By tape do you mean the T-Molding?
do spraypaint and mdf go well together??? I have a feeling it won’t… I wanna make my casing black.
but in the case that they arent very compatible, can some1 recommend me a primer?? hopefully from these search results:
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productList&No=24&Ntt=primer&Ntk=i_products&N=0
that way it would be easier for me to find at the store. Also something I can afford too. and I am pretty sure I will need it to be sandable.
haha, I bet I could jus ask these questions at the store, but I like your guys’ help better
thanx~!!
Stupid question here…i have a Mas stick and a hori stick…Can anybody mod it for me by add pictures and a different box to it!!! if you can Pm ne or jus let me know how much its gonna cost
This post addresses post-filling concerns. Don’t try any of this stuff without first filling gaps, holes, and big scratches.
WEAR A DUST MASK WHEN SANDING MDF
Yes, you can spray paint MDF. Yes, you should prime it. Also, AFAIK, all primers are sandable.
To get a smooth finish on the unhardened areas, sand them flat first. No need to go super smooth, 200 grit is more than fine enough. I would suggest applying white or yellow glue, thinned to about 25% of its original concentration (i.e. 1 part glue to 3 parts water) before priming. You can use a brush or whatever. Once it dries, sand it flat until about 150 grit, re-applying if you go through to bare MDF, and then priming. This keeps the fuzzy edges from soaking up too much primer.
Instead of thinned glue, you can also use unwaxed shellac or wood hardener (the latter may be a little difficult to find).
Before you prime, you should sand lightly (120 to 150 grit) to clean any crap off the MDF and to scuff it a little for the primer. Remove the dust with a clean brush and tack cloth or liberal applications of box tape. No need to sand the sealed edges since they’re clean. Remember, your love will show in the final product.
You will want to use a solvent-based primer (after sealing the fuzzy areas) for MDF because it can soak up water from water-based primer, and “rise”. Oil- or alcohol-based primers are fine. However, once the MDF is fully sealed by the solvent-based primer (AFTER you finish sanding the layers), you can move to water-based primer.
A lot of people like this stuff: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=45664-90-1008&lpage=none
But it’s more expensive per unit volume than this stuff: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=124953-807-10042&lpage=none
Here’s what you do once you seal the fuzzy edges:
IF AT ANY TIME YOU SAND THROUGH TO BARE MDF, go to step 1)
- [Initial prep only] Scuff with 120-150 grit
- Remove dust with brush and tack cloth/box tape
- Prime, and then wait until dry or “sandable”, according to primer container label
- Sand in one direction, in straight lines, and with uniform coverage (e.g. left to right, or front to back)
- If the primer is perfectly flat, then move to a higher grit and sand in the perpendicular direction until the scratches formed by the previous grit disappear
- Finish your last pass of sanding with 320 or 400. Clean off as usual.
- Ready to paint.
To reduce the number of layers necessary, apply the primer as thick as you can WITHOUT causing it to run. If it runs, redistribute the wet primer. If it dries like that, have fun sanding it out.
When working on flat surfaces (like now), always use a hard sanding block. Otherwise, if you try sanding by hand, the end result won’t be flat.
Coarser grits will make the flattening faster, but you’re also taking off more material. The smaller the steps in grit, the faster, but you also spend more money on the in-between grits. Then again, the fine sandpaper might clog because of excessive material removal. Who knows?
Misc. notes:
- if at any time you expose primer or paint to air, let there be good ventilation. Passing out sucks, and probably isn’t good for your health.
- don’t use brushes with natural bristles for water-based paints/primers
- cheap paint can really ruin your day
- stir the primer and paint before you use it. You can usually find free stir sticks around the paint section.
- wear a clean hat to keep your hair from falling onto wet primer/paint. This will piss the shit out of you.
- wear crap clothes when painting. Always. No matter how careful you are, you will always get paint on you.
- Brush info
- Properly loading a paint brush
- brush in straight lines. Come on, let’s not be stupid.
- never force primer/paint out of a dry brush. Reload the brush when it starts to get dry or drag. If you don’t, you’ll get brush marks. I load my brush so that when I paint, I can get a fairly thick layer without too much effort. The thicker the layer (within reason) the better it’ll even out against brush marks.
