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DIY ace ring


semi

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Hello all!! So I have been reading up on forums pertaining to the black ring that can be worn as a symbol of asexuality. Being the cheap and resourceful individual I am, I have decided to paint an old ring I never wear, to be black.

 

I was wondering if any of you have embarked on a DIY project similar to this?!  I was just thinking of using acrylic paint suitable for many surfaces and then sealing that coat of paint afterwards.

 

UPDATE (03/14/2017): I coated an old rusting ring with about 3 coats of acrylic paint and maybe 4 or 5 coats of mod podge in an alternating pattern (acrylic, mod podge, acrylic, mod podge, etc.). I have been wearing it almost everyday when I go to school and am out and about doing my thing and it isn't flaking at all!! :) Bless jesus for mod podge, I highly recommend it as a sealer if anyone wants to engage in making a DIY ring.

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I just turned a black plastic mini ziptie into a ring by pulling it to the right size, cutting and sanding the tail end, and then squishing it to be more circular than teardrop shaped. Works fantastic. I have no advice on painting.

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My first ace rings were all DIY :)

 

I did the low-cost approach of getting a pack of cheap rings from Claire's (cheap tween jewelry chain store) and a bottle of cheap black nail polish from the local drug store, which was all the rage when I first joined AVEN like seven years ago. It works decently well, but the problem is that if you use something cheap like nail varnish it tends to start wearing off after a week or so because of all the friction. My solution to this was to just get a 6-pack of stacker rings so I could do a batch and then just switch them out as they started to wear down, but if you just have one ring the maintenance might get annoying.


Acrylic and sealant might last longer if you have a nice sealant, but I imagine you'll still have to reapply it periodically. I'd do a test with the acrylic, though, as it's not really designed to adhere to smooth surfaces like metal - you might have to rough up the metal first, as described above.

 

IMO, the labor costs of re-applying coatings really build up, so if you can find a cheap ring in the $10-15 range (I see them every now and then in cheap fashion places like target, H&M, Claire's etc.), I think it's worth the investment. DIY rings definitely work well until you can find a longer lasting option though.

 

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@Sherlocks I will definitely try sanding the ring if I find the proper equipment!! (probably will borrow from my dad haha) thank you!!

 

 @Scottthespy  In your method I as wondering, didn't the zip tie clasp/bulge thing get annoying? or did you manage to somehow squish that too? :o

 

@Sennkestra Yea I saw some threads mentioning using nailpolish!! The problem though is, wears off fast. I already have black nailpolish I hardly use (work doesn't let me wear nailpolish), so I was considering that at first... but then it would probably fall off fast too even if it isn't the cheapest nail polish claire's can offer. Hence why I was considering sealing acrylic paint onto it lol. I will definitely test it out and see how it goes, if it gets tedious I will go on the hunt for an actual black ring ^_^:) 

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5 hours ago, semi said:

@Sherlocks I will definitely try sanding the ring if I find the proper equipment!! (probably will borrow from my dad haha) thank you!!

 

 @Scottthespy  In your method I as wondering, didn't the zip tie clasp/bulge thing get annoying? or did you manage to somehow squish that too? :o

 

@Sennkestra Yea I saw some threads mentioning using nailpolish!! The problem though is, wears off fast. I already have black nailpolish I hardly use (work doesn't let me wear nailpolish), so I was considering that at first... but then it would probably fall off fast too even if it isn't the cheapest nail polish claire's can offer. Hence why I was considering sealing acrylic paint onto it lol. I will definitely test it out and see how it goes, if it gets tedious I will go on the hunt for an actual black ring ^_^:) 

I wear it so that that was on the palm side of the hand, and since I enjoy fiddling, I mess around with it all the time and it doesn't bother me. If some one has an issue with asymmetrical things or doesn't like fiddling, it might get annoying.

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8 hours ago, Scottthespy said:

I wear it so that that was on the palm side of the hand, and since I enjoy fiddling, I mess around with it all the time and it doesn't bother me. If some one has an issue with asymmetrical things or doesn't like fiddling, it might get annoying.

 

ah I see, that's good then it works out for you :P . Even though i enjoy fiddling i feel like it would get in my way and annoy me though haha

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I think the acrylic paint would wear off fairly quickly, too.

 

An enamel paint would probably last longer, especially if you can find some formulated for use on metal. Like some of the paints made for things like cars and bicycles.

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I used to just wear a hair tie doubled over, but I have really skinny fingers.

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Scottthespy

It occurs to me that if you use acrylic paint to put colour on a ring, then give it three or four coats of a decent clear nail polish as a finish, that would probably help.

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5 hours ago, Scottthespy said:

It occurs to me that if you use acrylic paint to put colour on a ring, then give it three or four coats of a decent clear nail polish as a finish, that would probably help.

 

Thank u scott, I will be sure to try that :) 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I highly recommend mod podge as a sealer!!! I have had good results with it so far (been wearing my own painted ring for about 2 weeks and no flaking has occured).

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  • 4 weeks later...

I know this isn't a DIY but I found my ring during an amazon lightning sale, tungsten with a tiny cz stone for $9.  I'm really rough with my jewelry and my skin either eats or is eaten by most metals so it was a good find and I've noticed several similar sales since then with different tungsten rings.

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LouTheElephant

I decided to make diy ace ring, mostly because I don't want to explain to my parents why all of the sudden I want to purchase a black ring. I made it out of embroidery floss (like a friendship bracelet but ring size) I coated in in clear nail polish to make it more durable. I've worn it a couple of days (including hand washing) and it seems to be holding up pretty well. Also it's less annoying to keep on because normal rings tend to bother me but this one is soft and doesn't clank around. Kinda lame but it's working for me :) 

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MakeupJunkie4

I've considered doing a DIY, too. But I'm kinda impatient and I'd probably be sloppy with it and it wouldn't last (lol), so I'm getting the one on Amazon for 1 penny. :)

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Internetlionboy

A DIY ace ring sounds pretty cool to make and wear! I'll def plan on making one whenever I get the time. How long does it usually take to make a DIY ring? 

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  • 10 months later...

I getting my first ace ring soon. It’s a black spinner ring from stimtastic.co.

I’m super excited! I’ve never done a DIY one because I’m not very good at crafts. Lol

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