Thank you for the wealth of information peter! I hadn't thought of having my screenprinter prepare screens for me before... somehow, the in-between steps escaped me, and I've actually asked him if he can screenprint on metal before (he can't, not equipped for that sort of thing) but I never thought to just have him make the screen, and just print the boxes myself....


drew
www.toothpastefordinner.com

Isn't there some sorta stuff like decals that you print a mirror image onto, and sortof soak the artwork/letters on? Seems like a lot less hassle than playing with expensive chemicals...  :?

I recently decided to go full scale industrial. Anybody have experience with lettering punches? My plan is to get a set and then lay paint in the indents...
Pricey, but wicked permanent!
http://www.mytoolstore.com/young/yngindex.html

sfr, peter, et al:

i'm gonna try and screenprint a batch of pedals, but i've only ever printed on fabric before. are there particular inks i should use, or other tips n' tricks??

-ian

If there's a local office of Midwest Sign and Screen, you can get suitable ink there. I use Nazdar; can't remember the part number right now.

http://www.midwestsignandscreen.com/

Ian87,

If I recall correctly, did you say you were in Oakland? If so, give a call to these folks:

Tubelite Co., Inc.
14074 Doolittle Dr.
San Leandro, CA 94577
Tel: (510) 483-8550
(800) 562-4285
Fax: (510) 483-8557

Did you ever see those little round stickers that say "We are Everywhere"? Is was one of the Tubelite guys if I remember correctly.

My knowledge is now several years old and while I was heavily immersed in the pre-press end, I've never printed on a Hammond box. The printer I worked with (Arellanes Co., sample, another) went out of business in 1997. They printed mostly fine art on paper, but also did work on Plexiglas, canvas, and other substrates.

Take care,
-Peter

VERY cool. thanks for the heads up, peter!!

-ian

Ian, if you're in Oakland, here's the place in San Leandro where I get my screens made:

http://www.creativescreentech.com/

My contact there is Chris. If you tell him you're making pedals like Erik Miller, he'll know exactly what you want.

Also, Hayward has a Midwest Screen and Sign.

Quote from: anonymousexperimentalistIs there really anything wrong with black permanent marker and some clear-glossy-spray-paint to cover it?

-Colin

:shock: Yes!!! it looks terrible!!!!! please do not go near your pedals with a blody marker pen. for the love of god please! you worked hard to create a masterpice of electronic beauty, and now you wish to deface it with a marker pen? please don't do it (if you havent already) :? i am turly worried now. do many people take to thire creations of tone-emitting bliss with markers? i urge you all to find alternative methods of marking you wonderfull pot-strewen babies.

This post is going very well!  Lots of good methods for pretty-fying your stompboxes!  

Does anyone know what sort of paints/primers/laquers are used on Zvex pedals?  Perhaps Mr Vex could enlighten us all if he is here...  :wink:

I remember seeing a picture on the ZVex website that showed the artist that paints his pedals using Testors model paint. The kind that comes in the small jars.

http://www.jasonmyrold.com/jason.html

when i was monitor engineer for North Mississippi Allstars i noticed the artwork on the lead singers super duper and wondered who made those.  now i know.  wow.  yeah the paintjobs whatever he uses must be able to take a beating because he sure beat the hell out of that thing but it still looked good.

QuoteFrom: Jason D
I remember seeing a picture on the ZVex website that showed the artist that paints his pedals using Testors model paint. The kind that comes in the small jars.

Jason, I thought that might be something you would be able to use.  What I'm not sure about though is the preparation before painting, and then the process afterwards to keep the paint on there.  Are those paints that said 'artist' :wink: was using going directly onto a die-cast aluminium case, or is there an under coat of some sort as well?  Also, once painted, is a clear laquer or some other post-painting coat added, and is there any kind of paint baking that goes on.  I'm not sure when or why it is necessary to bake the paint?

I would also like to say that the artist who paints the ZVex pedals does an exceptionally fine job!

Thanks matey.

Quote from: SamuelI recently decided to go full scale industrial. Anybody have experience with lettering punches? My plan is to get a set and then lay paint in the indents...
Pricey, but wicked permanent!
http://www.mytoolstore.com/young/yngindex.html

They work great. If you're only using them on soft stuff like alumunium, brass, copper, etc.. they last forever too. I use my grandfathers set all the time.

Mike

For prototypes, I use one of the Brother brand label printers with the black-on-clear or white-on-clear tape. Under a couple of coats of lacquer, they're reasonably durable and look professional.

we used to make these little dilly's...get yer colored pieces [little rubbles of meltable colors...some kinda glass or silicon???]
 Anyway we'd carefully place the [like chunx of sand] material on a small plate of metal [copper] [been a while] fire the kiln, super carefully place the plate with the colored materials on it and bake it.
 Comes out all glassy looking with the bright colors in it.
 I don't think aluminum is the material to use for this [low melting point] but Raco of boxes made of higher temp melting metals might look super cool with a kiln baked art on it.

what I have done- VERY low tek, was to cut letters out od a black piece of paper (I prited the mirror image of the text on the reverse side- cut it out and turned it over). Then I glued it on the box using superglue. it looks ok, but by no means the greates thing I have ever seen.
take care,
Cheers,
Luke

Hello,
I am barnd new to this hobby and have been looking for a cool way to letter my box(s) and ran a across a Testors "Custom Decal System". I purchased it but have not used in yet. I am thinking paint,decal and then clear. Some of you may already tried this.

I was thinking of painting the base coat, letting that dry, and then cutting out the letters out of a piece of cardboard. So I have a cardboard template I just spray over to stop the paint from going anywhere except for where the letters are.

Sorry for my difficult to understand rambling but it's early morning here and I am yet to wake up

Quote from: smoguzbenjaminI was thinking of painting the base coat, letting that dry, and then cutting out the letters out of a piece of cardboard. So I have a cardboard template I just spray over to stop the paint from going anywhere except for where the letters are.

Sorry for my difficult to understand rambling but it's early morning here and I am yet to wake up

I sort of did that with this box. I Printed it out on photopaper, cut it out, blackened the edges and just glued that on instead of using it as a template. Lastly, I covered it with a clear coat.

Bill