With the window and top vent under control, I moved on to the engraving part of this project; some embellishments to add more character to the case. I want some Celtic patterns to be engraved just over the top of the window..
I searched through some tattoo books and found a design I liked.
Here they are. If you think the finish is somewhat rough, you are right, but there is a good reason for this. When you engrave silver-on-silver, it can be quite hard to see the detail; compare these photos with the kind of result you get from silver-on-black, like Wolverine's Star Wars case and you will see what I mean.
Faced with this challenge, I started to think about colouring the engravings. It is quite a challenge actually - the main considerations are:<ol><li>How do I get colour to bond with the metal, so that it doesn't peel off when touched?</li><li>How can I achieve a metallic paint / anodised appearance?</li><li>How can I make it so that it doesn't look like it is just "painted" on?</li></ol> The funny thing is that while the answer to these questions is quite simple, it took me three days to figure it out. The first step was to make my children wear earmuffs so they couldn't hear all the cursing...
The other two "tools" I needed was a waterproof, permanent marker - in red, naturally - and a soft cloth. The next step was to check the engraved area to make sure it had texture - the surface needs to be a bit rough to give the ink something to bond with. If it was too smooth, most of the colour would just wipe away.
Very, very carefully, I filled the engraved area with colour, making sure not to make any marks outside the design. Metal is non-porous, so it's not like the excess ink was going to soak into the surface - too much ink was ruining the effect, so using the cloth, I rubbed away the excess to reveal more of the metal surface underneath.
The end result looks sweet, though it is hard to get the full effect from the photo - you really need to see it in real life.
Now I have done the left side of the case, it is time to move on to the other side...
I searched through some tattoo books and found a design I liked.
Here they are. If you think the finish is somewhat rough, you are right, but there is a good reason for this. When you engrave silver-on-silver, it can be quite hard to see the detail; compare these photos with the kind of result you get from silver-on-black, like Wolverine's Star Wars case and you will see what I mean.
Faced with this challenge, I started to think about colouring the engravings. It is quite a challenge actually - the main considerations are:<ol><li>How do I get colour to bond with the metal, so that it doesn't peel off when touched?</li><li>How can I achieve a metallic paint / anodised appearance?</li><li>How can I make it so that it doesn't look like it is just "painted" on?</li></ol> The funny thing is that while the answer to these questions is quite simple, it took me three days to figure it out. The first step was to make my children wear earmuffs so they couldn't hear all the cursing...
The other two "tools" I needed was a waterproof, permanent marker - in red, naturally - and a soft cloth. The next step was to check the engraved area to make sure it had texture - the surface needs to be a bit rough to give the ink something to bond with. If it was too smooth, most of the colour would just wipe away.
Very, very carefully, I filled the engraved area with colour, making sure not to make any marks outside the design. Metal is non-porous, so it's not like the excess ink was going to soak into the surface - too much ink was ruining the effect, so using the cloth, I rubbed away the excess to reveal more of the metal surface underneath.
The end result looks sweet, though it is hard to get the full effect from the photo - you really need to see it in real life.
Now I have done the left side of the case, it is time to move on to the other side...
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