Etched enclosures

[TG Flatline]

I had a go with a translucent paint (this one - https://www.graff-city.com/product_info.php?products_id=1580) but it wasn't quite a translucent as I'd hoped, the black etch ended up being heavily tinted so wasn't really the result I was hoping for, any tips on paint choice etc?

I've been using Tamiya model paint, but with a really thin layer of clearcoat underneath. The red works quite well but can get too dark if you're not careful, the blue is quite nice as well but the main battle is exactly as you've described - not getting it too dark and covering the etch! With a couple I ended up filling the etch with black by hand after the translucent had been applied, which sort of defies the point of doing it in the first place! You can rough sand the box in some interesting ways to get some pretty cool textures though, there's some info on the AMZ site about it that's worth trying! I'm putting a circuit in a Boss enclosure at the minute (it's normally the other way round!) and have done the baseplate by rough sanding with a file in various directions before the translucent paint. Looks great from different angles so I'm going to try it on a normal box at some point!

[Pettol]

Been using translucent paints more and more recently. They really need a good clearcoat over them but depending on the colour they can look great over a black etch!

I had a go with a translucent paint (this one - https://www.graff-city.com/product_info.php?products_id=1580) but it wasn't quite a translucent as I'd hoped, the black etch ended up being heavily tinted so wasn't really the result I was hoping for, any tips on paint choice etc?

I've also tried the Molotow paint - not transparent enough. Rear light lens paint works well though:



Made with this one: http://www.biltema.se/sv/Bilvard/Farg-och-Lack/Bakljusfarg-36869/
It's a Swedish site, but you should be able to find something similar.

[Pettol]

My latest - A Box Of Metal. I used PnP, UV-curing ink for touch ups and etched with NaOH.

[bluebunny]

@Pettol: both of these look really great!

[TG Flatline]

@Pettol: both of these look really great!

Totally. Really like both of those dude!!!

[ch1naski]

Super clean etching. And the font, and images, perfection.

[pickdropper]

Pettol, those both look fantastic.

[Perrow]

Thanks Pettol, saw the first row about transparent paint and thought "well tough luck finding one of them in Sweden" then scrolled to see the link to Biltema

Looking really nice there (both builds).

[Hexjibber]

My latest - A Box Of Metal. I used PnP, UV-curing ink for touch ups and etched with NaOH.

Brilliant work, I love it!

[deadastronaut]

@pettol...

superb work man....flawless 

[guitarmageddon]

Yes indeed!
Really nice. Text is such an unforgiving thing to etch.

[deadastronaut]

^ yeah, especially tiny text...very cool.

[dromilious]

Very nice etch !

[Pettol]

Thanks so much for the kind words! Means a lot to me hearing that from you.

@Perrow. Finally started following my father's advice: always check Biltema first.

The main problem with the Molotow paint (blue) was not the tint of the etched, black parts, but rather that I didn't get that subtle metallic look. Just looked a bit more shiny.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

^ yeah, especially tiny text...very cool.

Speaking of tiny text...

Just finished my very first and somewhat OK looking faceplate etch. 

The only downfall with it was some of the smaller text. I used the equivalent or 9pt in MS Word and most of the text just ended up running together and now it looks like a hole instead of wording. The larger graphics turned out good.

So, my question is.... What is the consensus on minimum text size for a good etch?

Looking at Pettol's fantastic etch, it looks like it might just be a matter of spacing the letter a bit more. 

[Pettol]

In my opinion there's no minimum text size. But you're right, I always increase the spacing between the letters. And you don't have to do any deep etch of those parts. I sand to whatever grit I want before etching (usually 1200 or 1500), so that won't be a problem either.

[deadastronaut]

Lightwah .....erm.....again.  

[Jdansti]

Very nice!!!

[pickdropper]

DA, your etches never fail to impress me.  Really clean work.

[TG Flatline]

DA, your etches never fail to impress me.  Really clean work.

+1   On this pedal especially, probably my favourite of yours!