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

What's Hot
189111314

Comments

  • bbill335bbill335 Frets: 1368
    I was unsure whether car stuff would be right coz I had to to paint a nissan micra bumper bought unpainted... it took forever, looked rubbish (we basically gave up), it picked up EVERY thumbprint. I'll give the halford's primer a look. Thanks guys.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • AlvinAlvin Frets: 412
    bbill335 said:
    I was unsure whether car stuff would be right coz I had to to paint a nissan micra bumper bought unpainted... it took forever, looked rubbish (we basically gave up), it picked up EVERY thumbprint. I'll give the halford's primer a look. Thanks guys.
       If you want to finish your boxes quick (an afternoon) i would forget paint , clear can take forever to harden enough .
       Easiest , way for great results is in the header of this post - Envirotex , Rustins Plastic coating may also work , not tried it on enclosures though and it takes about a week to cure but it would be tougher than spray clear lacquer.

     I don't use either though ,  i just go to Poundland , buy a tube of there clear epoxy resin a pack of coloured chalk and a pack of glitter (think metallic- not fairy dust) .  
        You have to do this very quick as it hardens even quicker with the chalk in the mix .
      
        Scrape the chalk into a fine powder , mix chalk into your epoxy to give it some colour , spread on the enclosure . Sprinkle on some glitter (same colour as the chalk works well) . Let it harden give it a rub down . I then use a label maker (£20.00 ish and well worth it)  to give it a more professional look , then add another clear layer of epoxy on top to cover the labels .  You can rub down again to level it and polish off with T-Cut .  And one tube of epoxy will easily do one enclosure .
       Works on either powder coated or plain alluminium enclosures but i always colour with the chalk on plain and only cover the tops.
       I have tried painting and even swirling and both are to much trouble and not tough enough for stomp boxes if you want a finish that will last epoxy is the way .

       @juansolo 's guide at the beginning of this thread is well worth looking at .      ( i may have also mentioned all this earlier in the thread , apologies if i am repeating myself) .
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • thermionicthermionic Frets: 9498

    Last time I looked at Fuzzdog they'd stopped stocking powder coated enclosures completely with no plans of stocking them again.

    I picked up a can of clear enamel lacquer in Halfords the other day and smelt the cap - it had that acetone smell I associate with nitro. Last time I used Halfords metallic with clear lacquer it took an absolute age to harden - 2-3 months later and it was sticking to surfaces and leaving noticeable fingerprint indentations just from handling. Is there some generally available clear lacquer that doesn't do this? I don't want to go the Envirotex route.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    I found another possible way to seal the artwork decal on a pedal - http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=28100.msg272964#msg272964

    He says further down - "...inkjet clear sticker film with an extra sheet stuck over the printing for protection."

    Anyone tried this? I'm going to try a test of this soon.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Adam_MDAdam_MD Frets: 3420
    Philtre said:
    I found another possible way to seal the artwork decal on a pedal - http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=28100.msg272964#msg272964

    He says further down - "...inkjet clear sticker film with an extra sheet stuck over the printing for protection."

    Anyone tried this? I'm going to try a test of this soon.

    I’d like to see one or at least a high res image.  I’m not sure how durable this would be in the long run.  The brass faceplate will be fine (im probably going to have a go at that myself) but I’m not sure about the unprotected stickers over time.  
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    @Adam_MD I'm going to try it with a bare metal enclosure I have. Just for an experiment. I won't bother putting any pots, switches or knobs on it, then I'll put the hurts on it and kick it around it a bit, rough it up and see how it copes.  =)
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • OctafishOctafish Frets: 1937
    Philtre said:
    I found another possible way to seal the artwork decal on a pedal - http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=28100.msg272964#msg272964

    He says further down - "...inkjet clear sticker film with an extra sheet stuck over the printing for protection."

    Anyone tried this? I'm going to try a test of this soon.

