Best Spray-On Finish for Pedals?

[vigilante397]

I'm getting into the habit of searching for old threads about topics before I post them (the administrators will be so pleased), but I had a really hard time finding a solid answer for this one.

I recently finished my third build and, in my stroke of confidence, decided to try my hand at finishing it. I used 5-6 coats (can't quite remember) of "Krylon Dual Paint+Primer" spraypaint and 4 coats of "Krylon Colormaster" clear coat, both from Wal Mart, with a little custom artwork in between paint and clear coat by means of an acrylic paint pen I picked up from Michaels. I used proper baking technique, as recommended in other threads and as I've read on other forums. The result turned out pretty cool, and I was thrilled. However, even after it cooled from the baking the finish was still soft, kinda sticky, and easily damaged. It now has a dozen or so nicks on it and I'm considering taking off the whole finish and trying again.

But before I do that, I thought I would ask those with much more experience. Is there a particular brand/type of spraypaint and clear coat that do really well on pedals? The ones I bought say they're good on metal which is why I bought them, but I'm hoping there's something better out there. I'm really hoping there's something I can get in s tore rather than having to wait for an online order to arrive.

Thanks ^_^

Oh yeah, and happy new year everyone!

[tubegeek]

Only thing I can suggest is that your coats were too thick - is that possible?

[vigilante397]

Yikes, that's totally possible. So the paint and clear coat I'm using are fine but I should be doing thinner coats, yes?

[LucifersTrip]

I think there are too many factors to answer properly. temperature? humidity? how long to dry between coats? how thick a coat?, etc

[tubegeek]

I think there are too many factors to answer properly. temperature? humidity? how long to dry between coats? how thick a coat?, etc

+1 to this, but thin coats are generally speaking better than thick - they will dry faster than you think, you basically want to do a zillion thin coats a few minutes apart rather than thick oats. Spray paint depends on a solvent which "flashes off" (evaporates) and leaves the paint smooth and pretty much dry, unless there's too much paint for that to happen. It'll look poorly covered for the first few coats, but soon will be even and fully covered. Then you bake it like crazy and make sure it's dry before switching to another color, or clear, or whatever.

A thrift-store toaster oven is your new best friend.

[Mick Bailey]

When I've experienced this it's usually down to too many coats being applied before baking. The baking seals-in the top surface and forms a skin, which prevents the solvents from evaporating quickly enough. Those trapped solvents soften the whole finish - sometimes it goes like leather. Paints are increasingly being formulated with less-volatile solvents and these take longer to evaporate. If you notice, most often the overspray will be a harder finish than the item you're painting.

Rattle cans don't offer a really tough finish comparable with either powder coating or two-pack catalysed systems. You can improve matters by using an etch primer (I use U-pol Acid #8 or Hammerite special metals primer) and building up thin colour and lacquer coats, baked in stages.

[GibsonGM]

Yup, the 'too thick' thing.  Krylon makes good stuff - never had any issues with it.    Priming is a good idea, as Mick says.  I use auto primer quite a bit, and it's always done the job.   4, 5 passes with the primer over 20 minutes, no bake (let sit overnight).

Then the multi-topcoats as described, and you can then bake it if you like. 

[bcalla]

I have seen posts on this and other forums indicating that some people prefer Krylon.  I tried it several times and it ruined my enclosures, so I only use Rustoleum now.

I am willing to concede that my problems with Krylon are probably the result of user error, but I get great results using the same technique with Rustoleum.

[GGBB]

I am also not a fan of Krylon - their clear coat in particular.  Takes a long time to fully cure - even with baking - and always feels a little soft to me.

[R.G.]

Hardware-store rattle cans are going to be marginal at best. And Krylon is the fast food of the painting industry.

The best results I've had from rattle cans were from the automotive touch-up paints sold in auto parts stores. Unlike hardware-store paints, the auto touchup stuff simply has to dry to a hard surface, so they formulate it appropriately. The automotive clear coats of the same brand as the color are chemically compounded to work with the color coat, as well.

A huge amount of success in painting is in surface prep and priming. For any metal involving an aluminum alloy like especially the cast boxes a lot of pedals use, you need a self-etching primer to actually chemically eat into the metal to grip it.

I latched onto the auto stuff way back there. See http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/craklpnt.htm for some early stuff and also creative use of painting "mistakes". The clearcoat over the crackle was hard as rocks.

[vigilante397]

This brings me to another question on this topic: With the baking method, should I bake between coats, or just after all the coats are done? I've seen opinions both ways and am admittedly confused.

[bwanasonic]

When painting plastic models, I used to run the cans under hot water to get the pressure up for a finer spray. A "tip" I got from graffiti artists is that some cans have better spray tips than others. If you get good results from one, keep the tip.

