Glossy Paint

[gundamaniac]

Hey everyone. I've been looking into high-gloss metallic paints for my saber; I want to be able to paint my pvc rings so it looks as though they were chrome. I've seen people use metallic silver paints on pvc; it looks obviously plastic to me. Is there a better solution? I've been looking into VHT metal tint, VHT Chrome Plus, Krylon Metallics, and Duplicolor Metal Cast. Is there anyone who can make any recommendations, or even better, someone who's used one of these products and can give me advice?

Thanks.

[Ryma Mara]

chrome mylar tape

[gundamaniac]

I've tried the mylar tape, but I'm very picky; I dislike the seam left behind when you wrap the tape around the tube. Aside from the seam, the mylar looks excellent; I just want to know if there's a way to avoid the seam altogether.

Another reason I'm asking about tape is that I've seen plastic toys painted to look chromed before, such as the AOTC Anakin light-up toy, or even the control box, buttons, and the on-off switch on the MR ROTS Anakin FX saber. I'm just wondering whether there's a special method/equipment they needed to use, or whether I could get that chromed metallic effect myself using some kind of paint.

[Jonitus]

I have gotten really nice results using the aluminum bumper repair tape that you can buy in a local WalMart or auto parts store. It is quite thick. I will cut the tape to the size I need, stick down one end and then lightly sand it to take off the ridge. Then, placing the tape on the rest of the part, I will lightly sand the other end to get rid of the ridge. Then, I will lightly wet sand the whole thing with 2200 grit sandpaper and then finish up with a rubbing of Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish.

Give that a try. Maybe it will do what you want.

[gundamaniac]

Hm. I know very little about sanding; the little sanding I do is just using raw sandpaper, no block or dremel or other tool, to take the edge off of tubes I just finished sawing. I don't suppose that sanding by hand, the amateur noob-ish way I do it, would suffice to obtain satisfactory results using this method?

So essentially you sand the first part of the tape to get rid of the ridge, then sand down the second edge, so that when the other end of the tape is laid down overlapping the first portion, the two sanded down edges will come together smoothly; wetsanding the whole thing down with 2200 grit helps level out the tape to further hide the seam; and the aluminum polish at the end is the finishing touch?

Could you post pictures of a saber hilt, hopefully with a close-up of the taped portion? Even better would be a picture of the seam; if it's a faint line or hardly noticeable, like I'm hoping, then this sounds good to me.

And are there, by any chance, copper or gold versions of this repair tape? Because I'm not only trying to get a chrome effect on some of my pieces; I'd also like to get a copper/bronze/gold-ish color (which, it doesn't really matter; just some sort of yellow/reddish metal) on my pieces.

[Jonitus]

I don't have any close-up pictures of this technique, because I am bad about documenting my work, but this is what I used on the bezels for the buttons on an Anakin-inspired hardware saber:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/sixmilliondollarman/Defiance_Saber_Final004.jpg

As far as sanding is concerned, I use one hand to hold the paper, and the pther to turn the work. It takes a while, but it gets the job done and can be done while watching TV or whatnot.

I haven't "seen" copper or brass foil the same thickness as the aluminum stuff, but local hobby shops or someplace like Hobby Lobby or Michael's may carry something like that, although it would be significantly thinner and would be delicate.

One other note on this technique. Once you have the tape put down, burnish it with something smooth to get it to stick completely and totally smooth. I like to use the blunt end of a pencil eraser.

[gundamaniac]

whoa. Wait...which part is the tape? I guess it's a good thing I can't tell from the picture, since that's what I hope to achieve on my saber- having the taped/painted portions look metal.

Sweet. Since you hand-sanded it, I'm reassured that this is something I can undertake myself. Time isn't an issue; I spend plenty of time watching tv and such during which I could be mindlessly sanding away at the object.

And since the picture, I assume, doesn't show the seam from the tape, let me ask- is the seam noticeable? If all that shows is a line like a light pencil-sketched line, then I'm off to Walmart after-school today to pick me up some of that tape :mrgreen:

[Jonitus]

See the part just below the brass dome-shaped piece? See the part just above the knurled part on the button? Those are both done with the tape in the techniques I described.

I would say, that if measured carefully and cut carefully and sanded carefully, the line between seams is virtually undetectable except to your own eye since you built it (I am my own worst critic, I don't know about you).

Yep, get some of the tape. Get some fresh razor blades too, since they are really helpful when cutting this stuff. Use a quality straightedge and cut on the backside of the tape (it has a backing on it that you have to pull away). What also might help you is to go down the cosmetic section at your WalMart and pick up a good Emery board. Try and find one that has two or three different colors on it (different grits of paper on it). That will help for sanding the seams down flat.

Best of luck and don't hesitate to ask questions if you get stuck.

[Jonitus]

As a reply to this thread, would there be sufficient interest in a tutorial at some point in time? I'll need this technique in a while, so I may just take extra time to do some photos for a tutorial.

Let me know, xwing.

[gundamaniac]

:mrgreen: that'd be awesome.

It's rather really amazing just how many techniques can be applied towards the creation of a hilt.

[gundamaniac]

Jonitus, about how wide is this bumper repair tape? I didn't get a chance to go to walmart or an auto shop today, but I'm already planning out new saber bits with the tape involving placing the tape length-wise along the saber, sort of like a grip.

[Jonitus]

Jonitus, about how wide is this bumper repair tape? I didn't get a chance to go to walmart or an auto shop today, but I'm already planning out new saber bits with the tape involving placing the tape length-wise along the saber, sort of like a grip.

2" wide

[gundamaniac]

Alrighty, this isn't exactly glossy paint but...

What were complaints with Plastidip? As I recall, people mentioned severe peeling. Is that just with the spray-paint version or with the dip version too?

And how much does rhino-liner cost?