Artwork Paint

[Alrod]

What is the best type of paint to use if you want to paint original artwork on a pedal?  What is the best clearcoat to put over top of the artwork to protect it? 

[$uperpuma]

I think the enamel for model cars works pretty well... then clearcoat as normal...

[strangerock]

i've fallen in love with these sharpie paint pens for doodling
sr

[joegagan]

I like sign painter's One Shot. it is oil enamel, it contained lead last i checked (2 yrs ago, could be that my art supply store has old stock they are still selling)

I also like rustoleum from home depot  - the oil based enamel

Kmart had Krylon oil enamel in some nice colors also.

I don't clear coat.

It is good to etch the surface , rough it up before paint

I also painted my 85 pontiac with a brush using the home Depot rustoleum after I mixed the colors. Did all the bodywork as well

[John Lyons]

Nice ride there joe! If it's good enough for that, it's good enough for a pedal!
JOhn

[joegagan]

thanks John.

It was funny when I bought the paint at H depot. the girl in the pain dept asked what i was gonna use it for, I said "my car"

she said
"DUDE_ you can't paint your car with this! Rustoleum told us to advise against anyone using this for automotive purposes!"

that made me even more determined of course.

The BAD News
I used their special primer for metal on the hood and roof but not the trunk lid ( was down to bare metal on all horiz. surfaces)
15 months later two bad winters and the primed areas look great but the trunk lid is peeling like a sumbitch
LESSON!
use the primer bro.

[John Lyons]

Hijack alert!

It's funny when I go into places looking for certain elements for building or trying to make something out of household parts or chemicals.
I start looking for something and one of the workers will come by and say "can I help you find something"... I hesitate and say..."yeah I'm looking for ________ and they say "Well what are you using it for" then I say "oh, I'm actually using it for the _____chemical to make ______ They usually stare at me blankly and say     "............oh, um er duh...." Understandably I suppose.

Even looking for a washer or bushing to fix a sink etc. "Why don't you just but this whole sink system and replace everything"...sheesh.
One more thing that get's me peeved is when I'm looking for a few boxes to ship amps in. I've gone to Wal Mart  etc and they just just stare and say "uh..why do you want boxes..." , or something to the extent of " We don't sell boxes.."  Funny how unless you want something they sell, your out of luck and they have no concept of recycling or re-use.

John

[Alrod]

I forgot to mention that the artwork will be painted on with a brush.  It looks like some of the responses are implying spray cans.

[Seljer]

I forgot to mention that the artwork will be painted on with a brush.  It looks like some of the responses are implying spray cans.

Krylon and Rustoleum also make the regular paints, not just spraypaints...

[Ronsonic]

I am dabbling in the pinstriper's art and have been practicing with "One-Shot" sign painters enamel available in most art stores. That's what I'll use on actual pedals if I actually develop any skill before I start getting the old-age shakes. I figure there's a narrow window of opportunity there.

Ron

[joegagan]

Ronsonic,
I was a sign painter in the 80s. vinyl computer graphics sorta priced the handpainted sign guys into the 'exclusive' category
that is cool that you are training yourself to pinstripe.

the shakes aren't realy that big a deal, if you watch pinstripers they use a trailing pinky to steady the line

also, for bigger letters they sell a rod with a little rubber ball on the end to rest your hand on (works like a bridge, lays across your text, held with your spare hand)

[Ronsonic]

Amazing how much video there is on youtube of the craft. I've just started and am playing on a glass picture frame for practice. I stick a piece of paper with some lines on it underneath and can remove my mistakes with a razor blade and start over.

I've seen that signpainter's stick in use, and yep I got my pinky out. It's a very interesting art form, very abstract but concrete.

Ron

[axg20202]

The trouble with enamel is that it can chip off pretty easily if you can even manage to get a hard finish, but oftern it just never becomes hard enough in the first place - it is often possible to sink your nails into it weeks after painting. If you use enamel, makes sure you use a good metal primer first and apply the enamel thinly, using multiple coats. Globbing it on for a one-coat often gives poor results in my experience. Then, here's a tip to harden it...bake it! The enamel gets much tougher after being baked on.

Another great paint I've used for pedals, which works better than enamel IMO, is a product called Hammerite metal paint - not sure if this is available in the US? The hammered finish looks particularly good. This stuff definitely equires a good primer coat first for good results.

Andy.

[Ronsonic]

Oh, do we have hammertone in the USA. Great retro look too.

One I like and use sometime is wrinkle paint, you can get at any auto supply shop. Great retro look, goes nice with polished aluminum.

Ron

[axg20202]

Cool. Could be similar stuff. Something I also discovered is that the colour changed when I baked it. I applied a silver hammered finish paint and it turned a translucent swirly green colour when baked on. Looked amazing, although I look forward rto dying well before my time from the lovely fumes that came off it! - mmm, drink it in!

[Barcode80]

rustoleum makes a good hammered finish spraypaint, and let me tell you, if you bake it it is damn near IMPERVIOUS. i use it all the time now. i bake according to beavis audio's "box in a day" tutorial. toaster ovens are handy...

[axg20202]

The stuff I use is painted on with a brush rather than sprayed. Any brush strokes flatten out as it dries. The only thing I've not really mastered (mainly because I haven't really tried) is getting professional looking decals. I have used Lasertran on a custom rack unit I built - looked very professional but wasn't as durable as I'd have liked without using a clearcoat, which would have cheapened the whole look. I guess there's not much around that can look better besides doing silk screening, which I'm not about to try. If I'm making a clone, I just use a very good colour match to the original so that I can instantly recognise it and its functions. My Phase 100 clone, looks almost like the real thing apart from the decals. Still, it might as well be 5h1t brown because it doesn't work! :-)

Andy.

[Barcode80]

you can buy a matte clearcoat and it will make those decals look screened on, if done properly. light coats, just enough to build the surface around the decal. good stuff.