On the VHT can, it states to do multiple coats initially within 1 hour and then wait 7 days until you do the next coat…
I’m there with you how it still looks “coated”. I for one know you can definitely sand it back down to the original black, i needed to sand my usb compartment back down as i had a really really bad modding accident with it.
Word to the n00bs… NEVER RUB VINYL DYE WHILE WET!!!
it melts the plastic and i realised this the hard way…
This is just plain out right correct on the dot. It’s much better to spray more light coats than heavy coats because it will end up dripping…if you don’t know what you’re doing.
If you want a glossy look (piano finish), do three light coats followed by one semi-heavy coat (closer spray than light coats), do 3 more light sprays, and then finish (or re-do the previous steps a few times to make sure) with a semi-heavy spray.
After it comes time to get the clear on (either right away next coat or wait until it cures), do the same with the clear if you want an even deeper gloss. The farther away you spray, the less gloss you get, but be careful and controlled with your spraying techinique. Start spraying OFF of the case and continue through past the END of the case to ensure propure paint exposure throughout.
EX:
------------
| case |
------------
------spray-------
This technique not only gives you more control over what you are going to spray, but also ensure that you get all of the spots after a few coats. Follow this for all of the sides you are painting. IF YOU ARE HESITANT ON PAINTING CLOSER FOR THE HEAVIER COATS, YOU CAN ALSO SPRAY FARTHER AWAY LIKE IN THE LIGHT COATS, BUT INSTEAD, SPRAY SLOWER AND ALLOW FOR MORE PAINT TO BE SPRAYED ONTO THE CASE.
I’m actually thinking of painting one of my cases, but haven’t got around to it, yet haha.
That is the curing time for if in case you may not like how your job came out or are wanting to further make our paint job more permanent, it’s best to do it AFTER your object that got painted cures.
You should be able to get what you are wanting in the first run through of coats that you do. If you get paranoid you can also re-do your paint job after the curing time to ensure that the paint hardens and is better dried out to add even more paint like i said above.
Anyone have to deal with severely stripped screws when taking off the bottom metal panel (to disassemble for painting). I have 2 screws that just wont budge for me, and whatever metal they use to make these screws is like butter!.. So far I think I’m just screwed now, but if anyone else had/solved this problem, I’d love to know how
man this thread is moving slow, it’s me again :(… well after killing myself and finally destroying a screw driver by clipping off the corners, I finally got my last problem solved.
I’m wondering now if anyone could give me some tips on using enamel clear coat in the future. I’m using it over vinyl dye right now just to get a glossy finish, but It doesn’t look like I’m gonna get the result I was after though… If I spray kind of far back like the can suggests, I get a kind of dimpled layer (looks almost matte), and if I spray close up, I get a more smooth glossy layer, but then it’s pretty easy to get runs or an uneven look.
I guess this first time will just be to learn for next time… anyone have any tips on how I can get a really smooth glossy look?
I actually replaced the aluminum screws with some stainless steel ones. It’s a trick because they are are screwing into plastic and you have to avoid overtightening them. I would not reuse the stock screws if you ever plan on taking it apart again.
I have not used top coat on vinyl dye but I think that it would be similar to normal paint. My best suggestion would be to do lots of light coats to build up to an even finish. If you really want high gloss you’ll have to sand it after you finish painting with some very fine wet sand paper and then polish it with either plastic polish or rubbing compound. Keep in mind that you can use a lower grit sandpaper to remove most of the enamel and smooth out the surface if you’re not happy with how it turns out. Just be careful to not remove your dye/plastic by being too aggressive. It will take some practice, and a high gloss finish/piano finish is actually a real bitch the first few times you do it. Good luck.
Yeah, if it’s not too high gloss on this first project, i’ll be happy as long as it’s even. I have 1000 grit wet/dry sand paper (something you suggested to me a while back), is that high enough grit, or should I get something higher? I’ll look into plastic polishing combounds as well- thanks again for the tips!
i’m currently waiting for my stick to dry so i can do one more final coat of vinyl dye white.
I re-did mine as i really didn’t like how it came out the first time around, i found painting it satin white without any form of clear coat it got quite dirty very quickly, so i stripped it all out, wet sanded (400, then 800 then 1500 grit), and re-painted/dyed it a few more coats.
I’ll do another few coats of white then let it dry and finally do some clear coats.
Fortunately for me, i’ve got another TE that i haven’t painted/dyed that i’ve been using since my this TE is currently out of action.
can someone point me towards the guide to removing TE white plastics for painting? I can’t seem to find it.
Thanks.
you have to unscrew the 6 screws holding the bottom metal plate on (not the feet), then once you take off the bottom, take out all the screws you see in the black pastic casing. Then you should be able to separate the top from the bottom (I can’t remember if you need to take the face off or not, but i so, then you need an allan wrench for that).
Once you pull the top/bottom apart, you can see/get to the screws holding the white sides on.
Thanks guys, when painting the white plastic, do I have to sand it down before spraying with Krylon? Will it work if i use a few layers of krylon fusion and clear coat it afterwards?
Yes, when using normal paint you will want to sand it gently with 600 grit to dull the surface and improve the adherence of the paint. To get really smooth shiny coats you will want to sand between each coat too. Not a ton, mind you, but enough to make everything smooth to the touch. And yes, the enamel is made to go over the paint and protect it.
that was clearly explained, thanks. One more question regarding that, did you mean wet sand or just regular dry sand paper?
(I thought wet sand gives it the shiny surface?)
well i need to know can you change the art work on an SE Arcade stick with sticky paper. what size should i get? does it give a shiny look to it? where can i buy it?
Just finished painting mine today I used The Krylon Fusion black gloss and the Krylon clearcoat and i’m satisfied with the paint i use i will post up picks of it once everything is done drying and i can put the stick back together.
how many coats of clear did you do?
Just did 2 coats of clear
Well, I pulled off a big ol’ fail on this one… Tried sanding with 600->1000->1500 and by 1500 I was already seeing the blue of the vinyl dye in the watery stuff coming off, even though I barely did it more than 10-15 seconds or so for each one (and I put on a LOT of layers of clear… probably did at least 10 coats, doing a double pass on each coat…)
The next time I tried starting with 1000->1500, but I didn’t want to get down to the vinyl dye again, so I was pretty careful… I didn’t really know where to stop or anything cuz it’s hard to tell when it’s smooth. All I could see was this hard water mildew looking effect that happens whenever i start sanding, and doesn’t go away… tried using plastic polish when I just guessed it was smooth enough, but it looks way more dull than the clear coat did itself.
soooo, I pretty much suck at this, haha. I have no idea what I’m doing… I’ll probably end up sanding everything back down to the dye, doing a couple more coats, and forget about the clear coat.
Not sure if you’ve seen this thread:
http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=191692&highlight=piano
I think most of the techniques for the clear coat will still apply, I see no reason why it would be different.