Metal pins without paint offer a whole host of creative choices to the enamel pin designer. When working on a diy enamel pin project or experimenting with diy lapel pins, metal pins without paint allow designers to explore texture-focused designs. Once you leave the color out, you can utilize engraving textures or sandblasting to achieve gorgeous artistic enamel pin effects and premium pin texture finishes. Whether you're creating customs pins, a customized lapel pin, or custom enamel lapel pins for your brand, or exploring unique diy enamel design techniques, understanding these texture options is essential when designing enamel lapel pins and metal lapel pins.
Engraving Textures for DIY Enamel Pin & Custom Enamel Lapel Pins
Our factory offers 12 different textures for your custom pin design, making engraving one of the most versatile options for creating enamel pins. CNC mold making technology makes it possible to create a lot of different looks be it in the background of your design or featured front and center on metal pins. Custom enamel lapel pins benefit greatly from these texture variations, allowing designers to add depth, contrast, and refined enamel texture to both soft enamel pins and hard enamel pins.
You should consider using a background texture when you are trying to create a contrast between art elements on personalized enamel pins or customized lapel pin designs. The textures vary from gravel-looking to that of a dulled look, which works especially well for engraving pins used in diy enamel pin projects.
The process is cheaper to administer than sandblasting. The difference is that the pattern is engraved into the mold which is then used to stamp out your pin blanks, making it ideal for diy lapel pins and bulk custom pins orders. Textures 1 and 2 resemble sandblasting the closest. The airline pin below has a stamped texture in the background. Personalized enamel pins with engraved textures offer an affordable way to achieve professional-looking results while maintaining crisp enamel pin effects.
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Sandblasting for Enamel Pin & Customized Lapel Pin Finishes
Aside from the cost issue, it's our opinion that sandblasted finishes produce some of the nicest artistic results for a sandblast enamel pin. Especially when combined with transparent enamels on soft enamel lapel pins and hard enamel pins, sandblasting creates a refined enamel texture. Of the three choices in this article, sandblasting is the only one that costs more, but it is often preferred for premium custom enamel lapel pins.
The process is labour-intensive. Each pin is stamped, trimmed and buffed. They are then added to flat racks and inserted into a sandblasting machine. The machine uses intense air pressure to "blast" sand particles into the surface of the pin. It delivers a nice dull-looking surface ideal for metal lapel pins and metal pins with high-end finishes. The factory then buffs the top layer of the pin so that the edges, lines, text or raised details appear shiny. Customized lapel pin projects often feature sandblasting to create that premium, high-end finish seen in luxury personalized enamel pins.
This custom Burning Man necklace pendant below uses a sandblasted base and then we applied a nice transparent purple enamel to the outside ring. (sorry for the image quality) Customs pins with sandblasted finishes paired with transparent enamel create stunning dimensional enamel pin effects that really make designs pop, especially for diy enamel pin collections.Â
Antique Electroplating for Custom Enamel Lapel Pins & Customs Pins
Another technique you can use is antique electroplating for enamel lapel pins and custom enamel lapel pins. This process is administered when dipping the pins into a series of chemical baths. The pin bases are attached to a metal rack, and there is an electric charge given to the pins when immersed in these baths. Depending on the makeup of this bath, they can add a black tarnish to the bases, enhancing the pin texture of metal pins.
For no extra charge, we can dip your pins into an electroplating wash that gives it an aged look. Custom enamel lapel pins with antique finishes are particularly popular for vintage-themed collections, heritage brands, and customized lapel pin designs.
We suggest using this technique on faces, old buildings or other forms of art that require a distressed or aged look. Personalized enamel pins, customized lapel pin designs, and other custom pins all benefit from this technique when an authentic vintage aesthetic is desired, especially when paired with subtle enamel pin effects.
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