self made hairtoys thread

**Hairy-Fairy** · August 13th, 2024, 09:47 PM

Does anyone here know of a good sealant for metal, specifically copper? A copper hairstick i made keeps turning green.

**PWild** · October 17th, 2024, 07:56 AM

Adding to the thread - this barrette made from KOA wood from Hawaii for my wife:

**shayna** · October 17th, 2024, 09:07 AM

Unfortunately, I can't upload a photo of them for you, but I have quite the little production line for self-made hair sticks going in my kitchen.
I buy a packet of wooden dowels (probably mostly used for making fairy wands) at the $2 Shop, cut them in half, shape the hair stick by slightly rounding one end and whittling the other down to a smooth point, sand them nice and smooth with a couple of grades of sandpaper, then paint them as best I can with coloured nail polishes, you need to work very quickly and smoothly with wet nail polish or it will turn into one big sticky mess, two coats to start with on the bare wood, then some polka dots or squiggles in a contrasting or complimentary colour (Handy Hint- random abstract patterns are best, detailed painting is not going to work well using nail polish brushes), then give them two top coats of clear nail polish. Done.

Regarding drying the nail polish, I use big blobs of BluTack to hold the sticks at one end leaving the last inch or so in the BluTack, let the coat of polish dry for up to one day, do second coat. Dry again. Then turn stick the other way up to do the remaining section that was standing in the BluTack. Dry. Then you can go on to other colours the same way, always leaving plenty of time for the polish to dry between coats.
If you find there are rough patches at any time you can sandpaper them away by carefully using a fine bit of the black wet'n'dry sandpaper, then painting over again.

Have fun!

**Für immer** · October 17th, 2024, 09:21 AM

Beautiful one, PWild.

**sarana** · October 18th, 2024, 05:43 PM

shayna, my process is very similar except I steal disposable chopsticks from the grocery store's sushi counter xD

The blue-tack is a good idea, I've stuck them between books so that the painted end hangs in the air

**shayna** · October 19th, 2024, 07:25 PM

Originally Posted by sarana

shayna, my process is very similar except I steal disposable chopsticks from the grocery store's sushi counter xD

The blue-tack is a good idea, I've stuck them between books so that the painted end hangs in the air

Good skills, sarana!

**shayna** · Today, 03:57 AM

Originally Posted by Hairy-Fairy

Does anyone here know of a good sealant for metal, specifically copper? A copper hairstick i made keeps turning green.

Sorry I didn't notice your question earlier. I know that clear nail polish works to seal metal jewellery for people who have allergies to the metal, so I figure a couple of coats would protect the metal on your hair stick from turning green. If it doesn't work just clean the nail polish off again with nail polish remover, but I think it should do the job.

**Hairy-Fairy** · Today, 06:42 AM

Originally Posted by shayna

Sorry I didn't notice your question earlier. I know that clear nail polish works to seal metal jewellery for people who have allergies to the metal, so I figure a couple of coats would protect the metal on your hair stick from turning green. If it doesn't work just clean the nail polish off again with nail polish remover, but I think it should do the job.

Thanks, that makes sense. I remember reading posts from years ago where people were warning that nail polish will turn yellow over the years. I don't know if it's true though. No one ever came back and said whether it did or didn't.