1st time painting

[SgtM]

I did 2 versions.. the first one I really screwed up, so I scrapped it. This one I finshed today. For some reason, the clear coat cracked the paint as well as other flaws. I think it was just because I used cheap paint. I mainly wanted to test the masking technique. Any suggestions on what kind of paint to use for the next run?

http://mscomptech.com/images/broncos.JPG

[p9l28a]

Wow that is really nice bro!

[deathstarchris]

Might have been a little heavy laying down the clear.
What did you use?
How did you apply it?

Are you in Denver?
Live near Alameda and Sheridan.
Nice logo. Did you use vinyl mask?

www.absolutextremes.com

[SgtM]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Paints/clear I used.

Blue - Krylon hobby paint
Orange - Spray Mate Enamel
Clear - Spray Mate Enamel

Yes, I think I went a little heavy on the clear.

The process I used:
Printed the Broncos logo from a file I found on the net.
Sanded the case with 600
Layed masking tape over the printout, and traced the design.
Peeled the masking tape off, then layed it on the case.
Cut out the layers using an xacto knife, and applied the colors separately. 3 coats each
I dried the color coats by using a space heater hoping that this would also help with curing a little. Again, I wasn't overly concerned with the outcome, I was mainly testing the technique.
After the colors were done, and everything was unmasked, I layed down the clear. Everything was done with rattle cans.
I think the next one I do I'll use vinyl contact paper. The masking tape seemed to want to hold on to the case so much which is why the boarders are dirty. If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them.

deathstarchris,
I'm actually in Ohio about an hour away from Cleveland. My wife has been a Broncos fan for about 20 years. She was watching the game Sunday night when I got inspired to try this.

[SgtM]

Ok.. so I did another one. This time I used a white base, and black gloss over it to make a jolly roger. I'll post a picture when I'm done with the clear. This one came out a little better than the broncos one. I had the same problem this time though. When I unmasked, I had a helluva time with the black peeling. Anyone have any suggestions on how I can perfect this? Maybe I should have put down the black and then masked off where I wanted it to be white? Maybe I put down too many coats of black?

I also tested out the wet sanding process on this one. I was only able to find 600 grit, but the black turned out ok. I finally located some 2000 grit at Autozone today. I'm going to pick some up for next time. I'd like to try out the black mirror process.

Another thing I noticed is that I cut down to the metal in a few places when I was cutting the mask. I'll just have to adjust how much pressure I'm using next time.

[markkleb]

If ur gonna use clear than my favorite would be to use Lacquer for the paint.

Enamel dries from the outside in so it takes a LONG time for the inside to finally dry (even though the outside feels dry)

Lacquer dries in a few minites (ready to sand)

Also you can put a Enamel paint over a Lacquer but if you paint Lacquer over Enamel the Enamel has to be REALLY cured (could be days or weeks) or the solvents in the Lacquer will eat the Enamel.

I wouldnt use 2000 for anything, 800 to 1500 is fine enough. But I usually usw 320-400 to sand before primer and after, than I switch to 1000-1500 (whatever I have laying around) to sand the color before Clear. And if you want to be REALLY fancy wax it with car wax after it dries a couple of days.

HomeDepot or Autozone are my favorite places for paint, usually car places have more Lacquers to choose from.

[SgtM]

Thanks markkleb. I'll start checking out Lacquer paints.

[onelegout]

Im a stencil artist - and im very active in an advice/tips forum on a stenciling website (www.stencilrevolution.com) - Infact, I beleive that Lotech uses the same site so he can vouch for me heh.

Firstly I'd say don't mix brands/finishes.
Find a shop near you which sells spraypaint made for graffiti writers/artists.
Brands include:

Belton (aka MOLOTOW)

Montana (spanish company - glossy paint, very thick and covers well but not as good for layering.)

Montana (german company - stole its name from the spanish company. with black or gold labeled cans. It's a matte finish which makes it perfect for layering as the paint dries faster and does not continue to contract after touch-drying)

Alien (Made by the spanish montana company but made for detail work and stenciling - Very low pressure, which makes it good for stenciling but again it's very glossy and thick and takes a while to dry. - awesome full colours though!)

try to avoid paints such as krylon, rusto, plasti-kote, etc. as these are watery, have cheap valves with no pressure control and give an uneven finish.

Scrap the masking tape idea. Get some clear acetate (overhead-projector transparency sheets) and use spray-adhesive to stick the design to the back of the acetate (so youre looking through the acetate at the design.
Then take an X-acto and carefuly cut the design out - compensating for bridges.
Peel off the original paper design.
Use a VERY light dusting of spray adhesive onto the back of the acetate and let it dry so that it is takky not sticky.
Then smooth it down onto the surface and dust the paint onto it from 2ft away.
The key to this is lots of thin layers.
You do NOT need to layer it thick (like you have done in your pic) - you just need enough layers for the colour to be solid.
Dust the stencil with paint so that it is almost dry when it hits the surface.

peel off the stencil and you're all done!

Masking tape bleeds VERY easily especialy with watery paint like krylon.
(around the edges of the white you have bleeding)

where you put the orange on the blue, you didnt need to leave a gap where the blue was. The orange will cover the blue completely without loosing its colour (providing that you use good paint!)

Let each colour dry before painting the next.

Clear-coat should be used in lots of VEEEEEEEEEERY thin layers - let each layer dry for 3 hours minimum before painting the next.

Good luck!
Any questions PM me.
H

[SgtM]

onelegout,

Thanks for the link. That's exactly what I was looking for in stenciling. I had thought about the acetate thing, but was worried about the adhesive messing with the base coat. I guess I could always wet sand that out. I'll try your technique next. It actually makes a lot of sense.

The gaps in the above painting are from the paint lifting when I removed the masking tape. It wasn't intentional.

BTW, that site is outstanding!

[gobygoby]

Looks nice, but I see one major flaw. You painted the wrong picture. I suggest you start over and copy this one! :)

http://www.varsityshack.com/images/indianapolis-colts-logo.jpg

[SgtM]

Here's the second one I did. White base, gloss black color coat. It's not perfect, but with the info onelegout posted earlier, the next one is going to be right on! Let me know what you all think.

The inspiration for this one is my bro's business, Pirates Cove Graphics (www.pcgtees.com)

The same thing happened with this one. Some of the black peeled because of the masking tape. Let me know what you all think of this one.

http://www.mscomptech.com/images/pcgcase.jpg

[SgtM]

Oh yeah... thanks for the help everyone!

[onelegout]

That looks a lot better but youre still getting a fair bit of bleeding!
Don't worry about the spray adhesive. just make sure you
A) Only spray a very thin mist of it into the stencil
B) Wait for it to dry so that it is only tacky NOT sticky!
C) Make absolutely sure that the paint underneath is totaly dry.
D) Do not *push* the stencil onto the surface - this sometimes causes glossy paints to bond with the acetate and adhesive and when you peel the stencil off it takes the paint underneath it with it!

Also, look for '3M Spray mount'. - This is designed to be used tacky not sticky and it is designed to make the things that it is sticking removable not permanant!

I look forward to seeing the result!
H

Edit: Oh yeah, and on that site www.stencilrevolution.com, you will find in the 'advice and tips' section of the forum, a stickied thread called 'the beginner's bible' - you might want to look through that for more tips/suggestions/advice. It's my brainchild hahah.