painting the effect boxes

[dan]

i'm about to paint my first box. i've sanded it real smooth. all i want to do is put a clear coat over it to keep that clean metal look, but i want the enamal to be real tough and durable. (1) to get that you bake it right? (2) is it ok to bake in my kitchen oven? (3) how long at what temp? (4) do i bake after it's all dried of when it's drieing? thanks

[Hal]

i wouldn't recomend cooking in your kitchen oven....unless you have good ventilation.  About 250 deg., for about an hour. I would recomend buying a toster oven at a garage sale for about fity cent :-D

[saxtim]

I've been spending time trying to figure out good ways to proctect my own paint jobs and I've been experimenting with using laquer, which is genearlly a two part epoxy that dries really hard.  The laquers I've been using are not for just plain metal, I've been using a flooring laquer that is polyurethene based.  This is because I'm applying it over a paint job. It is not designed for this, however it does bond well to painted metal and gives a really hard durable finish that wont be damaged easily.  For your case, you can get laquers for plain metal which would give you a very, very durable finish.  Check out something like:
http://www.wattyl.com.au/cf/wattyl/w_sheetqry.cfm?Data_Sheet_No=4.06

It's designed for copper/brass but I imagine would bond fine with aluminium.

This is an australian product, but there'd be equivalents around the world.

tim

[dan]

ok thanks. floor laquer, arlight. but right now i have "Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic". i put one coat on ealier today then remembered, oh ya, i want to bake it to make it harder. but what i'm still not sure of is if i should bake it before or after it dries.

[javacody]

Better yet, head to walmart and get spray on polyurethane. That stuff is durable.

[Luke]

Hi guys,
Not really DIY... but you could take the enclosure to a auto repair shop, and ask for a clear coat of 2pac (paint, not the rapper ). They use clear 2pac all the time, and I wouldnt be suprised if they charged next to nix for it (I had an old squire strat painted a beautiful metalic red at an auto shop- they did a GREAT job, and it only cost me a six pack of beer- and I had never met the guys before).
I wouldnt be suprised if it cost les to do it this way than buying a can of quality clear paint, AND it will last practically forever (not to mention that the guys who will paint it are proffessionals).
I would definatey recommend doing it this way.
Just a thought.
Happy new year,
Luke

[M.D.]

you should bake it as it's drying because it's the isocyanates in the clear that harden as it evapourates.Thats why in the body shop we had to decide weather or not it was going in the oven or air dry whicch determind which reducer we used(medium,fast,slow ect..)Crap gotta go let me know if I can help you with painting and maby even some trick painting if you want let me know I am a 4th year body apprentice.


Mike.


P.S 800,1200,1500-2000 grit sand paper with a block with lots of water in that order will take out all those orang peel's which is always a probblem with enamal type paints and some others.(make sure it's cured before doing this)And get a mirror like pro finish.Great way to hide your mistakes.

[dan]

alright, thanks guys. sorry, but i'm really drunk right now. it's a litttle past new years in the central time zone and it' pretty fun listening to bob marly right now. ealier i was listening to some biult to spill and tortuise if anybody know who they are.

[dan]

P.S 800,1200,1500-2000 grit sand paper with a block with lots of water in that order will take out all those orang peel's which is always a probblem with enamal type paints and some others.(make sure it's cured before doing this)And get a mirror like pro finish.Great way to hide your mistakes.

ok then, what are orange peels and how do you get it cured?

[javacody]

Orange peel is something that happens to your paint as it dries. I can't remember what causes it, but you could easily do a search on the web about it (or go to guitarreranch.com). It basically is pitting in your dried paint with the texture of an orange peel.

[M.D.]

Orange peels are exactly that, the surface sometimes can look like the peel of an orange it can be caused from all kinds of stuff:moving to fast moving to slow,spraying to close to the surface ect..

Even if you have a dry warm place to let it hang I usually sand it after about a good 12 hours but I always try to let it go for a full 24hrs when I can.

If you get the peel blues you wet sand it starting at 800 grit and up into the 2000's,make sure you do it in a dish pan or somthing so you can use lots of water with your wet sand paper.The more water the better as it washes away the sanding particles which can scratch the surface,also it keeps your sand paper from pluging up.

Hal is on the right track an oven on around 250 maby an hour or so would be good scince you are new to the painting it may be best if you let the surface cure a tiny bit before baking.

Baking the paint dosnt make the paint any harder per say as it more or less helps the paint to dry and evapourate properly to mach the reducer and solvents times in a given paint mixture which in turn makes the paint dry properly making it much harder and durable.

Mike. :twisted:

[smoguzbenjamin]

So mike, if I refuse to bake my paints and I leave my box on a normal radiator (which is on full blast) once the paint doesn't run anymore for 24 hrs, shouldn't that work also?

[drew]

Please DON'T BAKE YOUR BOXES INSIDE. Isocyanates are well-known carcinogens, and even if they don't injure you, it takes you just a little bit of exposure to get you "sensitized"- which means trace amounts will cause your skin and/or mucous membranes (whatever is contacted) to become inflamed and sore.

If you inhale it, this means your lungs get inflamed. VERY, VERY BAD.

Just a word of warning from your neighborhood friendly chemist...


drew
www.toothpastefordinner.com

[smoguzbenjamin]

Somehow I don't think my mom will let me bake boxes inside :roll:

[M.D.]

Yes any source of heat will produce better results than a cold damp basement like mine lol,I have a wood stove and I had made up some metal stands for a friend and I had just laid them beside the heat and they turned out fantastic.Also keep in mind that humidity can make spray bombs a real BI%#C some times too.


Yes and please do take care doing this,"


Please DON'T BAKE YOUR BOXES INSIDE. Isocyanates are well-known carcinogens, and even if they don't injure you, it takes you just a little bit of exposure to get you "sensitized"-

drew is very correct about this,Isocyanates can also get past respirators and are small enough to get through your skin.

[dan]

ya, i figured as much when it was said that it's not a good idea to bake them in the kitchen oven, i figured it was cause of fumes.

Just a word of warning from your neighborhood friendly chemist...

ya, i know a little bit about chemistry too, well the more more reactive side to chemistry. ya i made that site a few years ago. pease.