Part Painting and Baking Tutorial

[Rock22]

how long should you wait for the paint to dry before you put it in the oven?

[Jay-gon Jinn]

how long should you wait for the paint to dry before you put it in the oven?

I use the same methods described above, a bent coat hanger for a heat resistant stand for baking long parts on. I have usually baked them right after the parts become "tacky" so that the heat from the oven will smooth out the finish. I usually set my toaster oven to 350 degrees and leave it for about 1-3 hours, depending on the number of coats I used. Paint is completely dry and hardened when I take the parts out.

[Rock22]

how do i test to see if its tacky without messing up the paint job

[Ka'getsu]

Rock22: To test if the paint is tacky or not just lightly touch your finger nail to it... If the paint lightly adheres to your finger nail, then it's tacky and you can usually get away with "gently" handling the part. Personally I wait untill its dry to the touch befroe i even think of touching any fresh paint, but that's just me .

I hope that sheds a little light

Cheers

-K-

[Kyaryo Ysoyav]

Thank you so much for this tutorial! I've spent the last two days painting and baking the main body for my saber and it looks great! The baking process really does a lot for the finished surface. Here's a preliminary shot for you. I'll do more in an actual build thread.

This is all painted at home.

照片 (1).jpg

[DarthHavok]

I found an aluminum primer that i used on my first part, and it appears to have done a great job. I used a black quick drying gloss over it, which was a little sticky until i used a sealer i found. I got all the paint i needed at lowes for less than $20

[o8jedi]

Question: When doing the clear coat, do I coat the entire part (i.e., remove the masking before spraying) or just the painted areas?

[Silver Serpent]

That's up to you. Personally, I clear coat the whole part to give a uniform appearance.

[JCreazy]

I found a spray paint by Krylon called Covermaxx. It claims to be a primer with durable adhesion. Do you think it is possible to just use this as a primer, paint, and clear coat since it is glossy?

[Noyl Wendor]

I found a spray paint by Krylon called Covermaxx. It claims to be a primer with durable adhesion. Do you think it is possible to just use this as a primer, paint, and clear coat since it is glossy?

Covermaxx is definitely a good one to use. That's what I go after when I'm doing weathering. The glossy clear coat is great, but keep in mind if you are doing an "older" looking hilt maybe a satin or a flat for the clear coat. That way it leaves a dull metal sort of look. It won't matter if the paint color you are using is a gloss or not. It will mostly be dulled out by the clear coat when you are done.