Painting things

[Ookazoo]

Hello everyone, I am a total noob when it comes to modding, but I'm looking to get better.

My question is: What are the steps one should take when painting something? When and why should you wetsand vs dry sand? What exactly does a clear coat do? Things like that.

Also, I already posted it in my other thread (see signature), but do any of you have advice on ClearNeon UV paint painted on plastic?

Thanks for your input

[jdbnsn]

Welcome to TBCS Ookazoo,

Your question is too vague. Head over to the Tips, Tricks, & Tutorials section, browse through the "airbrushing and painting" sub-forum at the top and after you have read those threads come back here with more specific questions.

[.Maleficus.]

I'm going to assume you just mean like a normal side panel or something.

1. Sand off all old paint, get down to metal.
2. Light dusting of primer. About a minute later, do another, and another one after that minute has gone. It should cover most/all of the panel now.
3. Let it completely dry.
4. Repeat step 2, then 3, then wetsand with ~400-600 grit.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until you have desired results.
6. Here's the paint part. It's really the same as primer, but you want to go slowly, and don't go crazy with the paint. Dust coats are your friend. You'll go through a lot of coats, but it's worth it to be patient. You'll want to let the paint cure for about 24 hours before you wetsand, and use higher grit (I use 1000).
7. When you're satisfied with the paint, do all that again with your clear coat. Do lots of coats if you want a really deep shine. Wetsand now with 1000-2000 grit.

That's what I do anyways.

Wetsanding - Doesn't dig into the paint like normal sanding does, the water lets it glide over the surface to only smoothen the top out. Put a few drops of dish soap in your water to let it glide even better. I don't know if it makes a difference but I use warm water.

Clear coat - Protective layer over the paint. It will take scratches before the paint does, so you won't get to bare metal right away if you drop it. Also, most clear coat adds shine, unless you get clear coat that's made to not shine.

[Redundant]

Not to "hijack" this thread or such...

but how do manufacturer's paint so nicely? They obviously don't have the time to sand it and everything...

[Computer-Geek]

umm maybe powder coating? u can do it also http://www.caswellplating.com/powder/powder_kit.html

[$loth]

Sorry to hijack, would you go through the same steps for the inside of the case aswell? What about the parts you can't get to sand down?

[Commando]

but how do manufacturer's paint so nicely? They obviously don't have the time to sand it and everything...
They use a couple of tricks. The easiest, is that they paint the parts before they are even assembled. For really complicated graphics, look closely, it's just a clear sticker with the graphics printed on it, then they clearcoat over that.


Sorry to hijack, would you go through the same steps for the inside of the case as well? What about the parts you can't get to sand down?
You don't have to primer everything. Just stuff that needs to be durable, like the outside. Some people may disagree with me, but I don't think the inside of your case should see much action.

[Bucko]

The inside of my case had no sanding or priming, just 3-4 coats of the colour. It's fine for what it's doing.

[$loth]

Commando, Bucko thanks for replying, i've put primer on the mobo tray, though it's good to know I don't for the rest of the insides. :)

[$loth]

Do you guys used laquer on the insides aswell as a colour coat?

[Bucko]

I simply grabbed a couple of can of green spray paint and went for it inside the case. No sanding, no priming, just point and shoot.