This might come in handy:

http://artprimo.com/catalog/art_primo_caps-101

[R.G.]

This brings me to another question on this topic: With the baking method, should I bake between coats, or just after all the coats are done? I've seen opinions both ways and am admittedly confused.

Sadly, it depends on the paint inside the can. With automotive stuff, you want to recoat while it's just "set" but still tacky, or fully hardened. Fully hardened is safer, and with an unknown paint is the only good answer.

Professional auto lacquers let you do the "keep painting coats" stuff with only mild waits between coats. Krylon and Rustoleum - well, you know what I think of them. Bake to fully hard between coats.

By the way, many hardware store paints include a strong dose of plasticizers deliberately to make them *never* get fully cracking-hard. This is so amateurs will get looks-good (ish) painting without the issues that pros deal with.

[GibsonGM]

This brings me to another question on this topic: With the baking method, should I bake between coats, or just after all the coats are done? I've seen opinions both ways and am admittedly confused.

Sadly, it depends on the paint inside the can. With automotive stuff, you want to recoat while it's just "set" but still tacky, or fully hardened. Fully hardened is safer, and with an unknown paint is the only good answer.

Professional auto lacquers let you do the "keep painting coats" stuff with only mild waits between coats. Krylon and Rustoleum - well, you know what I think of them. Bake to fully hard between coats.

By the way, many hardware store paints include a strong dose of plasticizers deliberately to make them *never* get fully cracking-hard. This is so amateurs will get looks-good (ish) painting without the issues that pros deal with.

Yup!  My reference to Krylon has more to do with their clear coat, which I like.   Not a lot of options where I live (the boonies).  For colors, I do prefer automotive paint because of the metallics and wider range of shades, and easily available.    You offered some good info here, R.G., and I should have been more 'clear' about the clearcoat! 
For that matter, auto clear may work even better! 

[The French connection]

I use this: http://eti-usa.com/envirotex-lite/

no more clearcoating...pour it on, blow bubbles with a micro-jet torch and wait 24 hours...harder than anything, done in 1/2 hour and do more than 8 boxes (1590BB) with 8 oz kit! No odours , can do it inside and can do fancy knobs and switches also!

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=36392.msg951908#msg951908

I'm not sure the switch labels will last forever though.

I've tried alot clearcoating and i'll never go back to that.
Man I feel like a representative for this company.  

[KazooMan]

Re: Envirotex coating

I agree that it gives a very durable finish.  However, whenever I have tried it I end up with a real drippy mess. 

Can you share more of your process?  How do you keep from getting a thick area at the bottom of the sides of the box?  I always have a real problem with this and sagging drips as well. 

[vigilante397]

Re: Envirotex coating

I agree that it gives a very durable finish.  However, whenever I have tried it I end up with a real drippy mess. 

Can you share more of your process?  How do you keep from getting a thick area at the bottom of the sides of the box?  I always have a real problem with this and sagging drips as well. 

I haven't tried it yet but I've seen some builds from people that use it and they look amazing. More details? Around here it looks like the smallest amount i can get is in the ballpark of $120.

Sell us on it please

[The French connection]

Re: Envirotex coating

I agree that it gives a very durable finish.  However, whenever I have tried it I end up with a real drippy mess. 

Can you share more of your process?  How do you keep from getting a thick area at the bottom of the sides of the box?  I always have a real problem with this and sagging drips as well. 

for the first half hour, I wipe the edges with a smooth spatula and then I go back every hour to remove droplets that remain at the bottom of the box and the residual bubbles. After 5-6 hours, everything seems ok. Otherwise, once dry, if it remains hanging drops (such as torture), I take them off with a knife. Here is my setup, nothing proffessional but works great!

[The French connection]

Re: Envirotex coating

I agree that it gives a very durable finish.  However, whenever I have tried it I end up with a real drippy mess. 

Can you share more of your process?  How do you keep from getting a thick area at the bottom of the sides of the box?  I always have a real problem with this and sagging drips as well. 

I haven't tried it yet but I've seen some builds from people that use it and they look amazing. More details? Around here it looks like the smallest amount i can get is in the ballpark of $120.

Sell us on it please

i order from eBay or amazon...around 14$ us for 8 oz

[KazooMan]

That looks just like what I have done, but I still have the thick, drippy edges problem.

Here are some pics of a Small Clone Chorus I did a while back.  Note that this one has a light plate; red for power and blue for effect on.  You can see the drips along the bottom edge of the box, especially in the close ups.

If I could solve that problem this would be my favorite finish.  Hard as a rock.