Noob with Painting Questions....

[cowboyuptx]

Hello everybody...

I'm currently painting my case... I don't have a picture of it at the moment, I cant even remember the model number to provide a stock picture... I can tell you that it's a pretty basic Antec mid-tower ATX case, it used to be painted dull black with a silver/gray plastic front, no window...

I have it sanded with 220 then 400, primered once, then sanded again with 400 then 600... I plan to give it one more coat of Rustoleum Auto Primer... I've kinda been following this link http://case-mods.linear1.org/case-mo...r-case-part-1/

But now I'm not sure if this is the way I want to go, or should go... I'd really like to be able to get a nice metal flake job that is also very reflective, but as I understand it now, metal flake wont give the mirror effect, and Lacquer is about the only way to get it to mirror... Is that correct?

For metal flake, this is the paint I'm considering (probably blue or orange) http://www.amazon.com/Dupli-Color-MS.../dp/B00099C9QU

For Lacquer base mirror finish I found this http://www.dickblick.com/products/mo...-spray-paints/

Do I sand the last coat of primer before applying my first coat of color? And does that change based on whether I go Lacquer or Metal Flake?

Which way do you think I should go from here?

[cowboyuptx]

Really, nobody has anything to offer on this topic?

Any help would be greatly appreciated...

[TLHarrell]

I prefer to do several layers of primer, with a good wet sanding between coats. Metal flake paints are very tough to get absolutely right. You want to have a flawless base, in an appropriate color. The primer/base color can really change how the final paint looks.

I usually do a very light or white base. Last case I painted like this was a neat candy green with a gold fleck over white. I had three coats of white primer, with the last one being a heavy shot that nearly ran. Three coats of the green candy went over that, leaving time between coats for the solvents to flash off. Turned out well enough to not need a clear coat.

If you want a mirror quality shine with no "orange peel" texture, you will need to do more wet sanding on the final coat of paint as well. Make sure it's had a few days to set up first. Use a small flat wood block behind your paper, use almost no pressure, and stay off the corners. If you need further tutorial, I'll try to spell it out for you later on.

Of course, your results will vary. I'd suggest getting a junk case side panel and trying out all the steps to see how they turn out before spending the time on the full case. Get to know your materials. And above all.... PREP! Painting is 90% prep work, and 10% technique. You muck up prep and you'll get kicked in the teeth every time. Get in the habit of being meticulous in your prep and cleaning work. Make sure your work area is as dust free as possible. Even better is to make a small temporary spray booth you can close up with plastic sheets. Any airborne dust will stick in your paint. No fun.

[cowboyuptx]

Thanks TLHarrell...

That sounds like good advice... I think I need to improve the cleanliness of my setup... Right now, I'm painting with my various parts hanging on bungees from the rails that my garage door rolls on, but my garage is dusty, and I haven't really done anything to limit exposure to dirt... So I'll probably deal with that first...

[SgtM]

Are you using all spray paint?

[TLHarrell]

I primarily use rattle cans, yes. I also have an airbrush for detail work, and a small air gun if I want to use car paint. Haven't had a case to use it on lately.

Either way, car paint or rattle can, it's all about prep work. With the proper prep, even the $1 per can stuff from Walmart can look fantastic. And with poor prep, a can of $100 per pint super paint can look downright awful.

[Neodymium]

Great info, one quick question though. How do you get that mirror finish? Can you lacquer right over the color you want? Is there another way to get paints that generate mirror finishes without lacquer? Thanks for the guidance.

[TLHarrell]

The smoother the paint is, the closer to a mirror finish you will get. It doesn't matter whether your final coat is color or clear. When spray painting, there will always be a slight amount of bumpiness and imperfection in the surface. The better your prep, and sanding between coats can minimize this. However, to get to that super bright mirror shine, you will need to wet sand and buff the final coat out. Use very fine grit, starting at 600 and going up. Use a small wood block with slightly rounded edges behind your sandpaper as just using it with your hand, you will sand down into imperfections, and with a block you will be hitting just the high points. Use LOTS of water to keep the sandpaper clear, use no pressure, and work in small areas at a time in a random swirly pattern. Keep off the corners or you will go right through the color. Do the corners with a small piece of paper and your hand, very slowly and carefully. Rinse the part off often and check your progress. You don't want to sand through your color coats, just take the ripples out of them. Work through 600, 800, 1000 grit papers, then start using polishing compounds. Using a car body buffer is a good way to go.

[cowboyuptx]

Great info, one quick question though. How do you get that mirror finish? Can you lacquer right over the color you want? Is there another way to get paints that generate mirror finishes without lacquer? Thanks for the guidance.

I'd be very interested to know this answer as well... I'm confused about what my options of paint are...

Do I have to use a Lacquer paint to get mirror shine? Or can I use a standard Duplicolor automotive type paint, and then put a clear lacquer over it?

It's hard to find lacquer paints in the type of colors I would want to use...

I would also like to know if any of the mod masters out there have ever used this "Duplicolor Effex Metalic Clear Coat" ??? http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...content=value4

It looks pretty like it could be cool... I'm thinking about first coating my orange chassis in this stuff, to test it... And if it works nice, maybe going with a mirror finish on my panels, and doing the final coat of clear in this stuff.... Any thoughts on that idea, anybody?

[cowboyuptx]

Are you using all spray paint?

Yes... If you were asking me, I'll be using all spray paints... I used Rustoleum for the primer... First I used a (Rusto) filler primer, sanded it with 400, then I used a regular (Rusto) auto primer, sanded it lightly 400, then 600...

Couple questions, SgtM, TLHarrell, anybody...

Is it okay to sand (400-600) the last coat of primer before applying the first color coat, as long as I didn't sand through the primer coat? Or should the final primer coat not be sanded for best results?

Also, I now realize I should have used a "Self Etching" primer... Is this that important, should I still buy a can of this and give it a third coat of primer?