Highlighting engraving background

[Charlie Diehl]

The engraving on my 20 GH is reasonably good but would stand out better with some highlighting. Brownell has a product called “lacquer stik” that they claim can be wiped on to bring out “highlight” the engraving. Is this something I should consider or would it violate all that is sacred in the world of Parker’s?

[Dean Romig]

It will probably be fine to use that because it is applied to the surface and won’t harm the metal or compromise the existing engraving. Be careful you don’t get it on the wood.

How about some before and after pictures?





.

[Randy G Roberts]

Definitely before and after pics please, thanks !

[Randy G Roberts]

Whoaaa. What am I missing here ? That product looks like a paint to me that is used to enhance, restore, or fill in lettering or stampings. It does not appear that it will enhance engraving to me. Even comes in various colors. Like I said what am missing ???

[Charlie Diehl]

Thanks for your quick responses. I will order the Brownell product and hopefully I will remember to take before & after pictures and send them to both of you.

[Charlie Diehl]

Randy, according to Brownell this paste is used to highlight gun engravings. Yes there are several color options but it is available in black.

[Randy G Roberts]

Good luck Charlie. Might wanna try it on an old beater first.

[edgarspencer]

The old method was black paste shoe polish. Works quite well and once wiped down, only stays in the depths and not on the surface. I’m surprised no none has mentioned this. It’s quite common.

[Marty Kohler]

Is that what is going on in the C grade gun in the Parker Home picture?

If so looks very nice....

[Eric Eis]

The old method was black paste shoe polish. Works quite well and once wiped down, only stays in the depths and not on the surface. I’m surprised no none has mentioned this. It’s quite common.

I had forgotten about that old trick, Edgar

[Rick Losey]

have you experimented with lighting

more light from the sides and less straight on will cause highlights and shadows

the reason portrait/beauty lighting is more head on is to fill in the "character" in the skin and smooth everything over

not highly engraved - but the first is done from a bit of an angle- the second - light and camera from the front

[Greg Baehman]

If you'd like to use what professional engravers use, you'll use Grobet USA's Background Antique and Aul-Solvent. It's simple and easy to use and it'll get you professional results. Simply brush on the Background Antique with a small artist's brush, let dry for 6 minutes. Then highlight bright areas by wiping gently with a lint-free cloth and Aul-Solvent. The pics below show the results and the product. Here's one place where the product is available: https://www.esslinger.com/black-background-antique-solution-and-aul-solvent-kit/?gclid=CjwKCAjw1dzkBRBWEiwAROVDLKEBZcB41_L-5Bm8e-VqtPrkJgUTK0z_Uj760ssnbhacF2htaZ8ChBoCGh4QAvD_BwE

[Jay Gardner]

Oscar Gaddy used printers ink. Shoe polish sounds like a good option to me.

[James J. Roberts]

Greg,Who did the beautiful engraving on the Fox? J.J.

[Dean Romig]

Looks like Ken Hunt's style. Remarkable!




.

[Greg Baehman]

Greg,Who did the beautiful engraving on the Fox? J.J.
Thanks, it was Robert Strosin of Wisconsin Rapids, WI that did the engraving.

[Jon Sheets]

I've used the Brownells sticks and was not happy with the results. It's a thick pasty paint stick that fills the engraving with a thick mess and wipes off with gun cleaner. I found it to be a waste of time and money. Wild Skies has it right!

[Russ Jackson]

Has anyone actually used this product , it appears very impressive ! Does anyone know if this Background Antique product is removable once used if you did it and didn't care for the results on a particular gun ?

[Wayne Owens]

You use the Vigor to remove the Antique Background. It works great. If you use it, make sure there is a lot of ventilation and use safety gloves too. It is very toxic.

[Greg Baehman]

Yes Russ, I've used the product, several times actually. It is the real deal. The Background Antique itself is thinner than water which allows it to flow into the finest of cuts. Yet it does not appear watered down being blacker-than-the-Ace-of-Spades. If desired, it is totally removable with the Aul-Solvent. One small 2 oz. jar of Background Antique is enough to do many guns.

I have learned through the use of the Aul-Solvent that it is susceptible to evaporating over a period of months just sitting in the jar -- even though the cap was screwed down tightly. (I did not seal the cap with plumber's tape or similar, but should have.) When it did evaporate, instead of buying another jar I substituted the Mrs'. finger nail polish remover (acetone) for the Aul-Solvent. It worked as well as the Aul in removing the Background Antique from areas I wanted it removed.

[Russ Jackson]

I believe I may have to give this a try ,very nice look at least to my eye ! Years ago I had an Early AH Grade that had very different engraving ,like a Hawk or Falcon carrying something ,very cool ! It was an Oscar Gaddy refinish and appeared to have been buffed a little too far maybe even before Oscar redid it by some one else , who Knows but with that said the engraving was very difficult to really see the detail , this may have done the trick !

[Randy G Roberts]

I would like to see before/after pics if anyone has any, preferably of a Parker or some similar style engraving. Russ maybe you can do a before/after when you experiment please ?

[Russ Jackson]

I am going to have to order it so it may be a while but I sure will ,just have to decide which gun ,sure wish I had the AH grade still hanging around !

[Wayne Owens]

Russ,
If the engraving you are trying to enhance is shallow, the Au Solvent seems to remove most of the background enhancement you want to leave in the engraving. I found that using the plastic end of a small paint brush to scrape the engraving background off, instead of using the solvent, left more of the background enhancement down in the engraving. It scrapes off easily and you can control the removal of the enhancement much better than using the solvent. I hope this helps.
Wayne

[Russ Jackson]

Thanks Wayne , at this point I really don't know if I have a gun that needs enhancement of the engraving but this looks like something that would be nice to try ! The engraving on my BHE 410 Upgrade is difficult to pick out because of the Case Colors ,this might be the one ??? I have owned a few that could have been really good candidates for this !:rotf:,

[Dean Romig]

Russ, please let us know how that works on high-percentage case colors.





.