psychedelic POWDER SWIRL photos / show and tell

[darron]

i've had this vision for a long time to make a swirl type finish with powder coating.


this is a prototype for a new method i started the other day:


i started by spraying a powder chrome base coat




this is what i wanted to achieve using candy colours




so i made 5 stencils out of 3mm acrylic and a jig to hold the stencils out of 4.5mm acrylic.




i dusted the powders from above one at a time




bake it in the oven. seconds trip.




shiny




laser engraved the artwork on




and it looks cool! i wanted a bit more contrast though on the text so...




i filled the text with some more chrome powder. no gun required




then sanded back the excess. and rebaked.









the only problem is that the sanding left the finish very matte and dull. i thought the final bake would re-gloss it, but no. so i'm hoping i can put a clear coat over the top and restore the shine, and maybe even mirror the chrome on the sides and bottom panel a bit more






anyone know where i can get some CLEAR POWDER in australia? near melbourne preferably?

should i use a semi-gloss clear? would a high gloss show scratches too easily?



hope you guys like it...

[haveyouseenhim]

Jeez!   That is beautiful.    You should have saved that for a contest. But then I don't think I would have been able to hold out 

[deadastronaut]

beautiful...

@darron: chromesphere paul will probably know, he does powdercoating in AUS..

[stonerbox]

You, my good sir, are very talented!

[Maik]

WOW!
Looks very cool.
Do it with semi gloss, something like this
http://www.ebay.de/itm/like/350617143204?lpid=91&_configDebug=ViewItemDictionary.ENABLE_PAYMENTS_IN_HLP:true

How do you make the flowers? Is it a vector that you can move around?

[midwayfair]

This is really exceptional work!

[jimilee]

[duck_arse]

and you expect people to step on these?

[rousejeremy]

I remember when DIY pedals actually looked like DIY. Now this happens and I feel like a lazy bum for not keeping up.

[jrod]

Wow! Very cool work there! 

[nosamiam]

Oh sweet lord, that's amazing.

[Kipper4]

Stunning Darren. I' b proud to own it

[darron]

thanks for all the positive feedback guys!    i'm certainly happy.



the mandala flowery design was hand drawn by an artist so not a vector unfortunately.


hopefully dulux will have some clear powder... otherwise good suggestion i'll hit up chromesphere. all the best colours are in the states and shipping is soooooo expensive!

[davent]

Super job from conception to realization, great,great work darron!
Thanks for taking us along on the journey!
dave

[pickdropper]

I've had the same problem with sanding backfills on laser engraved enclosures.  I haven't found a solution I like yet.

When I backfill with a paint pen, I sometimes can carefully clean it up with alcohol, but since the engraving isn't very deep, it's easy to pull the paint out.

[darron]

i guess if a clear doesn't cure it, then i don't mind the matted colours. it's a worthwhile sacrifice for the higher contrast chrome text. i really hope it will do the trick though.

just in general, i think a clear powder coat would provably make all the candy pedals i spray come up looking a bit deeper.


i'll take the suggestion with the semi-gloss. i think that'll be the way to go too!


so many colour changes... i reckon i need another powder gun just to stop having to reload.

[nosamiam]

I haven't powdercoated before so I don't know what I'm talking about, but... what about wet-sanding with really fine sandpaper (like 1200#) laid on a sheet of glass? I would think if the grit is fine enough you could achieve a really smooth surface and wouldn't risk going through the coat. And you'd get rid of any orange-peel too. Does sanding work well on powdercoat?

[pickdropper]

Ok Darron, I might have a backfill solution, although it's obviously not for this one (which is already filled).

Last night I took a laser engraved enclosure and filled in the engraving with a white paint pen for contrast.  I gently wet sanded it with a scotch brite kitchen pad.  I went slow with it.  Over time, it scraped off the excess paint, but only lightly scratched the powder coat.  Significantly less than when sanding with 1500 grit sandpaper.

Anyway , thought that might be worth trying.

[nosamiam]

Sanding followed by polishing compound on glass? Seems like there's gotta be an abrasive solution if clear powder isn't an option.

[darron]

maybe fine sanding would be an option. i think i was using 600grit wet, maybe 1200. i have a buffing wheel i could try but i'd really like to give the clear a shot because i think it would look really nice



dulux CAN sell me some but with a minimum of 15KG so that'll be a bit expensive. i reckon I'll do it


glass flat ending wouldn't work because it's not a consistent surface