painting a aluminum alloy box!!!!

[formerMember1]

 

[mojotron]

In the age of the internet in general, ALL CAPS is usually considered shouting.

As far as enclosures go, the Wiki (thanks Robotboy) contains links to this.

http://diystompboxes.com/cgi-bin/diystompboxeswiki.pl?AllAboutEnclosures

Wow, that's great - I missed a few of those threads - maybe that's a good thing?? (means I'm actually building something instead of just hanging out)

I would say every couple of weeks someone posts their latest enclosure work and it is ussually a step above what was posted before in the forum. I think, by distributing new techniques to the collective forum, the average "coolness" of some of the enclosure finishes is ... well getting pretty cool.

In fact, as soon as I saw that enclosure etching thread, I went out and tried it - what a great idea - but not as easy as one might think...

[formerMember1]

anybody ever use this paint aliphatic urethane.

supposedly it is the paint used on space shuttles.
it is an epoxy.  it is really expensive because you can't buy small quantities but a guy i know is willing to let me use some.

thanks

[formerMember1]

hey guys,
none of the threads on this forum helped me in knowing what is better.

laquer or enamel?

thanks.

[mojotron]

Laquer seems to be tougher, no baking involved, but you have to take more safety precausions and care in dealing with undercoats - laquer over laquer is best for touughness.

Basically, I have found that if enamal is fully cured - takes about 1-2 weeks, you will have better luck over coating with laquer. Polyurithene covers very well too, it's gernerally tough enough. The other thing that I use us future floor wax - that stuff is really easy to work with but takes a while to dry.

Does that help, at least on top coats.

[formerMember1]

yeah man thanks.
that really helped.
i will probably go with enamel. since i have the time to let it cure and it is easier to coat with. Tomorrow i will go to flea market and pick up a toaster oven. i just threw out my old one. :cry:

but one other question, if i bake it doesn't it cure quicker than 1-2 weeks or is that only if i don't bake it?

some of the enamel i was looking at in home depot said don't use in areas where temperature exceeds 200F.
i will probably go to an auto store. Does buying more expensive paint help or should i try and keep the price down.
thanks again

[KORGULL]

some of the enamel i was looking at in home depot said don't use in areas where temperature exceeds 200F.

You should probably keep the baking temp. just below 200 degrees anyway so don't worry about that.
I've been baking mine for about 1 hour at something like 170 - 180 degrees. It's the lowest setting on my oven.

but one other question, if i bake it doesn't it cure quicker than 1-2 weeks or is that only if i don't bake it?

I was wondering if baking allows you to clear-coat sooner too. One of these days I'll get around to asking a paint manufacturer about this. Rustoleum has a page on their website where you can send them technical questions about their products. I asked them some other stuff - it took about a month to get a reply, but they did answer my questions pretty well.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

hey guys, none of the threads on this forum helped me in knowing what is better. laquer or enamel? thanks.

The problem is, there are many different types and formulations of lacquer, and likewise of enamel. So it isn't really possible to say what is 'best', all you can hope for is for people to say what experiences thEY had, and then make a choice. Like the whole pcb/vero/perf thing :roll:

[mojotron]

Speaking of enamel... What baking does is not so much to help cure, as much as to smooth out the finish. If you spray 2 boxes, bake one and the other one let sit at room temp. You'll notice that the baked finish is more even and smoother.

Also, baking does help with being able to clear/re-coat faster. basically it will cure in 1 week (or less - I would say 24-48 hours) if you bake at 175 for 1 hour (you don't really want to do more than that in one shot). So if you wanted to put a coat on top of another, bake for 1 hour, and let sit for an hour and you are ready for another coat.

FWIW, I use Plastikote auto laquer and enamels over self etching primer. For a top coat I really like the Plastikote laquer over laquer under coat (works extreemly well with soak-off decals), but MinWax Polyurethene  spray will work with anything and is as shiny as it gets.

The problem with laquer is that you might have to use machine polish to get it super shiny.

The problem with polyurethene over enamel is that the finish is not quite as tough as laquer - and until it cures (at least 1 week - baking will make it turn brown) it will scratch easy.

I really like putting Future over any top coat. A light coat of Future will need to sit for a week or so. The future is suseptable to chemicals like amonia, but using it as a 2nd top coat makes for a much tougher finish and you can do a thin recoat. without taking the pedal apart.

So, for any of these top coats I don't bake them.

One more thing, a flood lamp sitting at about 2" from the face of the pedal is as good as a toaster oven - but you don't have that great of temp control. I have used a flood lamp on a lot of pedals.

[formerMember1]

thanks guys,
that is some good info, it is appreciatied