Painting Help/Advice?

[Jedi-Elf]

As some of you may know from other posts I have made, I am in the process of building my second MHS saber, and I have most of the parts I need, but there are still a couple things I need to order from Tim and obtain elsewhere. So, I thought it would be a good idea to get my parts painted and ready for assembly so I have one less thing to do when I get those last few odds and ends. I went to the local Wal-mart and the guy there was pretty helpful and he even pointed me towards a primer that he swears is great for aluminum. So, I'm asking you all for your opinions and advice on what I have and if it should work. Here is the list of what I bought.

Rust-Oleum Self Etching Primer (the guy said this should eliminate the need for sanding)

Krylon Indoor/Outdoor(for Metal, wood, wicker and more) Satin finish Black

Rust-Oleum Indoor/Outdoor Metallic Gold

Krylon Crystal Clear Satin finish Indoor/Outdoor clearcoat.

Of course I also got some painter's tape to mask off the sections I don't want painted. So will these work? And do you have any advice about how many coats to use or other application techniques?

[ARKM]

I haven't tried many primers but the one I use on sabers works incredibly well. That would be Krylon black primer. However I have only found black primer in that one name brand and only in one store. Rare stuff where I live.

As far as regular spray paints go, if it sticks well to the primer, it's good enough for me.

Primer dries extremely fast but satin, semi-gloss and gloss paints do not.

After I am done painting a saber, I bake the painted parts in a standard electric oven for 4 hours at 200 degrees fahrenheit. However clear paint may need much more time and might not ever lose at least a tiny amount of tackiness. That may depend on the brand of clear paint. Perhaps some clear paints cure fully, easily. I don't know. The brand I tried did not fully cure, even after 12 hours in the oven.

It also helps to have a lathe to sand off excess paint in areas where you did not want it. but if you mask carefully enough, you should be fine without one.

I hope that helps.

[Caine Drathul]

Instead of painter's tape, use electrical. It's better at forming to all the curves and crevices of parts.

[equinox13]

Instead of painter's tape, use electrical. It's better at forming to all the curves and crevices of parts.

isn't there a threat of that leaving gunk behind? especially if you use it on threads?

[Caine Drathul]

isn't there a threat of that leaving gunk behind? especially if you use it on threads?

Nope. ;)

[Ari-Jaq Xulden]

I have personally found that I prefer no primer. Primer(especially for metal) is thick. The acrylic sticks well to the aluminum already. Also If you bake it on, you wont have to worry about it coming off.

[Crystal Chambers]

Make sure your primer/paint is REALLY dry before using another paint type overtop. Rusto and Krylon are very different and I could see some bubbling occurring if the primer isn't fully cured. Same goes for taping. Even though the surface may appear dry tape can rip paint down to bare metal if it's not fully dried.

I used a tremclad primer that had aluminum labeled as it's main usage. It worked VERY well but took some time to dry fully. And krylon over top worked great.

[ElbE121]

For masking off areas for paint I use an autobody painters tape. It comes in a lot of different widths, even down to 1/16th for pinstriping purposes. Its great and can form patterns and angles with ease.

[ARKM]

I have personally found that I prefer no primer. Primer(especially for metal) is thick. The acrylic sticks well to the aluminum already. Also If you bake it on, you wont have to worry about it coming off.

Krylon black primer is not thick at all. In fact it goes on in extremely thin coats and dries fully in about 10 seconds. I find that I have to use 4 to 6 coats of it before I can switch to paint.

Also, I have done tests with just black primer on aluminum and with just black paint on aluminum (using several different black paints). The primer stuck quite well, the paint, not nearly as well. However those tests were conducted without baking the paint to fully cure it and without paint over primer. As such, I should run the tests again.

Anywho, before I started baking my painted saber parts, because the primer stuck a lot better, a lot of my older sabers just have black primer on them, no paint.

[Jedi-Elf]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I'm not sure if I will be baking the parts after painting since the only ovens I have are the ones I cook food in and I doubt baking paint in them would be a good idea. As far as the primer goes, I am really curious to know if anyone has ever heard of or tried the self-etching primer which was recommended to me by the guy at Wal-mart. It was not in the main paint section, but in the automotive department and he said it is specifically for aluminum. Anyone know if this will work or will it ruin my saber?

[ARKM]

Elf, I use my grandma's oven. It's completely harmless in electric ovens. I'm too scared to try a gas oven as some paint fumes are flammable.

It doesn't stink up the house though sometimes you might smell the paint a little bit when baking. It doesn't hurt the oven or hurt any pan the sabers may be resting on while baking.

Of course, all tape should be removed before baking... unless you are using powder-coating tape. That stuff can go up to 400 degrees or so.

[Jedi-Elf]

Thanks ARKM for the info. So you think my toaster oven should work if I want to bake the paint on? It is electric, but my main oven is gas so I wouldn't want to use that.

[ARKM]

As long as your toaster oven has an adjustable temperature control like a regular oven, you should be fine.

[jjshumpert]

no worry of the self etch damaging your hilt, i use it all the time when painting cars. basically what it does it eats away any impurities on the surface of the metal. just make sure you use it outside with a mask as that stuff will do nasty things to you and DO NOT BAKE IT! it puts off toxic vapors when it is heated

[Jedi-Elf]

Do you mean that I shouldn't bake the primer by itself, or that if I use that primer I shouldn't bake the painted parts at all?

