internet search should produce some results.