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

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-back...BoCGh4QAvD_BwE

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

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

Looks like Ken Hunt's style. Remarkable!




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Thanks, it was Robert Strosin of Wisconsin Rapids, WI that did the engraving.

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!

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 ?

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.

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.