The Pedal Finishing Thread - Painting, Coating, Drilling, Envirotex, etc

What's Hot
PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
edited April 2018 in Making & Modding
As I mentioned in another thread the main part of building your own pedal is working on the enclosure. This involves drilling, painting, spraying, devising artwork, decals, clear coating and so on. Much of what I have discovered can be found in this thread and in threads by @SteveF (here) and @Adam_MD.

So I thought it might be good to collect tips, tricks and experience in one thread. This one...

0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
«13456714

Comments

  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    edited July 2018
    To start the ball rolling here's a link to a great guide on finishing a pedal by Cleggy and JuanSolo:

    http://juansolo.mooo.com/stompage/finishing.html

    This is the de facto guide to finishing a pedal - so props to them!
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    edited April 2018
    A few weeks ago I built a Fuzz Factory pedal and thought that it might look cool if I hand painted a bare enclosure with Posca pens and sprayed it with Rustoleum gloss clear coat.

    Wrong. It didn't look cool and any Rustoleum product is crap (their paint is like treacle, and their clear coat disintegrates). It would have looked better if I had poured a bucket of cold sick over it:

    before

    So, this week I disassembled the pedal, sanded it down and re-did the finish with a printed sticky decal and covered it with Envirotex Lite. It's an improvement I think:

    after

    1reaction image LOL 1reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BigMonkaBigMonka Frets: 1763
    The new Fuzz Factory looks good @Philtre ;
    Any chance you could get some close up photos on what the edges look like where the envirotex finishes please? I assume the ET only covers the top and doesn't cover all sides?
    Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman, in which case always be Batman.
    My boss told me "dress for the job you want, not the job you have"... now I'm sat in a disciplinary meeting dressed as Batman.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    BigMonka said:
    The new Fuzz Factory looks good @Philtre ;
    Any chance you could get some close up photos on what the edges look like where the envirotex finishes please? I assume the ET only covers the top and doesn't cover all sides?
    Thanks. I'll see what I can do with my phone camera. But if you click on the photo above and zoom in you can see that the ET only goes as far as the edges of the top of the enclosure. When the ET is poured I very carefully coax the ET to the edges with a spatula. So far I haven't had it run over the edge and down the sides. But if that were to happen, a cloth with meths would fix it.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Adam_MDAdam_MD Frets: 3420
    Is this any good?




    0reaction image LOL 1reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BigMonkaBigMonka Frets: 1763
    Cheers @Adam_MD and @Philtre - it looks like it's forms a nice rounded edge so can't chip or peel off at that point. Very nice.


    Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman, in which case always be Batman.
    My boss told me "dress for the job you want, not the job you have"... now I'm sat in a disciplinary meeting dressed as Batman.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    @Adam_MD How do get the ET to the edges? Do you coax it with a stick?
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Adam_MDAdam_MD Frets: 3420
    BigMonka said:
    Cheers @Adam_MD and @Philtre - it looks like it's forms a nice rounded edge so can't chip or peel off at that point. Very nice.


    If you use a piece of kitchen towel with methylated spirits on it to tidy up the edge with your finger you’ll get a nice rounded edge like that.  
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Adam_MDAdam_MD Frets: 3420

    Philtre said:
    @Adam_MD How do get the ET to the edges? Do you coax it with a stick?
    Yes I pour it in the middle then spread to the edges with these you get a pack of 100 for £2

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ASAOJR2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • NPPNPP Frets: 236
    Philtre said:
    A few weeks ago I built a Fuzz Factory pedal and thought that it might look cool if I hand painted a bare enclosure with Posca pens and sprayed it with Rustoleum gloss clear coat.

    Wrong. It didn't look cool and any Rustoleum product is crap (their paint is like treacle, and their clear coat disintegrates). It would have looked better if I had poured a bucket of cold sick over it:

    before

    So, this week I disassembled the pedal, sanded it down and re-did the finish with a printed sticky decal and covered it with Envirotex Lite. It's an improvement I think:

    after

    so reliced pedals are not a thing then?

    3reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    NPP said:

    so reliced pedals are not a thing then?
    Damn! Missed my chance now! :-)
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • SteveFSteveF Frets: 536
    New finish looks great Phil.  My ET has arrived, so when I get a chance (I'm back to work after some leave, so I won't be quite as prolific now!) I'll have a crack at that for the Eternity.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    @SteveF good to hear about the ET arriving. How long did it take to arrive?
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • SteveFSteveF Frets: 536
    10 days.  Seems quite a small box - hopefully it will last for a few pedals. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Adam_MDAdam_MD Frets: 3420
    What size did you buy? 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • SteveFSteveF Frets: 536
    16 oz.  I think it was the only size in stock when I looked. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Adam_MDAdam_MD Frets: 3420
    That will do loads of pedals if you’re careful with how much you mix. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    Adam_MD said:
    That will do loads of pedals if you’re careful with how much you mix. 
    Unlike me...my first mix could have done 5 pedals. :o
    1reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • SporkySporky Frets: 27586
    NPP said:

    so reliced pedals are not a thing then?
    They were in my day.

    http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/ABominiser.jpg
    "[Sporky] brings a certain vibe and dignity to the forum."
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Adam_MDAdam_MD Frets: 3420
    Sporky said:
    NPP said:

    so reliced pedals are not a thing then?
    They were in my day.

    http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/pictures/ABominiser.jpg
    Is that a yellow to dark purple/black fade in the paintwork? It looks really cool.  What circuit is it?
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.