fancy a dip, anyone?...

[SolderBoy]

Hi,
Just wondering if anyone has tried dipping boxes in say, 2pac, instead of spraying them...

SB.

[$uperpuma]

 

[$uperpuma]

OOOOHH TWO PACK....
you might hit up adam at swankbox he might know a thing or two about the best paints for a box... oh and feel free to search around here. Lots of great info. Check out RG's Swirl paint idea... at the GEOFEX link up top

[SolderBoy]

two pack, two part, whatever.  Really interested in the dipping process as compared to spraying.  I have lots of spray painting experience with all sorts of finishes.  It strikes me that if the product was right and the viscosity was right, then dipping might be a good way of finishing for the diy'er...

Anyone tried it?- just simple solid colours that is.

[markm]

Dipping would certainly be different however, wouldn't the inside of the enclosure be painted as well?
I would think epoxy is a bit on the thick side although it is durable.
The final outcome of any finish relys heavily upon surface prep, if you cut corners there, it'll show in the end.

[Processaurus]

Dipping would certainly be different however, wouldn't the inside of the enclosure be painted as well?
I would think epoxy is a bit on the thick side although it is durable.
The final outcome of any finish relys heavily upon surface prep, if you cut corners there, it'll show in the end.

Intriguing, an epoxy clear coat sounds hardcore enough to actually stand up to abuse.  I hear Zvex has been using an automotive epoxy clearcoat for their pedals for a while.  You definitely wouldn't want the inside 2Pac'd, maybe you could just mask the inside of the holes and dip the top 1/4" of the box.

[petemoore]

  Do a good prepare for painting job.
  dipping is cool, I did some using paint sprayed into water, also poured and solid paints.
  Don't overswirl/stir.
  Clear coat.
  Test on scraps to optimize results before dedicating paint to final box...nope...just do mental calculations of swirl painting techniques after reading about them to get second hand experience..preparing fresh baths for dipping and getting rid of the used baths is too much trouble.
  This color laid over than color, then turned upside down will reveal..the paint on the bottom will be above the top layers..etc.
  Go straight radial lines, light on the sides, they pull up the paint when submerged, then pull it back down too, can lead to a smeary or blotty look.
  the top surface, if dipped 'accurately' should take a fairly clean 'stamp' of the 'reverse pile' of what the paint looks like from above, before dipping.
  To protect the insides, just use wide masking tape across the bottom, or, put the box together with a bit of vaseline, carefully added to Only the inside part of the top/bottom seam, in and around the screw holes, mind that the grease will keep paint from sticking wherever it ends up...use cotton gloves [to keep finger grease and other off the box] and a q tip for accurate 'grease stenciling' the seam.
  Use long screws and coathanger [I needed two sets of pliers and a second set of hands, so I didn't need to make an 'inverting jig'] which can invert the box without touching it, dip the bottom only, make sure the paint isn't dripping/water is mostly off, invert the box, dip the top, then the whole box can dry as one.

[SolderBoy]

Not really thinking of epoxy, but come to think of it, I did use a very thin epoxy product for sealing timber a few months ago.  Just want simple solid colours then maybe a 2nd clear coat over the labels.  I'm thinking if its reduced to the right viscosity, with a little trial and error, it would be good - especially for small runs of boxes.

And yeah I would mask the holes, or maybe even drill them after finishing - I've drilled holes in car bodies and other things finished in two pack, and the paint doesn't necessarily come flaking off.

Surely someone round here has tried it...

[GREEN FUZ]

I`ve been thinking about this aswell. I remembered the beginner's tutorial on the smallbear site mentioned using epoxy sealer to finish the build.
http://www.stanford.edu/class/ee122/Final_Projects/TweakO.PDF

You`ll need to scroll down to page 13 of the PDF.