Drilling painted enclosures

[AzzR]

I have recenctly handpainted an enclosure but need to expand some of the holes. I know that people like Dragonfly do their swirls etc on undrilled boxes so I am just wondering how to go about drilling once paint is applied.

-Azza

[petemoore]

 Shards imbed in paint.
  I fancied using shaving cream or toothpaste, because then shard cleanup ala' paper towel is easier, and the shards spread is limited to directly next to the hole, keeps junk from getting into stuff'.
  Drilling boxes with circuits in them?
  Not exactly recommended but...sometimes you just gotta do it.
  Use a drill press, clamp your workpiece.
  Obviously be aware that a bit can grab a piece of wire and turn the board and wires into a tight weave in the time it takes for the drill to stop.
  And the drill bit will 'fast screw' right into the box with great force when the shank flutes form wedges with 2 thick side burrs, slow exits with fast chuck speed or other techniques may lessen this effect.

[AzzR]

No circuit in there yet.

So the toothpaste/shaving cream stops the shards coming into contact with the paint? Do any shards come off below the layer of paste and imbed?

My main concern was paint flaking around the hole, never thought of this though. Glad I asked.

Thanks

-Azza

[Focalized]

I've been doing it ok with a painted enclosure. With Dragonfly type jobs. I like to decide where the holes will be after I see how the swirls look. The paint lifts a bit around the hole but is fine after the clear coat. And a washer is usually there. I haven't had any trouble with the shards. They just brush off. Just have to be careful. A good idea is to put painters tape on and drill through that to protect the paint. And your less likely to slip.   

[AzzR]

Thanks, will see how I go.

-Azza

[theundeadelvis]

You can always put some masking tape over the hole too.

[Barcode80]

i find if you can drill from the inside, all you do is stretch a bit of paint upward from box surface, which when tucked back down looks like it had always been that way. also keeps the shards on the non-paint side.

[SUPER VELCROBOY]

i personally don't drill a painted enclosure....but if i had to, then i would rig something up like a clear solid plastic plate with pre-dill holes. Lay this over your painted enclosure flushed and drill away. The plate will prevent the paint form coming loost.

[selectortone]

I have recenctly handpainted an enclosure but need to expand some of the holes.

If you're just opening up the holes a bit you have more control with a hand-held tapered reamer. If you don't have one you can use the tang (the bit that goes into the handle) of a large file.

[tranceracer]

Tip for drilling painted enclosures:
use 2-3 layer the painter maskingtap and a very sharp bit.  If you want a really clean hole add a thin piece of aluminum on top of the tape and secure it with a c-clamp or something then drill thru the sheet then thru the box.  This takes a lot more time and patience which I don't have.  I usually just protect the whole box with at least one layer of painters tape.

Try to use minimal pressure, too much pressure may cause the bit to grab the enclosure when it goes thru and spin the box.

-bK

[guilds100]

+1 on painters tape. I get my boxes prepainted and cover them with painters tape to keep from scratching them.

[Solidhex]

Yo

  I drill painted enclosures all the time. A unibit works really well. Some paint jobs have sort of "gummy" paint like the pre painted sovteks. Those will shave a trail of paint off that will spin around with the bit and make a circular scratch around the hole. Its good to drill a notch or two then turn the drill off and remove the paint trail. Don't do it while the drill is spinning of course. Adding some 3 in one oil will lube everything up and protect the paint a bit but make sure it won't hurt your paint.

--Brad

[Dragonfly]

have a small ( a few mm) drill bit and a unibit

make sure they are both SHARP

measure 3 times where you want the hole

carefully use the small bit to drill a pilot hole

carefully drill to size with unibit

[tranceracer]

Some paint jobs have sort of "gummy" paint like the pre painted sovteks. Those will shave a trail of paint off that will spin around with the bit and make a circular scratch around the hole. Its good to drill a notch or two then turn the drill off and remove the paint trail. Don't do it while the drill is spinning of course.
--Brad

Yes, the thin peice of aluminum sheeting (not tin foil btw  ) will help to avoid this peeling if you dont have a sharp bit or if your unibit is starting to get dull..
-bK

[AzzR]

Some paint jobs have sort of "gummy" paint like the pre painted sovteks. Those will shave a trail of paint off that will spin around with the bit and make a circular scratch around the hole. Its good to drill a notch or two then turn the drill off and remove the paint trail. Don't do it while the drill is spinning of course.
--Brad

Yes, the thin peice of aluminum sheeting (not tin foil btw  ) will help to avoid this peeling if you dont have a sharp bit or if your unibit is starting to get dull..
-bK

Yeah this paint is quite soft or gummy so I will go with the aluminium plate. It is acrilic paint that was applied with a brush and then clear coated 4 times.

-Azza

[Barcode80]

Some paint jobs have sort of "gummy" paint like the pre painted sovteks. Those will shave a trail of paint off that will spin around with the bit and make a circular scratch around the hole. Its good to drill a notch or two then turn the drill off and remove the paint trail. Don't do it while the drill is spinning of course.
--Brad

Yes, the thin peice of aluminum sheeting (not tin foil btw  ) will help to avoid this peeling if you dont have a sharp bit or if your unibit is starting to get dull..
-bK

Yeah this paint is quite soft or gummy so I will go with the aluminium plate. It is acrilic paint that was applied with a brush and then clear coated 4 times.

-Azza

an extra tip, lightly coat the aluminum plate with canola or peanut oil. if the drill heats the paint enough, it will stick to the aluminum paint, so coating the plate can prevent that.