Kind of a bunch of questions... Just obtained a decades-old P&L white-tipped Vanishing Wand set with a very worn solid wand and very re-and-re-painted-with-white-paint metal tips (on both the solid wand and the separate tips themselves). I've scraped the paint off one set of tips so the copper(?) is showing and will do the same with the other tips. Once they're de-painted, how do I re-paint or re-enamel them? I want to give them and the wooden wand back their elegant satin finish, and while I'm good on sanding and repainting the black wood, I'm at a loss for how to re-whiten the metal tips so the paint adheres, looks good, and stays there. (Is there a satin-finish sealer that can go over everything, too?) Do I use spray paint?

Thanks.

Contact Ron Reid, here at the Café. He refinishes magic props made of metal. I've seen pictures of his work, and he does a great job. I'll bet he could advise you.

Regan

Make sure the old paint finish is entirely off. Lightly rough the surface with a fine grit sand paper to give the metal some "tooth". Use a spray primer that works on metal (most commercially available spray paints do). Apply your color topcoat. You can use a flat or a satin white (semi-gloss, or semi-flat by some names). Spray light coats.

Let them air dry for a few hours.

I am not sure how your tips are designed, but hopefully you can find a way to suspend them by a piece of wire, so that the painted area of the tip that will show during the trick is not touching anything. Then place them in your oven (hang them from one of the racks) and set the temperature at about 175 degrees F. Let them bake on the enamel for about an hour. Shut off the oven, and let them just sit until they cool naturally. This bakes on the finish.

If you desire, there are also satin finish clear topcoats. Be careful if using lacquer over enamel. If you spray too heavy with the lacquer, the solvents will affect the enamel underneath and blister the paint. Again, light coats.

~michael

Michael - thank you! Exactly what I was looking for. The metal tips are like bullet shells that fit over the solid wand ends and also the wooden plugs for the vanishable tips, so they should be easy enough to set so they aren't touching anything. I didn't realize one could bake the enamel at home, so this is great info. Thanks again!

Charley

You can also use Krylon. It dries quickly and is reasonably tough. It comes in satin white and satin black. Use a white primer on the tips and a grey primer on the body of the wand. Do the body of the wand first, and allow it to cure for about a week. Then, using an easy release masking tape, mask the body of the wand off, and paint the tips.

Take plenty of time and follow the instructions precisely. Pay particular attention to anything regarding the amount of time between coats.

Bill - thanks! And thanks again for the recommendation to give the wands and tips a satin finish - the set will look much more elegant.

Here's the newly restored P&L Vanishing Wand set, with the box it came in and an original vanishable I had. It was done with a satin finish, and I matched the old tip paint with a new slightly off-white color so it would maintain the ivory look that, though chipped and worn, was present (I wanted it to look how it would look now, after several decades of use, but without the chipped wood and paint; not perfect, but like an elegant vintage prop of a quality that isn't being made anymore). The black wand body paint was relatively fast-drying on the wood, and I baked on the white paint that was on the copper tips. Thanks for everyone's suggestions! I plan to use it as my workhorse and am now restoring the wooden Breakaway Wand and Ireland's Growing Wand set that came with the P&L set.

http://www.folksinging.tv/P&L.JPG

(The photo looks much better at full-screen.)

Way to go!

Thanks!

Another idea for painting metal is to use One Shot Lettering Enamel. It is a specialty paint that is sold by art supply stores and sign suppliers, and it is a much better and more durable paint because it still contains lead. Fairly expensive, but worth it.

Nicely done!

Does anyone know if the enamel paints can be used effectively on cardboard?
Does the paint by nature of being "wet" destroy the cardboard?

There are different types of cardboard (corrugated, mat/illustration board, etc.).

I have painted many types, many different times. Cardboard will soak up paint like a spomge, and there are issues of the cardboard warping due to wetting/sealing one side and not the other. Best luck will be to spray several very light coats, allowing it to dry thoroughly between each one, until you have sealed the surface sufficiently that it does not soak up the paint any longer. Consider also putting down a light coat of a fast drying primer first. That may help.

What exactly are you thinking of painting?

~michael