How to mimic the finish on the BJF/Bearfoot Honeybee

[ItsGiusto]

It's such a beautiful finish, how did they do it? How could I try to copy it?








It seems to have, like, sections that look subtly different from each other, and the also be a little different from different angles. It almost looks like a Les Paul burst's flamed maple. Maybe it's some sort of iridescent paint? But how do they get the marbling texture?

[ItsGiusto]

<deleted>

[amz-fx]

http://www.muzique.com/news/instructable-update/

Best regards, Jack

[stallik]

Thanks for sharing Jack. Amazing finish

[intripped]

i have the impression, but i could be wrong of course, that the paintig technique used on BJF/Bearfoot pedals is different.
i have seen pics of this pedal, where the paint is damaged and the metal underneath doesn't seem to be buffed; maybe hand sanded, just a bit.

the paint is transparent anyway, that's for sure.

IMO, one possible technique could be this:
- spray the new bare box with colored-transparent paint
- use a soft brush (or something else - fingers? sponge?) to "move" the paint while it's fresh and create a pattern that you like
- let the paint dry
- give a second coat of paint

nothing innovative, and i'm sure someone here has already tried to do this...
so,what are the results?

[diyjohn]

Some cool finishing methods here - thanks! I thought I'd add one I discovered/developed by accident, that some may find useful. It's based on "Faux Marble" painting, described here...

https://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/skills-and-know-how/painting/how-to-paint-a-faux-marble-surface

I finished a guitar using this method (without the veining) and a sponge for each of 4 colors and it turned out great.


One day I was using a Sharpie marker to make a few marks on a pedal and screwed it up. I tried to correct it with alcohol and made things worse, but the result was kinda pleasing. So I got my sea sponges out, went crazy with the Sharpie and alcohol and discovered a new finishing technique.

When it came time to build "my" Honey Bee pedal, I used this technique and you can see the results. It's not like the original, but I like it. I started with a pre-painted yellow box from Tayda.(It also works on a bit darker color blue - like this blue box also from Tayda) Also - Sharpie has some metallic markers that might get closer to an original Honey Bee using this method.


I just used the stuff shown in the photo below.



For a standard 1590B pedal, it goes like this... Use 2 or 3 Sharpies of colors that will work with your pedal base color. Practice on some light color hard plastic to get your licks down. Although alcohol is a good solvent for Sharpies, it won't always totally remove Sharpie ink. Good to know how it behaves beforehand.

1 - Scribble an area about 4" x 4" with each Sharpie color chosen, on a hard plastic surface. You may need more or less "scribbles".

2 - Lightly saturate a sponge with 70% or 91% Isopropyl Alcohol. You don't want it dripping. 70% gives you a little more open time to play with.

3 - Rub the sponge on one color of the Sharpie scribble and then "dab" onto the pedal, turning and rotating the sponge with each dab. Cover the whole pedal. (I took the base plate off and finished it separately to avoid too much handling.)

4 - Repeat with each color until you're satisfied with your artwork.

If things get too dry or you need to "redo" a section, put a little more 91% alcohol on the sponge and dab some more. It's also helpful to have a "clean" ink-free sponge available for severe redo's.

5 - Let the pedal dry at least overnight, before you apply any decals. I've only used Krylon Triple-Thick Crystal Clear Glaze spray with this finish and had no problems. YMMV with other finishes.

Note - Cleanup sponges for reuse, with 91% alcohol and paper towels or a rag. And be sure to use gloves, unless you like colored fingers for days.

[amz-fx]

i have the impression, but i could be wrong of course, that the paintig technique used on BJF/Bearfoot pedals is different.
i have seen pics of this pedal, where the paint is damaged and the metal underneath doesn't seem to be buffed; maybe hand sanded, just a bit.

I have never seen a BJF pedal in real life, so I am not sure how the finish on those pedals is created. I was inspired to try some new finishes by the very old technique of engine turning (sometimes called jeweling), which has been used in metalwork for many years. Engine turning is usually circular swirls in the metal, but anyone who has tried the technique will soon realize that many variations are possible.

I originally used fine sandpaper, and though it was okay, I got better results from the soft abrasive discs shown in the article. There are a variety of shapes available that can create different patterns. Also, Cratex makes rubbery abrasive sticks that could be used, and they are available on Amazon.

The other item that was needed was the tinted transparent spray paint. This is actually what got me interested in working with the technique again after some initial experiments with jeweling and clear coats. I saw an ad in a trade magazine for Duplicolor Metalcast, which is the paint that I used for my first tests, and it worked very well. This type of spray paint became popular and soon Testors and Krylon made their own versions. You could find it everywhere including craft stores, home centers and even Walmart.

However, once the popularity faded, the big stores stopped carrying this type of paint, so I now get Duplicolor at an auto parts store. It is an interesting paint, even if you don't use it for jeweling. You can paint a box with an opaque metal-look paint and then overcoat with the transparent. This gives a much more uniform finish than a bare box (even one that has been sanded smooth). You can also paint one transparent paint over another color to get variations and shading.

The yellow transparent Duplicolor never looked good on an aluminum box since it always had a greenish cast - it looked nothing like the BJF pedals. The technique is easy and cheap to try, though the Metalcast paint has increased significantly in price.

Check this out: http://www.cs.ucr.edu/~eamonn/et/et.htm

Best regards, Jack

[davent]

Another possibility with the Honeybee is alcohol inks. How 'bout the ripply uneven clearcoat,, resin?

[danielzink]

You're all working too hard....


















Dan

[davent]

You're all working too hard....


















Dan

Yours are much much nicer!
dave