Make it Pretty! (What's your way of "dressing" up your pedal?)

[deadastronaut]

back to the OP then..

ok i get it now... i like to cover my finished pedal  with pot pourri and leave it in a darkened room for 8 months to mature and infuse . then i wipe it down with asses milk and bacon

whilst singing along to max bygraves (best of album)   

[Arcane Analog]

If you are going this route why not pay $3 more for a prefinished box?

This thread derailed the moment it was suggested that the subject was obsolete because the sound of the pedal was more important.  By the same logic, any threads that discuss how a pedal sounds should be met with a "stop worrying about your pedals and practice your guitar" response and so on.

The reality is that threads are specific for good reason. 

Back to the question, I suck at making pedals look nice.  So I gave up on nice.  Here's my procedure:

1. Palm sander with fine grit sandpaper to the bare enclosure
2. Thick spray of spray paint, whatever is cheap
3. 15 minutes in the toaster oven, then let cool
4. Palm sander with medium sandpaper until roughly half the paint is removed "a la" relic'd Fender look
5. Metal stamp the labelling on the controls, pedal name, etc.
6. Clear lacquer coat, toaster oven, cool, ultra fine sandpaper (auto grade stuff)
7. Repeat #6

[CodeMonk]

I really don't understand how this got a) misconstrued and b) out of hand!  

All I was asking about was what preferences do people have on making the finishing touches.
e.g. heatshrink, board placement, paint technique, ageing knobs etc WHATEVER

At no point was this about sound, when blatantly the general consensus is that it HAS TO SOUND GOOD FIRST.
That is a no brainer (for me anyway) and I'm not about to make something that sounds crap and put a lot of effort into making it look good too.  
I enjoy tying everything together; making it a complete and finished package.  I want it to be presentable, even if it's just for me or a friend.
Forums are a good place to share information, however this veered heavily off-topic into an opinionated  rant.

It was really just a light hearted post.

Welcome to the Internet.

While I am here, I'll put in my 2 cents.
Sound and build quality are tied for first place.
A nice looking enclosure is just icing on the cake.

I like to put heatshrink on any off board connections.
Not only for insulation, but for stability.
Zip tie cable runs (I would kind of like to get back into cable lacing though).
Dress the wires like they are going to the prom.
In some cases, I might put a little goop where the wires connect to the PCB.
Although much of my stuff these days, I try to board mount as much of the pots, switches, jacks, etc. as I can (Off board wiring can be a PITA sometimes).
Although this does require much more thought when designing the PCB.

[Mustachio]

There's so many methods and styles out there, I tend to bounce around and try what I feel might suit the pedal or the look I'm after. I know this is gonna sound funny , but start watching tutorials on crafting , scrap booking. Them Martha Stewart type ladies are a wealth of knowledge ! It is embarrassing when you get walked in on watching Martha Stewart tutorials, Just yell "IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" and scramble to put a book over  your lap. Tragedy averted!   


There are tons of threads on the forum here about enclosure finishing. Some very very good in depth reads with all the juicy info on what brands and types of materials people use.

Hmm I guess ill start with saying the look of a pedal is subjective to the beholder.

So what do I do to make it pretty???

Well, like I said I tend to bounce around methods .

I own a few airbrushes, I've been experimenting with new "special" pigments . I'll try to post something in the next few days about it.

Etching enclosures is great and probably some of my favorites I've made and seen where etched.

I've started making my own enclosures with a bending brake. I start designing in 3d and then I flatten the model (UV) and use that as a template to bend ( I also add tabs for the inner corners)

Then there's the UV curable paint which is pretty awesome and very tough paint! I took a palm sander to it and it didn't wanna come off ! It will come off but it is tough!

Then there's masking with tape and frisket when painting.

And resin based thick clear coat is great (envirotex pour-on)! I been using that stuff since the 90's and love it.

Like Rob Mentioned chipping is a problem no matter what paint and clear you use even powder coating cant stand up to being slammed by mic stand bases etc.

And don't forget shinny things make every one go Ooooooo Ahhhhh   

So sanding and polishing can really take a dull box and make it pop!  I started hand sanding a mild steel enclosure I made recently , Started with 220 grit to take out some scratches and for kicks I grabbed a piece of 2000 grit. Rubbed it down for a few minutes by hand and wow ! It's like a chrome bumper! 2000 was a bit overkill and I should have gradually worked up to it but it worked out good enough for a test.

I just wanna say , I've seen Greg's builds and they are outstanding! And he is a really nice guy , I hope people didn't get the wrong idea. Some times text has a less forgiving tone when we read it in our head

There's that old saying , You can put lipstick on a pig, But it's still a pig.

