Pedal build diary - blow by blow account

SteveF

Philtre said:

 

Yes! This is exactly how I imagined a supersonic fuzz gun would look! :Lol:  

Looks great.  I've got some waterslide decal stuff to try but if that doesn't work then some of that sticky paper might be the plan! 

Philtre

Part 15

Today I'll pour the Envirotex on top of the enclosure. I always find this part a bit nerve-wracking as it requires so much baby-sitting and I've messed it up before now.

The best guide for this part of the process is the Finishing Tutorial by JuanSoloFX. And our resident expert on the forum is @Adam_MD

Here are all the bits and pieces that I'll need:

Envirotex Lite - I get this from Amazon. It is shipped from the US but when I ordered mine it only took about 4 days to arrive.
Methylated Spirits - Got this from B&Q. Very handy on a cloth to clear up any drips and spills.
Mixing cup - Any plastic cup will do. But not too big or small.
Small 30ml measuring cups - You can get these on eBay or Amazon. They have markings on them which are vital to measure out the two parts of the Envirotex (hardener and resin).
Paper Plate - Handy to put the enclosure on. You can turn it around when working.
Paper towel - get these fairly lint-free ones from Halfords.
Lollipop Sticks - one big one for mixing and one thinner one for dobbing. Get them from Amazon or eBay.





First thing to do is to tape up the inside of the holes in the top of the enclosure. This obviously stops the resin from escaping down the plug-hole:



Then I'll measure out exactly equal quantities of the Envirotex resin and hardener. I've marked some lines with a pen on the measuring cups at the 8ml marks. A total of 16ml should be enough to cover a 1590BB.

It's very very important to measure out exactly equal amounts and to not use too little of the stuff. The smaller the quantities involved the more room for error there is in getting exactly equal amounts. I once made the mistake of using plastic teaspoons to measure and I must have got the proportions wrong as it never hardened, and I had to scrape it off and start all over again. Better to err on the side of more rather than less.




I use the large wooden stick to mix the two parts together in the larger plastic cup. This needs to be done for at least two minutes. Make sure you don't leave any unmixed parts that might have dripped down the inside of the cup.




Then I gently pour the goo onto the top of the enclosure. I fill the holes first, then I work from the centre outwards pushing the goo to the edges of the enclosure with my wooden dobber. Don't worry about the bubbles in the mix at this stage, just focus on spreading it to the edges and aiming for a consistent coverage. Envirotex is self-levelling so this will help.

Also, at this stage, take your time and focus. The instructions for ET make it sound as if you've got very little time to work with this stuff, but you've easily got up to an hour to manipulate it.

To get rid of the bubbles, gently breathe on the surface (bubbles hate carbon dioxide). Or run a lighter flame over the top.




Here it is covered with the Envirotex and and all the bubbles removed (for now, at least):




Then I put a plastic food container over the whole thing to protect it from dust:



But the job doesn't stop now. Envirotex has a nasty habit of still producing small bubbles even after a few hours. So every 20 minutes or so I inspect the surface and, if any bubbles appear, I zap them with the flame of a lighter. I'll babysit this now for the next 4-5 hours or so. Boring!

Unfortunately, the more you uncover the thing and expose the ET, the more chance there is of getting dust and fluff particles on it. I still haven't solved this problem, as I don't live in a dust-free zone. As I typed this I just removed a small fluff with a pair of tweezers. Grrr....

Once I'm sure that the ET is going off and hardening I'll have to leave it alone for 4-5 days before I can drill out the holes and move onto the next stage.

I'll be back...

Adam_MD

I love seeing decals after the envirotex has been poured the colours really pop and get a wonderful depth to them.  It also helps hide any bubbles where the decal didn’t sit completely flat.  

I usually babysit mine for about 2 hours from pouring I tend to sit with it until it stops running off the sides then check it every 20 mins or so until the 2 hours is up and I’m happy there are no more runs or drips.  

Philtre

Adam_MD said:

I love seeing decals after the envirotex has been poured the colours really pop and get a wonderful depth to them.  It also helps hide any bubbles where the decal didn’t sit completely flat.  

I usually babysit mine for about 2 hours from pouring I tend to sit with it until it stops running off the sides then check it every 20 mins or so until the 2 hours is up and I’m happy there are no more runs or drips.  

Agreed, except for that one time a bubble appeared 5 hours after the pour.

Adam_MD

Philtre said:

Adam_MD said:

I love seeing decals after the envirotex has been poured the colours really pop and get a wonderful depth to them.  It also helps hide any bubbles where the decal didn’t sit completely flat.  

I usually babysit mine for about 2 hours from pouring I tend to sit with it until it stops running off the sides then check it every 20 mins or so until the 2 hours is up and I’m happy there are no more runs or drips.  

