Pictures!

[oldrocker]

My cheap pedals including my noisy cricket amp and a Muff Fuzz tin at the far left with both a tranny Muff and opamp Muff in the same enclosure.  The Green Ringer and the Ne-Octave are also together in the same tin box.
http://www.logmonster.com/images/full/?pic=Allpedals1new_1157317783-422-13551.jpg

[markm]

Wow,
Now there's a collection!
Nice work....I like the "tins", very nice touch indeed!

[oldrocker]

Thanks Markm,   I couldn't find any tins deep enough to put pots, jack and batteries in until I went with my wife to buy some stuff for her scrapbooks.  Then there on a shelf was all these tins with no markings and they were nice and deep and cheap.   It works good, they stay closed pretty solid and it makes it easy to change out a battery or mod or fix the circuit if needed. 

[Hal]

the amp is so cute :-D.  Did you make the enclosure?  Its like those mini fender and marshalls, only with real tweed :-D.

[oldrocker]

Well I can't take credit for the amp.  It was a gutted Epiphone amp I had for years but never used.  It sounded like crap.  I put a 6" Bose speaker in it and built a Noisy Cricket to power it.  There's a speaker out jack on it and I usually plug it into a 12" stage monitor.  It actually sounds pretty good especially since it runs on a 9 volt battery.   It's great for camping.

[markm]

Work in progress pics;



Check out my gallery too as I've added some new pics, and layouts!

[bancika]

looks great as always! 

[$uperpuma]

my favorite circuit + my favorite enclosure decorator = drool.

[stankyfish]

Work in progress pics;



Check out my gallery too as I've added some new pics, and layouts!

Damn, those look so good.  I'm sitting here next to my very first etched aluminum enclosure thanks to your awesome how to.  For a first go, it's not bad, but I just can't seem to get the really smooth, fine lines that you get on yours.  I don't know if it's the ironing technique I'm having a problem with or what, but I just can't get the toner transfer patterns to come out nearly that clean.

Very impressive.

I'm definitely going to continue on with the etching, though -- very nice way to finish a box.

[darron]

do you end up using a clear over the top of your etched enclosures markm? i find that the acids/oils (?) from my hands will taint the finish quite quickly. i took a fine sanded enclosure to a place that does bumper bar repairs and he buffed it to a mirror finish but it only lasted a few days with me handling it. places where i didn't handle it looked great.

is a few coats of clear the answer?

thanks

[sfr]

do you end up using a clear over the top of your etched enclosures markm? i find that the acids/oils (?) from my hands will taint the finish quite quickly. i took a fine sanded enclosure to a place that does bumper bar repairs and he buffed it to a mirror finish but it only lasted a few days with me handling it. places where i didn't handle it looked great.

is a few coats of clear the answer?

thanks

I'm curious about this as well, if anyone does this -  I've buffed aluminum to an almost mirror shine, but when I buff it that much, I have a hard time getting a clear coat to "stick" to it.

[markm]

do you end up using a clear over the top of your etched enclosures markm? i find that the acids/oils (?) from my hands will taint the finish quite quickly. i took a fine sanded enclosure to a place that does bumper bar repairs and he buffed it to a mirror finish but it only lasted a few days with me handling it. places where i didn't handle it looked great.

is a few coats of clear the answer?

thanks

I'm curious about this as well, if anyone does this -  I've buffed aluminum to an almost mirror shine, but when I buff it that much, I have a hard time getting a clear coat to "stick" to it.

I usually don't clearcoat most of my enclosures that I etch simply because I like the "naturally-worn" look that the aluminum takes on over time......I know that may seem strange but, it's what I like. That said, I have clear-coated a few but, to use a clear coat on the aluminum it must have a rough surface in order for it to stick. About 400 grit is about the finest you could use and still have it stick well.  I too have made the mistake of polishing to a mirror finish and then clear coating with the same sad results. Clear won't stick to a shiny aluminum surface although, I am told that there are clear finishes that are designed to etch themselves into the aluminum surface. I imagine this is the type of clear used on aluminum automobile wheels which is probably like Imron or one of the various other one-stage highly toxic paints.
One "secret" I will let you in on is I usually wax the enclosure once it is completely finish sanded with say 600 wet.
Lately I have been making the actual etch on the box very shallow so that after a view coats of paint and finish sanding, the lettering and the surface of the enclosure are fairly even, then I wax it with a good carnuba wax like Mother's.
It doesn't prevent staining or oxidation but, it will make the oxidation more uniform and equal hence, less noticable and it does offer some protection from the elements.
I hope this helps you guys out a bit.
Thanks,
  MarkM

[tiges_ tendres]

Ive noticed on brand new, straight out of the box, EHX pedals have this slightly oily feel.  Maybe they treat the outside with some sort of oil or wax 

[bancika]

maybe you should try poliurethane lacquer for clear coat. It hold pretty well on polished aluminum.
Cheers

[markm]

Yes, Urethane was the type of paint I was thinking of but, the paint industry has taken it a step further with other types of urethane.
Some of it is very strong.....hard as nails but, very dangerous to work with.

[markusw]

Some more results from aluminium etching.
Thanks once more to markm for his great tutorial!!

I gave foto positiv laquer a try.

After developing with 1% NaOH (which btw does only slightly etch the aluminium):



After etching. I etched much too long (30 min about) since I didn't realise that the etching was much deeper after the tooth brush treatment.



After painting and sanding



The guts:



Finalised:





Since I wasn't patient enough to wait with sanding until the black paint has completely dried, some of the sanded aluminium somehow got incorporated into the black stripe
(above the bal out labelling). Anyway, although it's far from perfect thanks to markm I'm still pretty happy with this first try.

Regards,

Markus

[Lp_man]

That looks really good! Does anyone have a link to that how - to guide on etching?

Heres my latest creation, DOD 440 EF clone:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j23/overdrivespider/440%20Envolope%20Filter/4401.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j23/overdrivespider/440%20Envolope%20Filter/4402.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j23/overdrivespider/440%20Envolope%20Filter/4403.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j23/overdrivespider/440%20Envolope%20Filter/4404.jpg

Soundclip:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=452640&songID=4405146

I really like the sound of it, but I can't use it in the band that I'm in really so I'm selling it

-Will

[markusw]

That looks really good! Does anyone have a link to that how - to guide on etching?
-Will

http://aronnelson.com/gallery/Acid-Graphics

By the master of enclosure etching himself

Markus

[Lp_man]

Much appreciated

[stumper1]

For clear coating polished metals, there is a product called Glisten PC. It's affordable, easy to use and works awesome.  The best part is it can be applied with a brush avoiding the mist/fumes of spraying. Fume wise - it is way less smelly than any rattle can paint.

The only down side is it takes 4 days to cure. Heat does not speed up the process.

I've done several pedals with it now. It's a lot tougher than the 2 part urethane clearcoats I use over painted boxes.

Almost forgot:
Mark, Awesone work........as always