At this moment, Enamel Lapel pins are THE style statement. Although small in size, they bring in a big change in your style statement. Because they are painted with designs that can convey many different kinds of meanings, they add a bit of personality to you and show to the world something unique about you.
Today, Enamel pins sell like hot cakes. Although they are pretty expensive when bought from stores, many people buy them to wear as an accessory. Some online stores like vivipins offer you custom made enamel lapel pins at a very competitive price. But most stores charge a good margin and people are willing to pay this as lapel pins are trendy today.
All of us will agree that enamel lapel pins look really cute. But, many a times, they are too expensive to buy if you want a lot of them. If you don’t want to buy a lapel pin or you want your own kind of style statement, you can create your own Enamel lapel pins.
Here are a few ways in which you can achieve the same.
Method 1: Soft Enamel Lapel Pins
One of the most common ways that many people use to make an enamel lapel pin is to first create a mold. This mold can be created in plastic. You will need the mold where the melted metal will be put in and the design mold to stamp the design on the metal..
To make the mold, you will need clear acrylic plastic. On a sheet of paper, you should then print the design that you want your enamel lapel pin to have. Place the design on the back of the plastic.
Now, you have to start scratching the design into the clear acrylic plastic. You must get the lines on the plastic by scratching the surface enough. Once you have these lines on the surface, you can then use a Dremel and drill these lines out deep in the plastic. If you can get these lines deep without the use of a Dremel, you are free to do so. Another way to get it done is to get them laser engraved onto the plastic as many people chose to do. It is quicker and easier, although it requires you to shell some bucks.
Once you are satisfied with the lines on the plastic, you should clean it so that there are no fine plastic piece residues left.
Then you have to melt the metal that you will be using. The general idea is to use a soldering machine to melt the metal. You can melt it in a spoon. Make sure that you are wearing a mask and have proper ventilation as any kind of metal will have some fumes. Once the metal is liquid, you should go ahead and pour it in the mold that you have created.
Next step is to push the stamp in the liquid metal and engrave the design. It may not work properly in first try. Keep trying till you get the design nicely engraved. Once you are done with this, cut off the excess edges, if any.
Then you must fill in the edges. Once you are done with this, just glue the design to the pin. Let it rest for some time so that it is glued properly. We suggest between 4 to 8 hours to let it dry.
Once the metal is set on the pin, it is time to paint your design. To begin with, paint all the edges black. Some people want to leave it to the color of the metal. You can do the same if you want. Next, use enamel paint to paint the interiors of the design. Use a good quality paint brush to do the same and ensure that the paint stays within the lines.
Let the paint dry for 2-3 hours and you are done with the Enamel lapel pin. The lines in this design are more prominent than the paint. This kind of pin is known as Soft Enamel Lapel Pin.
These are among the most popular methods of making enamel pins.
Method 2: Hard Enamel Pins
Most of the steps in making hard enamel pins is same as making of soft enamel pins.
Here is where the difference lies.
Difference between Soft and Hard Enamel Pin Making Process
Once you have painted the insides with the colors you want, you overfill it with enamel paint. This is done to bring the paint to the same level as the borders. First, you overfill the paint. Then you sand over them to bring them to the level of the lines. It gives you a soft finish instead of the rough edges of the soft enamel pins. Because of this smooth, elegant, jewellery like finish, Although it is softer to touch, the enamel used is hard enamel. Because of this, this process is known as hard enamel.
By using either of these two methods, you can get yourself an excellent quality Enamel Lapel pin. You would not need to depend on other sellers. In fact, if you get really good at making these pins, you can become a seller yourself. In case you are not able to make the lapel pin as per your requirement, you can get it custom made from vivipins.
How did you like this guide? Was there something in the methods that you liked? Were you able to make the design as per your requirement? Tell us in the comments below.
