Clear Coat for Swirl Paint Jobs?

tangybrizzle · March 28, 2012, 02:37:47 PM

Ok, so I've been experimenting with swirl paint jobs. I've gotten pretty good results on the actual swirls, but I'm having a hard time finding a clear coat that I like.

What do you use? Any favorite types or brands?

R.G. · March 28, 2012, 02:44:53 PM

What someone else tries and likes has no bearing on what you'll like, for an important technical reason: clear coats may damage underlying color coats if the paint solvent and chemistry are not compatible. You can get wrinkling or bubbling and lifting. You need to pick a clear coat that is chemically compatible with the base color coats. Ideally, you would, as the paint/finishing people say, try this out on an inconspicuous area first, or a test piece that's not your beautimous art piece.

Of course, you may LIKE the effect: see http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/craklpnt.htm. I found this out shortly after my first work on swirl painting in 1997-1999: http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/swirlpaint/swirlpnt.htm

tangybrizzle · March 28, 2012, 02:53:04 PM

Thanks for the help, R.G.

To clarify I'm looking for it to be as smooth as possible. No crackling or bubbling. Is there a good resource for finding which paints, etc are compatible?

Right now I'm using acrylics for the swirls.

rousejeremy · March 28, 2012, 03:02:39 PM

Acrylic clear coat is perfect if your'e using acrylic paint. Wet sand with 600 grit after a bunch of coats, then apply more clear. Takes time to learn but it'll look great.

petey twofinger · March 28, 2012, 03:11:10 PM

i had good results with krylon acrylic clear . that was what i had here . i did run into some really old krylon clear and that stuff had "gone bad" !?

what exactly dont you like about it ?

tangybrizzle · March 28, 2012, 03:58:36 PM

I just had a little rough spot on a couple and some minor bubbling on one. My clear coat isn't acrylic, so I'm sure it's just a reaction. I'll try the Krylon Acrylic.

Do you guys bake your finishes or just let them air dry?

rousejeremy · March 28, 2012, 04:06:52 PM

I bake mine in a little toaster just because I'm impatient. Plus I have a very fluffy cat and letting them air dry around the house is just asking for his fur to be all up in it.

Paul Marossy · March 28, 2012, 04:35:12 PM

Not on a stompbox, but this is one of the coolest swirl paint jobs I have seen:

head_spaz · March 28, 2012, 10:12:05 PM

Paul, That guitar is outta sight man!

Anyway... I use a product called Envirotex.
It's a two part epoxy system.
It works quite well and plays nice with most substraights.
The finish flattens out extremely well without bubbles.
It's also very easy to use and quite durable.
Available at Lowes, ACE Hardware, artist supplies etc...

Have a gander at this and see what you think.

davent · March 28, 2012, 10:40:04 PM

And just because a clearcoat goes on nice and seems compatable today, months down the road it can crack and craze. And formulations change so a brand that has been working well might stop working for you with the next purchase. It's a crap shoot.

Head_Spaz that epoxy coat looks great, how long does it take to really harden up?

dave

head_spaz · March 29, 2012, 01:35:01 AM

I use a makeshift for curing... so it took about 5 hours to fully catalyze.
My "oven" is little more than a cardboard box insulated with bubblewrap, with
a small 80F heating pad acting as the floor. Works pretty well.
The epoxy is catalyzed so it probably cures rock solid in 24 hours or so.
TThe main attraction of my box is that it shields against dust and insects during the cure.
I've toyed with the idea of installing a UVC lamp inside to see if it cures faster.

Evirotex is pretty amazing stuff. It dries crystal clear too.
The pedal shown above was finished about three to four years ago and as you can see,
the epoxy holds up well against shrinkage (orange-peel), cracking, and fading/clouding.

Anyway... good luck guys.

petey twofinger · March 29, 2012, 10:45:15 AM

wow , that finish looks great !!

is that stuff pricey ?

also i have heard some folks mention about the krylon brand changing formula and over time the finish going bad , just have my fingers crossed , the next up stuff was 2x $ and i am not exactly rolling in it .

so yes "good luck" wishes are much appreciated !

rousejeremy · March 29, 2012, 10:54:15 AM

That looks great. I think Cloudscapes uses the same finish process, looks so deep.
Now I have to get some of that stuff.

Paul Marossy · March 29, 2012, 11:10:12 AM

Quote from: head_spaz on March 28, 2012, 10:12:05 PM
Paul, That guitar is outta sight man!

Anyway... I use a product called Envirotex.
It's a two part epoxy system.
It works quite well and plays nice with most substraights.
The finish flattens out extremely well without bubbles.
It's also very easy to use and quite durable.
Available at Lowes, ACE Hardware, artist supplies etc...

Have a gander at this and see what you think.

Cool stuff!

rousejeremy · March 29, 2012, 03:51:20 PM

BTW Paul, that guitar looks incredible! Looks like it was an oil paint and water tub thing

Paul Marossy · March 29, 2012, 04:29:09 PM

Quote from: rousejeremy on March 29, 2012, 03:51:20 PM
BTW Paul, that guitar looks incredible! Looks like it was an oil paint and water tub thing

Yeah, I think that is how it was done, but in a very deep vat/tub thingie. The back of the neck is also swirled, all Parker Flys have the backs of the neck finished, too.

rousejeremy · March 29, 2012, 04:30:36 PM

That's the nicest job I've ever seen. You do that yourself?

Paul Marossy · March 29, 2012, 04:38:26 PM

Quote from: rousejeremy on March 29, 2012, 04:30:36 PM
That's the nicest job I've ever seen. You do that yourself?

Ha, you flatter me. It actually belongs to one of the guys at the Parker Guitars forum where I hang out. He must have a fortune into that guitar now. He bought it off ebay, sent it to a guy in England to strip it down and do the swirl paint, then the guy in England shipped it to a place called http://www.shazrockpaint.com here in the U.S. for clearcoating/finishing touches and then it was returned to the owner in that spectacular condition. (Note: "shazrock" used to do all the custom paint jobs for Parker Guitars back in the day)

Here is the thread from the Parker forum if you want to see more pics: http://forums.parkerguitars.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13539

OK... back on topic, didn't mean to de-rail this thread! I think doing small stompboxes tastefully is more challenging than something big like a guitar body.

Mustachio · March 29, 2012, 05:26:52 PM

I was gonna also suggest Pour-on (envirotex is the brand) Ive been using it on All of my new builds. Its great stuff pretty easy to use but be careful for drips! gotta watch it the first 30 minutes to an hour. Clean off the drips as they happen and you wont have to risk ruining the bottom of the finish when its all done.

for a small kit its about 16 bucks should be enough to cover at least 20+ pedals.

at 70 degrees F and 50% humidity it says 72 hours for full cure. Time lowers as temp rises. I also do the cardboard box method I just dont add heat I just wait ....

Also a good note is it doesnt smell as bad as most things you would use like this. Id say its a very light funky smell haha.

This stuff is durable its the same thing they use on bartops and table tops. Im sure everyone's seen a table top that has old news paper clippings and stuff some how sealed in under the glass. Thats not glass its this stuff

I havent done any swirl pedals so I didnt post because I didnt know how it would react to the paint types. Looks like its ok from the above post! Nice looking stuff guys!

goldstache · March 31, 2012, 12:51:25 PM

Envirotex huh? Do you use the lite version or which product? So anxious to try it out. Thanks for the scoop!!!!!!

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Clear Coat for Swirl Paint Jobs?