Flame top/ Sunburst stompbox finish tutorial.

[haveyouseenhim]

I hope you all enjoy and have fun with this tutorial.

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1.Select an unfinished pedal.
2.Fully disassemble.
3.Measure and divide by 2 to find perfect center.
4.Mark center.
5.Use wire wheel to texture the metal.
6.Wire wheel I used.
7.This is after the texture process.
8.Polish the sides. (optional)
9.After the polish.
9-A.This is the clear red lacquer.
10.Trace the holes onto a piece of cardboard.
11.Traced template.
12.Heat up your hot glue gun.
13.Glue same length bits of straws on the template
14.Make sure it fits.
15.Get a piece of thin cardboard and trace the pedal's border.
16.Cut it out.
17.Test fit it on the straws.
18.Use painters tape to block the sides from black paint.
19.This is the black paint.
20.Paint the box with the black paint.     THIS TAKES PRACTICE      Practice on bits of scrap cardboard to achieve the color gradient/fade you like.
21.At this point you can apply waterslide decals.
22.Last step is to clear coat 4 or 5 times.


This is the end result. (This is a different one from the steps, but its the exact same process.)




ENJOY!!!!

[ralley]

Thanks very much for taking the time to do that tutorial - your results look stunning.
Rob.

[darron]

ks like you went to town on that poor wire brush. there's nothing left of it!

[haveyouseenhim]

ks like you went to town on that poor wire brush. there's nothing left of it!

Yep. That's after two flametop finishes and other use over the months since I bought it.

[RandomGlitch]

The pictures give an excellent instruction on how to do it!

I like how you use the properties of the aluminum to make the effect. 

Thanks for sharing. Nice work.

[Pyr0]

Thanks for that, excellent work 

[asatbluesboy]

Bravo!

[jimmybjj]

Thanks for the tutorial. I'll have to give it a try. On a totally unrelated topic, how did you make that square notch?

[haveyouseenhim]

I used a small handheld hack saw to cut the parallel vertical cuts. Then I used a pair of pliers to snap off the tab that it created and then formed the final shape with a large metal file. The cuts I made were smaller than the dc jack so i could file and test fit and file more till it was a perfect fit.

[digi2t]

Great tutorial. Outstanding results.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Dino

[darron]

Those dremel brushes don't go very well with a speed too high or too much pressure. If I'm light and slow on them I can usually get at least 50x enclosures done on all sides. Otherwise I tear them apart quickly and they are bloody expensive here in Australia.

Always wear your googles (wires DO fly out of the brush into your skin and eyes) and a dust mask for the airborn aluminium dust that gets created.

[haveyouseenhim]

Yea, I ALWAYS wear eye protection. ALWAYS 

How much? Would it be cheaper if I got some and sent them to you?

[joegagan]

dig it! nice tute.
the result is very pretty, congrats.

[haveyouseenhim]

the person I did this paint for loved it. Seeing a happy customer is almost better than getting paid.  ALMOST

[darron]

ahh... they go long enough. i should have foresight next time probably and they might be cheaper on ebay or something (:

[Jdansti]

Thanks Mike!  Great technique and tutorial!

[darron]

oh, and thanks for the offer!

[haveyouseenhim]

I just did this one today.

[amptramp]

The transparent paint looks great!  I recently acquired aome of the clear paint in green, red, gold and fuchsia and I might try this on a panel that was going to be black.  I got some black as well, so I might be able to do this.  The local NAPA store was dumping paint for $1 per aerosol can.  In addition, I got metallic black, fluorescent orange, silver and exhaust pipe orange (high temperature).  All for $9.

This does not necessarily mean the pedal will not belong in the "post your pedal disasters" thread.  It does mean I have a new technique to screw up.

[haveyouseenhim]

The transparent paint looks great!  I recently acquired aome of the clear paint in green, red, gold and fuchsia and I might try this on a panel that was going to be black.  I got some black as well, so I might be able to do this.  The local NAPA store was dumping paint for $1 per aerosol can.  In addition, I got metallic black, fluorescent orange, silver and exhaust pipe orange (high temperature).  All for $9.

This does not necessarily mean the pedal will not belong in the "post your pedal disasters" thread.  It does mean I have a new technique to screw up.

Thanks man. Good deal. I'm using lacquer though. Make sure to either use all one kind of paint. Don't mix lacquer and enamel paint. Either all enamel or all lacquer. They don't play well together. It will wrinkle and crackle the paint.   

Always test on a 'non-pedal' surface        Otherwise you will have to strip it with acetone and start over