There are a ton of great builders here and when it comes to look's the list is far to long. A couple of my favorite Painting styles are from Jon Patton and Davent. They have a few good threads on their methods here you should look em up!

What ever you do make it your own be innovative and add your own je ne sais quoi .

[Pojo]

I really need to branch out and try some new things in this area. I see some quite a lot of beautiful etched or painted enclosures, hell even some custom built enclosures around here and I just think, "man there's no way I could ever get anything REMOTELY as cool as that!". For me, I work as a designer in a graphics shop that prints vinyl decals so I kinda have it easy....at least easy to make something that looks 'acceptable' given the equipment that's available to me. I first figure out the enclosure component layout using graph paper to plan where the holes are drilled then scan it into the computer and make up a graphic design in Illustrator (but NEVER during company time  ) and import it into other proprietary vector software that the printer and cutter depends on as needed. Cuts for the drill holes are also programmed in during this stage. After the design and cut files are finished the job goes to a Gerber Edge 2 thermal transfer printer. What's cool about this (compared to ink jet for example) is that there are all sorts of fancy ribbons available such as chrome, gold, etc and the color consistency just can't be beat. Then it's laminated and cut on the flat bed plotter cutter.

Compared to other methods sometimes I feel this is a rather lazy way of going about it, and in the end its really just stickers on a bare enclosure. 

[Jopn]

If you are going this route why not pay $3 more for a prefinished box?

Back to the question, I suck at making pedals look nice.  So I gave up on nice.  Here's my procedure:

1. Palm sander with fine grit sandpaper to the bare enclosure
2. Thick spray of spray paint, whatever is cheap
3. 15 minutes in the toaster oven, then let cool
4. Palm sander with medium sandpaper until roughly half the paint is removed "a la" relic'd Fender look
5. Metal stamp the labelling on the controls, pedal name, etc.
6. Clear lacquer coat, toaster oven, cool, ultra fine sandpaper (auto grade stuff)
7. Repeat #6

I probably will eventually.  But for now, this is what I'm messing around with.

[Mustachio]

I've Been thinking about what to do with some of the small scrap pieces of sheet metal I have left over. I had the idea of making sort of end caps for the corners. So I figured I would make a template and cut one out with the dremel at 6am! Figured what better to do durring the Snowocolypse 











Woah sorry for all the pictures, I thought maybe some of you would like to see the process on something stupid like that haha. Its pretty pointless, again my condolences ...

To Make up for it Here is some corned beef I made last night .

[petey twofinger]

Great thread , whom ever started this , thanks . looking forward to some more useful info and tips here , although shamefully i dont have much more USEFUL info to add ...

useless gab :

i hate going to the pictures section here . a lot of you guys are really great at making work art grade stuff . its just depressing for me !

i am much more of a function over form type of person ,but man when i look at that pics section its really humbling .

i got hung up a few times early on , on a couple finishes that consumed a ton of my time so . thanks to all of you who advised and helped me out . i have a few things i did that i never would have done if not for certain folks here , i am proud of how they turned out and they did not cost much in time and materials .

thats what a place like this is really all about , to me .

[italianguy63]

Corned beef and yellow rice?  Cuban/Irish?

[deadastronaut]

corned beef......drooooooool..slurp .......and very stylish corners. 

[Mustachio]

Haha funny you say that , My girl is actually Cuban/Irish. I'm just an Irish gypsy mutt mix from all over haha . "Ya like Dags?"


The Corned beef was awesome!

I sorta liked that corner piece before I bent it, But it was a fun test. I've never cut anything like that with a dremel by hand, it was a lot of fun! I been enjoying the little bit of metal work I've tried lately. Did it all with a cut off wheel, needle files and some sand paper.

[Jdansti]

Jim, you should combine your passions for stompboxes and meats ... Maybe a Lady Gaga inspired meat enclosure???

Edit: Your posts often make me hungry! 
http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=102861.msg917820#msg917820

[italianguy63]

Love Corned Beef!  My mom is a Gypsy too.. (Czech).  We should all start posting pics of good food.  It is similar to porn.

My (shopping) wife is American Indian (hence the addiction to shiny things).  $12 in trinkets and she will follow me around the globe.  Her kids are Irish/American Indian-- poor things... that is a drinking problem waiting to happen!

I apologize to anyone easily offended.  It is all in fun.

Looks great Jim-- I certainly don't have the patience to work with needle files for metal bits!

MC