    I thought about doing that, two concerns....
    • Two layers of clear vinyl might be a bit thick and look rough around the edges.
    • The clear inkjet vinyl seems to have a slightly tacky surface that picks up fingerprints even when not printed on.
    If I was to try the madbean method I would want to use the sticky vinyl film Libraries use to protect books like this
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • OctafishOctafish Frets: 1937
    Adam_MD said:
    Adam_MD said:
    Can you not buy powder coated enclosures from fuzzdog as part of the kit if you pay extra?  
    They had no stock the last times I looked.
    Ah I’ve seen them listed on the site but have only ever bought pcbs so didn’t know they’d been out of stock.  
    They've been out of stock for the last year. As great as Fuzzdog stuff is, they always seem to have stuff out of stock for a very long time. Not sure why they still list stuff they don't appear to sell anymore?
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    Octafish said:

    I thought about doing that, two concerns....
    • Two layers of clear vinyl might be a bit thick and look rough around the edges.
    • The clear inkjet vinyl seems to have a slightly tacky surface that picks up fingerprints even when not printed on.
    If I was to try the madbean method I would want to use the sticky vinyl film Libraries use to protect books like this
    Yeah, I was thinking the same. I'll still try though as proof of concept.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Adam_MDAdam_MD Frets: 3420
    Let me know how you get on.  
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • OctafishOctafish Frets: 1937
    edited July 2018
    Philtre said:
    Octafish said:

    I thought about doing that, two concerns....
    • Two layers of clear vinyl might be a bit thick and look rough around the edges.
    • The clear inkjet vinyl seems to have a slightly tacky surface that picks up fingerprints even when not printed on.
    If I was to try the madbean method I would want to use the sticky vinyl film Libraries use to protect books like this
    Yeah, I was thinking the same. I'll still try though as proof of concept.
    I've got some of that non-printable clear sticky vinyl somewhere. Will have a go with that at some point. Probably best to stick the clear protective layer over the printed layer before cutting out.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    I've done my proof of concept. :-)

    I printed out the colour label and then, as @Octafish rightly points out, stuck the clear layer over that and then cut the whole thing out and stuck it to the enclosure. It's fine and I quite like it.

    I scratched it up a bit with my fingernail and, as expected, it left marks, but not too bad. Did the same with an Envirotexed pedal and that also left marks.

    Now I'll leave it a few days and kick it around a bit and see if the edges curl up or any issues arise.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • juansolojuansolo Frets: 1773
    Philtre said:
    To start the ball rolling here's a link to a great guide on finishing a pedal by Cleggy and JuanSolo:

    http://juansolo.co.uk/stompage/finishing.html

    This is the de facto guide to finishing a pedal - so props to them!
    Cheers! Though the link no longer works as my hosting expired, it's now here:


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    juansolo said:
    Philtre said:
    To start the ball rolling here's a link to a great guide on finishing a pedal by Cleggy and JuanSolo:

    http://juansolo.co.uk/stompage/finishing.html

    This is the de facto guide to finishing a pedal - so props to them!
    Cheers! Though the link no longer works as my hosting expired, it's now here:


    Thanks! I updated the link in the original post.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    edited July 2018
    Philtre said:
    I've done my proof of concept. :-)

    I printed out the colour label and then, as @Octafish rightly points out, stuck the clear layer over that and then cut the whole thing out and stuck it to the enclosure. It's fine and I quite like it.

    I scratched it up a bit with my fingernail and, as expected, it left marks, but not too bad. Did the same with an Envirotexed pedal and that also left marks.

    Now I'll leave it a few days and kick it around a bit and see if the edges curl up or any issues arise.
    I used this transparent sticker film as the top layer because that's all I have right now - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0725Z8CVB/

    Then I did an experiment - I ran the whole lot under the hot tap. Then a gooey layer of the transparent film started to come off in small lumps. After a bit of rinsing and a final rub down with meths it came up really shiny and smooth. And the fingernail grooves I put in (deliberately) disappeared. It looks great! My next pedal will be done this way...


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    Further to my experiment of transparent sticker over inkjet sticker, here's one I put together today. It's a Zendrive clone, I've tried to show where the transfer meets the edge of the enclosure. I'm happy with this approach.

    I'm going to miss the smell of Envirotex... ;)


    dune1



     dune2
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • SteveFSteveF Frets: 536
    Angon, I go away for 5 minutes and you're off the 'Tex??? Outrageous! :lol: 

    It looks good, although it doesn't seem (certainly in the photo at any rate) to have quite the same sheen as the ET pedals.  I can appreciate it must be miles quicker and easier though. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    It's shiny enough for me. And the beauty is it's easy enough to peel it off and put on another one if you change your mind. =)
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • SteveFSteveF Frets: 536
    That is very true. Have you given it a good kicking yet? :) 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    SteveF said:
    That is very true. Have you given it a good kicking yet? :) 
    Oh yes, I duffed it up real good. B)
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.