Painting the Fightstick (With Krylon or Vinyl Dye)

Tech Talk
521

Seems Like Duplicolor is the paint of choice for people to use…my one question is though I have the round 2 ps3 TE that is all black I want to paint it blue(maybe?) do I still have to take some primer to the parts I want to paint or will just Duplicolor alone be enough?

522

Um, it depends. If you paint it, rough it up a bit with some sandpaper and then use a primer. If you dye it, you need to clean the hell out of it, more so than if you just paint. If you’re looking to paint, Duplicolor or Krylon will be fine, but you’ll need to clear coat it with a polyurethane or a clear enamel. If you’re going to dye, then order VHT from Amazon or get some Plastikote.

523

go with dye if you’re going blue so much better and easier than paint

524

I picked up some gloss black Plastikote and did a small test patch on the bottom of one of the white side pieces of my stick. It went on super thick so the finish is slightly bumpy, like a very subtle texture. It’s from the paint coming out in “beads” and not a fine spray. Any suggestions to avoid this? I shook the can for a good 5 minutes. I did two coats, 10 minutes apart.
After letting it dry for 12 hours, I took an xacto knife and scraped at it a bit, and easily found the white underneath (I thought it was supposed to dye it?). But I did use the blunt end of the metal handle and pounded on it to see how chip resistant it is. No mark at all, it was rock solid.

525

What exactly is on the label for the can? Was it this stuff? http://www.plastikote.com/products/Specialty/Vinyl-Paint.html If so, then maybe they really have replaced their “vinyl color” with paint rather than dye, just like Duplicolor. If this is the case, it looks like VHT is the only true vinyl dye left.

Oh right, also, turn the can upside down and spray so the air pushes any paint stuck in the nozzle out before you store it. It’s possible it was sprayed and then not pushed out, which would create the whole uneven spray problem you’re experiencing. If you bought it new and it does that, take it back explaining the problem and exchanging for the same stuff.

526

Yeah, same stuff.

Yeah, I bought it new. I did some other test patches on various types of plastic with the same result. I ordered a can of VHT online and I’ll wait to test that out before I go ahead and spray my actual TE parts.

527

I do reallly like most of the vht and Plastikote colors but I will say I’m not fond of the gloss black from Plastikote and it suck that the gloss is the only one sold locally I’m not sure about the gloss colors from VHT but I know the Satin colors are great gloss black just does not seem to come out good on plastic.

528

Ouch, so chalk another vinyl “dye” up as biting the dust. VHT from here on out, guys, Plastikote went and got cheap on us. :frowning: This is explaining a lot of Donkey’s problems in the other painting your TE thread.

Just a note, Plastikote is claiming this shit fuses to the vinyl, which sounds a lot like Krylon Fusion’s claims. Might as well save your money at this point and save a few bucks from buying glorified K. Fusion.

529

I don’t know i have had always had great results with the white from plastikote old and new can design
I used the blue was the same shade as donkey and it turned out freakin great but it was the old can design real old design looks like from the 80’s I would take a picture but my camera had to be serviced
I have been getting in the habit of heatin my paint/dye with heat gun it helps with mixing its a tip I picked up along time ago I love my $10 heat gun I use it more than i ever thought
just stay away from the plastikote black gloss for sure I really don’t trust any gloss in dye at least when using it on plastic

530

Dyes shouldn’t add any luster. I wouldn’t trust them either. A dye should seep in and only color the plastic, not add a sheen of luster that originally wasn’t there.

531

Hah. I ordered the VHT gloss black (I want it glossy damn it). We’ll see how it turns out.

532

I know the satin/matte vht is great I have used it even on buttons

yeah I know it sounds counter productive but its prolly better to use matte black dye then just use a gloss paint so if it does get scratched from normal use you just have a tiny bit of gloss come off

533

Actually, you can use the matte black, and then buff and shine the plastic by hand to a gloss. I’ve done it to ABS plastics and clear Nylon as well.

534

I went to my local auto-zone to go pick up some white duplicolor vinyl and fabric http://www.duplicolor.com/prosducts/vinylFabricCoating/ to spray the bottom and top part of the case of my TE stick. All they had was Duplicolor perfect match http://www.duplicolor.com/products/perfectMatch/ so I went with the rustloleum white fabric and vinyl http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=370. I sprayed it and the turnout was pretty good. My only complaint is that it has the tiny rough feel from spraying it. I’m trying to aim(or atleast somewhere near) for that smooth feel from before I sprayed it. My question is if I need to sand it down and if so what kind of sanding paper should I use? I’m new to the whole new spraying thing.

Also, after looking at a few of the previous post, I’m assuming that VHT is the best way to go for spraying. I’m not sure if I saw some, but I think i saw that they had VHT vinyl dye. Say I buy some. Would it be ok to spray over the rustoleum white coat with white VHT vinyl dye? I would need to sand it down before applying it right?

Here’s what my stick looks like so far. (Don’t mind the poor cutting job. It was just a temporary thing till my art comes in.)

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i155/DatDamAnimeJunkie/DSCN4743.jpg

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i155/DatDamAnimeJunkie/DSCN4744.jpg

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i155/DatDamAnimeJunkie/DSCN4746.jpg

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i155/DatDamAnimeJunkie/DSCN4750.jpg

535

If you need to sand some paint make sure you get some wool and brush over those hard areas to get a smooth surface, rthats what I had to do…

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536

I had some rustoleuom and that shit started peeling off when I sanded it so I just sanded the whole thing, bought some duplicolor and repainted it and it came out fantastic

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537

Rustoleum isn’t a real vinyl dye, so I don’t recommend sanding it. You’ll just end up sanding through the paint. Clear coat it with a glossy enamel paint or a polyurethane, and buff to a mirror finish.

538

I realized I F’d up when I saw this thread. I asked a friend who used to work at an auto shop about a good paint to use and he pointed me in the rustoleum direction.
So anyways, 3 questions.

  1. What brand of enamel paint or polyurethane would you recommend?
  2. When you say buff, what does that involve? Like the process?
  3. Mirror finish as in being able to see things off it?

I very much appreciate the help you guys provide to new ones like myself.

539

I also used rubbing alcohol to take the paint off, it was a pain in the ass though

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540

This link has a lot of good step by steps, but for doing plastic, you’ll have to do a few things different

I’ll copy and paste this from the other TE painting thread:

For a clear coat, I used Minwax polyurethane or you could use a Duplicolor clear enamel spray. Either should work fine for the stick.