Swirl finishes, "Dragonfly style !" (56k warning for pictures !)

[Dragonfly]

I just did a quick write up of how I do swirl finishes. It should give you a nice starting point, should you be interested in trying this method. No Borax, a lot less mess. Bright, vibrant colors and great patterns too ! 

Click HERE to go to my gallery !

Enjoy !

A few examples of the results I'm getting with this technique....

[tcobretti]

Thanks! Very cool of you to post that!

[Marcos - Munky]

I was waiting for this . Thanks a lot, Andy.

[azrael]

Wow! I'm not usually a fan of this style of finishing anything (My co-guitarist is doing a swirl to a guitar he's building...) But this looks really cool! I may have to give it a try!

[R.G.]

Yep. That's how I did my swirl painting, from back in 1997 - the drip method. See http://geofex.com/Article_Folders/swirlpaint/swirlpnt.htm.

I did some, got tired of messing with it. But you can make some really neat looking enclosures. Hard to see lettering on them, though.

[Dragonfly]

Yep. That's how I did my swirl painting, from back in 1997 - the drip method. See http://geofex.com/Article_Folders/swirlpaint/swirlpnt.htm.

I did some, got tired of messing with it. But you can make some really neat looking enclosures. Hard to see lettering on them, though.

Were you using an acrylic paint / water mix as well ? Acrylic seems to make for some really vibrant colors, and its think enough to not "run" much...unless you thin it out too much.

I've found that the consistency of the paint is one of the most important things in having success at this...well, that and knowing when to "stop" making little patterns with the toothpick ! 

[Dragonfly]

EDIT...ok...just went and skimmed your article, RG...it looks like you were using oil based paint. I may try that sometime...right now I'm liking the acrylic a lot though.

[allmonochrome]

dragonfly you have a pm 

[greigoroth]

Possibly the most anticipated thread of recent times! Well done Andy!

[greigoroth]

Ha ha ha ha!

Your must own the only pedal in the world to have had its paintjob affected by an iguana!

[DougH]

Nice work, Andy. How durable is the paint? Do you clear coat it when you are done swirling?

[DougH]

Hard to see lettering on them, though.

R.G.- Most of the swirl painted pedals I've seen don't have lettering or labels on them. They might put labeling on the knobs but I haven't seen it on the box.

[R.G.]

@Andy - no, it was oils. The colors are not as vibrant as acrylics, as you note. I was simultaneously experimenting with how thick/durable I could make a paint coat without going to epoxies, and oils seemed to be better, at least back then. Consistency is indeed a huge variable in the process. Some of them got downright thickly coated. It impeded the swirling a lot.

@Doug - that's good, because lettering is downright counter to the paint show.

This was the first step toward some other painting tricks, like crackle painting: http://geofex.com/Article_Folders/craklpnt.htm

I liked these results with normal labelling. Several layers of clear coat produced a smooth surface and preserved the crackled-shiny surface.

I messed with the commercial paints which are supposed to give a stone-like appearance and also the cracked-earth style stuff that gives branching jagged splits on  a topcoat so the undercoats show through.

It helps to wander through hobby stores with an evil expression on your face, thinking "OK, how can I use ...that... in an effect box?"   

[modsquad]

I'm wondering how durable acrylics would be on a guitar body.  I have used acrylics on other stuff and it doesn't seem to hold up as well as enamels.  I suppose you could use enamels and thin it like you do with water and acrylics.   Will have to experiment before attempting the guitar.   But will definitely try it on some boxes.

[moro]

Yay, thanks for posting this, Dragonfly.

I'm surprised there's no primer or basecoat, though.

[cheeb]

hahahaha...pet iguana messed it up...

This place is great.

[Dragonfly]

Nice work, Andy. How durable is the paint? Do you clear coat it when you are done swirling?

Yep...multiple coats of clear spray acrylic sealer / finish. I really like the brand thats pictured in the tutorial. It goes on well, dries reasonably fast, and is crystal clear. Costs a bit extra, but worth it IMO. Plus it seems to "stick better" to the enclosure sides when spraying, so you get less of that annoying "thick top coat, thin side coat" stuff happening. After I apply several coats I let it dry for a few days and it turns out great.

[Dragonfly]

@Andy - no, it was oils. The colors are not as vibrant as acrylics, as you note. I was simultaneously experimenting with how thick/durable I could make a paint coat without going to epoxies, and oils seemed to be better, at least back then. Consistency is indeed a huge variable in the process. Some of them got downright thickly coated. It impeded the swirling a lot.

Sometimes I read your posts and I think to myself "there's a possibility that RG might have been doing this for a while ! " 

@Doug - that's good, because lettering is downright counter to the paint show.

I did lettering on one of the enclosures, and I think I'll end up doing more that way. Its simple lettering under the switch, and then a "F" for fuzz and a "V" for volume above the corresponding knobs. It helps people know what the controls are, advertises who made the pedal, and yet is still subtle enough not to detract from the pedals beauty, IMO. I'm still figuring out if I want to use the lettering for sure though.

This was the first step toward some other painting tricks, like crackle painting: http://geofex.com/Article_Folders/craklpnt.htm

I liked these results with normal labelling. Several layers of clear coat produced a smooth surface and preserved the crackled-shiny surface.

I saw that...very cool stuff.

I messed with the commercial paints which are supposed to give a stone-like appearance and also the cracked-earth style stuff that gives branching jagged splits on  a topcoat so the undercoats show through.

I tried that stuff a few years back and wasn't really happy with the results "I" had. Might have just been "me" though.

It helps to wander through hobby stores with an evil expression on your face, thinking "OK, how can I use ...that... in an effect box?"   

Hobby Lobby and Michaels can occupy me for a long, long time. There are ALWAYS ideas to be had there. In fact it was in Hobby Lobby that I formulated my initial ideas for swirling the paint in the method described.

[Dragonfly]

Yay, thanks for posting this, Dragonfly.

I'm surprised there's no primer or basecoat, though.

Ive recently started using a base coat of the primary finish color that I want the pedal to be. You dont want to use "wet" acrylic paint on top of "dried" acrylic paint however...so I just "rough paint (thick !) the primary color till the enclosure is covered and then IMMEDIATELY start the swirling process.

Heres one using a  "base color" of light green....I still have a couple clear coats to go till it gets a nice glossy finish, but you'll get the idea.

[greigoroth]

That's your best yet Andy, looks like jade!