Agreed, except for that one time a bubble appeared 5 hours after the pour.

Yeah that was weird I’ve never had that happen.  

Philtre

Adam_MD said:

Philtre said:

Adam_MD said:

I love seeing decals after the envirotex has been poured the colours really pop and get a wonderful depth to them.  It also helps hide any bubbles where the decal didn’t sit completely flat.  

I usually babysit mine for about 2 hours from pouring I tend to sit with it until it stops running off the sides then check it every 20 mins or so until the 2 hours is up and I’m happy there are no more runs or drips.  

Agreed, except for that one time a bubble appeared 5 hours after the pour.

Yeah that was weird I’ve never had that happen.  

I've learnt to accept these little discrepancies on the finish of the pedal as a "unique selling point" ;-)

SteveF

What's the decal paper you use Phil?  I think the water slide stuff I've got won't work well with the black and blue enclosures I have. 

Philtre

SteveF said:

What's the decal paper you use Phil?  I think the water slide stuff I've got won't work well with the black and blue enclosures I have. 

This stuff, Steve - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00PFW4K7C/ You can also get it in packs of 20.

SteveF

Thanks, got some ordered. Got some ET on the way too. Will give that method a go too.  

Philtre

SteveF said:

Thanks, got some ordered. Got some ET on the way too. Will give that method a go too.  

Going deeper into the rabbit hole...

SteveF

Philtre said:

SteveF said:

Thanks, got some ordered. Got some ET on the way too. Will give that method a go too.  

Going deeper into the rabbit hole...

 

SteveF

Waiting with bated breath for an update pic!  

Philtre

SteveF said:

Waiting with bated breath for an update pic!  

Me too! Waiting for the ET to harden, actually. Best to leave it at least 4 days.

SteveF

I see. I didn't realise it took as long as that.  Still waiting for mine to arrive.  It said 14-16 days on Amazon I think. 

SteveF

You planning on doing any more etched ones at any point?  I'm keen to give that a go at some stage.  I have spent a bit of time looking at graphics and have a little folder of images that would be good for pedals.  Just need to work out what effects they would suit.  Some of them I think would look amazing etched with some kind of paint in the fills.

Philtre

SteveF said:

You planning on doing any more etched ones at any point?  I'm keen to give that a go at some stage.  I have spent a bit of time looking at graphics and have a little folder of images that would be good for pedals.  Just need to work out what effects they would suit.  Some of them I think would look amazing etched with some kind of paint in the fills.

Hmmm...might do, but I think I'll wait to see how you get on with that!

Philtre

Part 16

I poured the Envirotex Lite 4 days ago on Sunday, and after about 12 hours I knew that I hadn't messed it up with the wrong proportions because it was hardening nicely (oo-er, missus!). It's best to give it a few days to fully harden (oo-er miss....oh never mind ).

Now it's time to drill out the ET from the holes.

The Finishing Tutorial by JuanSoloFX has a top tip before drilling:

"When the Envirotex has cured, before you drill, apply some Rain-X (automotive stuff used on windscreens and motorbike visors). It fills in all the pores and no 'tex dust gets in there. It remains smooth and shiny. WIN!"

I got some from Halfords. Smells very chemically so I guess it's not good for your health.




Then the first thing I do is manually drill out the 3mm hole for the LED. I know that some pedal builders leave this covered with ET, but I like the LED to poke through the hole. As I don't have a drill stand, and the chances of me hitting the exact spot while holding the drill are slim, I do this with a 2mm drill bit and use my fingers to twiddle the drill bit to make the hole, and then move on to a 3mm drill bit. Takes a while, but it's worth getting it right. If you have a drill stand you probably don't need to do this.

TOP TIP - drill and apply pressure from the face of the enclosure! If you work and push from the back/inside of the enclosure you'll put pressure on the decal and ET and it's likely to lift away leaving a nasty raised area. Push down onto the ET!





Now I use the stepper drill bit to drill out the larger holes.

Another top tip when using a stepper drill bit - the hole for the stomp switch is 12mm, which is the last step on my drill bit. This drill step is close to the chuck of the drill and there's a danger that the rotating chuck will touch the ET as you advance the drill. I did this on my last pedal, so be careful!

The drilled ET is like grated Parmesan cheese:

 


The holes are all drilled, and the Parmesan ET cleared away.

Now the hardware is collected ready to (finally!) put the pedal together:

 

UnclePsychosis

Looks great. Love that graphic. 

Philtre

UnclePsychosis said:

Looks great. Love that graphic. 

Ta!

Edit - just to be clear I found the graphic on Google Image search. Credit goes to the originator!

SteveF

Looking awesome Phil