do you think that it's better to clear-coat over mirror-finished aluminium?

[darron]

after you buff an enclosure into a mirror, do you think that it's better to put clear coats on?

here are my reasons yes:

-mirrored finish will show up a scratch easily
-may protect from tarnishing from finger oils and sweat etc.




here are my reasons no:
-mirror finished aluminium doesn't seem to blemish from finger sweat/oil as much as a box that's just been sanded to about 800 grit. perhaps it doesn't tarnish at all?
-the clear coat may scratch as easily as the metal and show up just as much
-clear may not adhere to mirror strongly. it's much smoother than something sanded past 2000 grit.
-clearing has the chance to add dust, a non-perfect finish.. etc.
-i kind of like the idea of rar metal that just looks cool


what do you guys think is better? what does vox do on their wah? is that just chromed?

thanks (:

darron

[railhead]

Aluminum doesn't tarnish as fr as I know, so that shouldn't b an issue at all.

If you aren't painting, I'd say leave it bare.

[bean]

I've always clear coated my bare enclosures. I started doing it because someone once said that the outer layer would eventually oxidize and darken up. But, I also noticed when using wet-slide lettering and then clear coating that the lettering/artwork takes on a lot of added depth. It just looks better, IMO.

Example from one of my builds:

[Processaurus]

I cleared a pedal that I had sanded in one direction, to make it look brushed.  Used rustoleum clearcoat.  It looks bad now (worse than scratched) where the clear has chipped off...

[John Lyons]

The Aluminum will tarnish/oxidize eventually with no clear coat.
The down side is that the clear coat will chip eventually and the bare Aluminum looks best.
It's a trade off.
Some metal polished will protect the bare aluminum but I don't think that is 100% either.

Nice box bean!

John

[Electric_Death]

Polyurethane it rather than lacquer or enamel clear coats, it tends to ding rather than chip off which doesn't stick out as much.
If you're really resourceful though, hunt down some clear coat epoxy paint, that's as strong as it gets folks.

[darron]

thanks for your responses guys. i do know that sanded aluminium does oxidize, but as much as i handle mirrored aluminium it hasn't YET. i of course use polyurethane as clear. you can buy cans specifically designed for spraying metal wheels, which include aluminium, and are advertised as chip resistant of course. after the comments above, i might try mostly without clear coating.

thanks (:

darron

[stumper1]

There is a product called Glisten PC specifically designed to clear coat polished metals.  It's VERY easy to use - you can brush it on or spray it.  It's not cheap but a quart will do a ton of pedals.  The only down side I found was drying time - 4 days .

Not a very good pic - but I used it on the top of my wah............

[jayp5150]

Another crossover product from the automotive industry lol

I've heard a lot of good about this (as far as bare/machined aluminum rims go), but no personal experience.

Wheels, stompboxes... aluminum is aluminum.

http://www.zoops.com/zoopseal.asp

Might be worth a shot.

[darron]

thanks guys. that's not a bad pick stumper. it's the first actual report on a polished metal. 4 days wait time i can deal with. but it's good advice to stick to things designed for raw metal/aluminium. now i'm unsure again lol. i'll do a bit of both.

[Krinor]

I've never tried it on aluminum, but many years ago when I was working with bronze sculptures we used to put wax on them and then polish the surface. I guess a white wax could be applied to a polished enclosure and when dry it could be polished some more for durability. This will also make it antistatic and smooth - much better to the touch than an unfinished mirror surface full of greasy fingermarks. It won't be as durable as the above mentioned methods, but it won't chip.
Furthermore the wax can be wiped off with alchohol and a little patience, and then the enclosure can be waxed again.
Just my late night theories... I'll try it myself and tell you how it turns out.

[darron]

I've never tried it on aluminum, but many years ago when I was working with bronze sculptures we used to put wax on them and then polish the surface. I guess a white wax could be applied to a polished enclosure and when dry it could be polished some more for durability. This will also make it antistatic and smooth - much better to the touch than an unfinished mirror surface full of greasy fingermarks. It won't be as durable as the above mentioned methods, but it won't chip.
Furthermore the wax can be wiped off with alchohol and a little patience, and then the enclosure can be waxed again.
Just my late night theories... I'll try it myself and tell you how it turns out.

it's an interesting approach just to protect it. and you are even offering to do the experimental work! that would be great thanks (: i'm not sure how i'd polish the wax. the way i polished the exnclosures was with a buffing wheel and compound on a industrial grinder-sort-of-thing.

(:

darron

[Krinor]

I've never tried it on aluminum, but many years ago when I was working with bronze sculptures we used to put wax on them and then polish the surface. I guess a white wax could be applied to a polished enclosure and when dry it could be polished some more for durability. This will also make it antistatic and smooth - much better to the touch than an unfinished mirror surface full of greasy fingermarks. It won't be as durable as the above mentioned methods, but it won't chip.
Furthermore the wax can be wiped off with alchohol and a little patience, and then the enclosure can be waxed again.
Just my late night theories... I'll try it myself and tell you how it turns out.

it's an interesting approach just to protect it. and you are even offering to do the experimental work! that would be great thanks (: i'm not sure how i'd polish the wax. the way i polished the exnclosures was with a buffing wheel and compound on a industrial grinder-sort-of-thing.

(:

darron

Some carefull buffing with a smooth buffing wheel (cotton) will work fine.
Remember; wax is used on floors and furniture. It forms a harder surface when polished.
Unfortunately I haven't got any unfinished enclosures right now, but I'll bump this subject once I've done some experiements.