Torched my Caravela clone

[NatureBoy]

I tried sticking it in the over first, thinking maybe I'd get a nice even golden hue to it.. but the oven stank running that hot and I could tell it wasn't going to get any decent amount of color.

So I bused out the torch and patiently painted the tube with a blue flame. This is how it turned out:

 

[Christopherja]

Looks slick! I suppose it was SS before? Did you cover the brass areas, or did they just not react?

 

[NatureBoy]

Looks slick! I suppose it was SS before? Did you cover the brass areas, or did they just not react?

Yeah it was brushed SS, which I hand polished a little bit. I wanted to buff it into a mirror shine, but I was concerned it would blur the logo. I'd be fine with it if it logo disappeared completely, but having a blurry logo would annoy me.

I just took all parts off and torched the tube by itself. I rigged up a coat hanger in my coil winder jig.. the end of the coat hanger was folded over a couple times to catch the inside of the tube like a spring, so it held it in place then I could rotate it.

 

[iamzg]

Looks sick man. Might have to try that on mine when it comes in. Did you use mapp or propane?

 

[NatureBoy]

I used a butane torch I got from Harbor Freight. Took quite a bit longer than I thought it would... around 35-40 mins. But I took my time with it, heating it in stages (3 total), starting with a cooler flame on the torch and turning it up after each stage.

I probably could have gotten a more even finish, but I wanted it to have subtle differences to give it a bit of texture in the color.

For a $14 mod, no hesitation to do it, though I did practice on a couple attys first. I'd probably be a little more scared to torch a $200 mod.

I think I'm going to order another one. I'll sand it down to get rid of the logo, then polish and buff it to a mirror finish but stop at the amber color stage. I really wanted to get purple, but it's too difficult.. very small window of opportunity to get that color before it starts to go blue. I think the only way to get it right is in a kiln. I've been eyeing a digital kiln on eBay for a little while now.. only $300...

 

[foliagegreen]

i'm feelin the look on it. good job! i don't think i'd have the patience to get it to look nice lol.