[ARKM]

You don't need to bake the primer before painting it as it will cure in just a few minutes at room temperature. However, once you put paint on top of the primer and have applied all the coats that you are going to, then you can cure it by baking it.

Also, if you are going to put clear paint on top of colored paint, I recommend baking the parts after you're done putting on the colored paint, then paint all your clear coats on and then bake it again. This may not be necessary but it shouldn't be harmful either. The worst it could do is take too much moisture out of the colored paint but I wouldn't worry about it. If you don't want to bake the parts twice, I suggest that you wait at least 24 hours for the colored paint to dry somewhat before putting on the clear.

[Jedi-Elf]

Okay, Thanks ARKM and everyone else. I think I have the info I need to get started on painting my parts. I will post again and tell/show you all how they turn out!

[kage_no_mozaiku]

It doesn't stink up the house though sometimes you might smell the paint a little bit when baking. It doesn't hurt the oven or hurt any pan the sabers may be resting on while baking.

out of curiosity....is the effect the same as pc? cus the tutorial i read said not to use an oven you cook food in. or *is* curing paint in it different.

[Azmaria Dei]

i wrote that tutorial and yes i still recommend getting a small toaster oven or something. powdercoating is different from baking paint - that uses a gun and it's put on really hot and it sets as it cools, as i understand it. no baking it to plasticize it.

[Jedi-Loreen]

Powder coating is not put onto hot parts, that's not how it works.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating

[Azmaria Dei]

Powder coating is not put onto hot parts, that's not how it works.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating

umm... who said anything about putting it on hot parts?

[Jedi-Loreen]

Sorry, I read that wrong, or made a wrong assumption. :oops: Or it made more sense in my brain to decide that's what you meant. :p

But the powder isn't hot when it goes on the parts, either. The parts don't get heated till the powder is on them. The powder wouldn't flow out of the gun if it was hot, because it would be melting.

[Azmaria Dei]

well all i know is that somewhere in there something is hot. what it is, how it gets hot, and all that i don't quite get. i'll have to read up on it from your link a lot more later.

[kage_no_mozaiku]

i wrote that tutorial and yes i still recommend getting a small toaster oven or something. powdercoating is different from baking paint.

ahh.....ok. so just to reiterate, its ok to cure paint in a food oven? my guess is yes.

[Azmaria Dei]

ahh.....ok. so just to reiterate, its ok to cure paint in a food oven? my guess is yes.

only if you like being yelled at by your SO. or if you like paint flavored cookies.

[kage_no_mozaiku]

only if you like being yelled at by your SO. or if you like paint flavored cookies.

LMAO! ok.....ill remember that. and btw.....i umm.....found your tutorial. in fact its a sticky on general hilt building. i feel not so smart now.

[ARKM]

I cure my painted saber parts in my grandparents electric oven that they and I use for cooking food in. Haven't had a problem with it or any complaints yet. Mind you the parts don't go in immediately after painting. I let them air dry for a few hours (or more) first.

[Skottsaber]

Well ARKM, the only known side effect of lead poisoning is dementia... so you never know?

[Jedi-Loreen]

We don't have lead based paints in the US anymore.

[Azmaria Dei]

We don't have lead based paints in the US anymore.

unless you work on a military base. cheapest contract wins! ^_^

[ARKM]

Well ARKM, the only known side effect of lead poisoning is dementia... so you never know?

Mmm. There's nothing like the smell of freshly baked dementia in the morning.

[Boj-Vaati Mau]

For your Powder Coating edification needs; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating (http://<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating</a>) ;)

[kage_no_mozaiku]

For your Powder Coating edification needs; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating (http://<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating</a>) ;)

sorry but i keep getting this from chrome:

This webpage is not available
The webpage at http://%3Ca%20href%3D%22http//%3Ca%20href=%22http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating%22%20target=%22_blank%22%3Ehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating%3C/a%3E%22%20target=%22_blank%22%3E%3Ca%20href=%22htt p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating%22%20target=%22_blank%22%3Ehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating%3C/a%3E%3C/a%3E%20:wink: might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address.
Here are some suggestions:
Reload this web page later.
Error 105 (net::ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED): The server could not be found.

i think you may need to put more gap in youre wink.

[Azmaria Dei]

For your Powder Coating edification needs; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating (http://<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_coating</a>) ;)

first off, your link is a bit messed up. second off, J-Lo linked what i think you're trying to link further up the page.

[face palm]

This is awesome! I just found this thread yesterday and it made me even more stoked about my build! Just one question: how long would you have to bake the paint in an oven?

[Azmaria Dei]

This is awesome! I just found this thread yesterday and it made me even more stoked about my build! Just one question: how long would you have to bake the paint in an oven?

i recommend reading the stickied baking tutorial which lays all that out well.
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?12093-Part-Painting-and-Baking-Tutorial

[Boj-Vaati Mau]

Dang, that's what I get for doing this at work, I keep having to pop out to deal. You are correct that Jedi Loreen had posted the article a couple of pages back, missed that due to work invasion also. The link looked fine in the preview but got funky when I posted. I will hone my Code-Fu some more.

[face palm]

i recommend reading the stickied baking tutorial which lays all that out well.
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?12093-Part-Painting-and-Baking-Tutorial

Just took a look at the link. Extremely helpful, just about answered any question i could come up with. Thanks a lot!

[Azmaria Dei]

Just took a look at the link. Extremely helpful, just about answered any question i could come up with. Thanks a lot!

thanks! i tried to cover any questions i could possibly think of in it. ^_^