h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have a pair of red wire-frame glasses and bits of the red has come off in a couple of places. I was wondering if anyone knew if there is a special paint that I could use to re-paint the frames. They told me at the shop that nothing could be done but I love my glasses (they're so cute!) and I would rather try to fix them than get new ones.

azahar

When i read the title of this thread i thought you meant you were doing a painting of someone wearing glasses! i was thinkin of a bunch of drawing tips for you!


you probably would be able to. Acrylic paints would be the best, that'll paint on just about everything and its difficult to get off but its thick, so it stand out from the other parts. But if you go to a proper art store then they'll have loads of colours, so you'd be able to get a pretty good match

I would doubt that there would be special spectacle paint, but I would probably try Halfords or somewhere similar and get a wee tin of the right colour as they do all the paints for the various car colours....
BCNU - Crescent

Or if all else fails you could always try nail varnish.

Footbacon,

It took awhile for me to come up with a shortish title that made sense as it was! Oh well. . .

Crescent,

Yes, I was of thinking of model paint - wouldn't that come in small bottles? Or some sort of spray paint? What is Halford's? (I live in Spain).

az

hi Odo,

I did actually first consider nail varnish but then thought it would just chip off again. Also, my glasses are a kind of metallic red colour that I think will be hard to match, so I might end up having to paint the entire frames, not just touch them up.

Why can't shops offer a service for this sort of thing? Everyone I know with coloured wire-frame specs eventually ends up with the same problem.

az

Ahhh, Halfords is a sort of car accessories/repair shop, sort of. So it has all the paints, including the metallic ones to sort out scrapes and bumps. Tyres, hubcaps and manuals on how to strip your particular car model down to the chassis and rebuild it, putty to fill in rust holes etc. I hvan't been in one since I was 10 so maybe someone else can be a bit more accurate with there description Until later.....
BCNU - Crescent

Hi az,

Some thoughts:

Nail varnish might work and there are millions of colours, including metallics, (I believe ) but the little brush supplied is not up to the task so you would need a decent art brush as well.

Car paint is the best bet and there must be a Spanish equivalent of Halfords. Alternatively you could walk round car parks looking for a car of just the right colour, note the make and model, then visit the dealer for a little bottle of touch-up paint.

A jewellery repair workshop will be well experienced in working on fiddly little objects like your frames and may be able to paint them for you.

A professional model maker would be better still and may even have suitable paint. Find them in the Spanish 'Yellow Pages' or on the 'net.

Good luck.

F

I suggest you take the lenses out before painting the frame or you may ruin them. Got a small screwdriver?

I concur with Teasswill...remove the lenses and get a mini paint spray (or get friendly with your local garage). Use a car paint (works best on metal) and allow to dry. Then take the lenses and frames back to your optician to be properly re-installed.

Well, I went to a model shop yesterday evening and they didn't have any metallic paint. Yes, I agree that taking out the lenses first would be a wise move!

Another thought I had, since the bits with silver showing through are quite small (though they do show up under a bright light or in sunlight) is getting one of those felt-tip pens that write on anything. It wouldn't be an exact colour match but a bit of flat red would still look better than shiny silver.

az