doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Coloring Acraglas?

Just picked up a very nice Jannsen& Fils 3" 12ga. it has a black horn buttplate that has worm damage. I'd like to fix it with Acraglas, what can I use to turn the Acraglas black to match the buttplate. I know Brownells sell a pigment but rather than special order it I thought there might be a good substitute one of our resident experts knows about.


Thanks, Rob

Rob I was trying to do the same repair on a horn butt plate on an Ideal that I just bought. I tried to use acrylic paint. The color looked fine but the acraglass did not get hard. I am not sure if the paint caused the problem or the acraglass was just old. It also did not stick well to the horn. I have not purchased new acraglass yet to see if it solves the problem. Has anyone ad problems with acraglass on horn?

Bill G.

I'll bet the Acraglass was just old. How old was it? Either that or not properly mixed, and you would probably know that. The mix is pretty flexible anyway. I have used it with Brownell's dye in it to color repairs to old hard rubber type buttplates, but not horn. I did take the time to be sure the repair area was de-greased well before patching. Your horn might just need cleaning well before the patch?? I have not used anything other than the Brownell's dye, but that works well. A little dab'l do ya'!!

A little dab'l do ya is absolutely right. I think that dye from brownells has grease in it so dont over do it.

I agree with the above posters. Use a little it goes very far. There were 2 colors in my kit from Brownell's. Black and brown.

I have used color pigment available at artist supply stores. Patched a buttplate on a Winchester by mixing a little with acraglass. After polishing, it was barely noticable. Even had to checker a little of it and it worked out just fine.

Lenard

Any oil /grease type of additive IMHO will inhibit the curing of Acraglass, if fact paste wax / any thick grease can be used as a release agent for Acraglas. To clean / dilute Ag acetone is a good solvent even if the Ag is cured. My only suggestion for adding colour to Ag go to some one like a boat builder etc. and get some dye from them. I think a trace of oil/grease kept the Ag from bonding to the horn - suggest a good soap & water wash as I don't know the affect of acetone on horn. --- John Can.

I have used inletting black to color it and it always hardened

Brownells carry powdered(actually they are little granules) dyes for colouring Acra-Glas. I have a tub of the black stuff, have used it often, and it does not degrade adhesion nor adversely affect curing at all.

Lamp black will work, try to find the powdered type if it is still available.

Jim