- PROTIP: build a paint booth with a box fan and HEPA filter with a 2x4 frame and plastic film. Orient the filter so that the box fan sucks through it and blows into the booth. The plastic film creates the “walls” - tape the edges together to seal out the air. What you want is positive pressure inside the booth, so that the (cleaned) air inside the booth flows outside, thus preventing any dust from coming in and contaminating the work surface(s).
- Spray painting
- never ever try to sand paint that hasn’t fully dried/cured
- Cleaning paint brushes - you really want to keep the bristles straight, and I wouldn’t use masking tape on the bristles for fear of adhesive residue.
- never soak a wooden handle in water.
This post really ballooned…
got damn green dat’ a really hardcore post~!! thanks!!
but I’ll make sure to only follow 1/2 of your advice, that way I can learn the other half on my own.
coz I mean, using a diluted glue solution to prime the primer??? yo… that’s madness!!!
or is it???
I guess we’ll hafta find out then.
btw, so I bought the B-I-N shellac spray stuff, and I suppose the stuff is white (I havent tested it out yet). I want to redo my previous box to de-uglify it, but after priming would I still need to paint it???
becoz I painted the box white, but the primer is white too. Is it cool to just leave the box straight primer??
thanks again!!
yoyo I have a question about modding the mirror top on the HRAP1 to have a custom image.
My idea is to print my image on quality paper at kinkos and have it big enough to fit into the top
Then buy two pieces of plexan glass and have Home Depot or something cut out the button holes then slap them like a sandwich and screw it in.
Does this seem like a sound idea? any advice is greatly appreciated.
I dont think home depot cuts plastic, but lowes does, however the size variety of lexan at lowes (as far as I kno, and I’ve been to 2 of them) isnt very good at all. You may end up spending A LOT for a big azz sheet.
aside from that, I donno if they will cut your holes either. You will need a spade drill bit and a drill for that.
Hmm I see, but what about the image itself? Will that kinkos idea work?
Yeah, Kinkos is good. But I don’t really know why you’d want to sandwich art in between two sheets of lexan. I have two sheets of lexan on my stick right now, but only so that the top is totally transparent, nothing in between the sheets. It’s cool, and it holds up fine, but it’s potentially less strong than a combination of metal (say aluminum) and lexan on top of that. Aluminum is cheaper and stronger, so, that would be my recommendation if you’re planning on putting art in the middle.
Should’ve mentioned that you need less paint if the primer is the same-ish color.
so yesterday I bought the primer. Coincidentally, earlier in the day my mother buys a bucket of paint for the bathroom. It’s a kinda green color. Just like dat dude who helped me, Green!!
anyway I decided to practice priming / painting today becoz of the coincidental situation. I used the box I assembled over the weekend and came out with this:
http://img45.imagevenue.com/loc456/th_19594_DSC00364_122_456lo.JPG
after I primed it, before I painted it, and while I was sanding it with 220, I could feel it getting much smoother~!! The paint job is rather nice too! That is, for an amateur painter. Most of my errors / imperfections have to do with the box assembly and its sand job prior to priming.
I was plannin on using this box for a different stick, but now I gotta push that stick back for the 2nd time coz it doesnt go with green, I already made a new photoshop that’s gonna go on here~!! All I need now are the stick & buttons…
A table saw would really help those cuts. Looks good, though.
I’d like to make my own custom stick, but stay away from fabricating the case if possible. I would have liked to just mod one of the RedOctane sticks, but sadly I’m a little late in the game and they’re not being sold anymore and I can’t seem to find one.
Does anyone know of a decent stick for modding that’s in the price range of what those RedOctane sticks were going for?
ah! I gotta readdress my question
becoz,
since no one gave me advice, I got a small sheet of ‘birch plywood’ at Home Depot (I couldnt get poplar again coz they didnt sell it in a good size, plus the birch plywood is cheaper AND gets u a good sized sheet)
the stuff cuts real easy, but it splinters like a motha sucka! It’s not really an issue when u sand the edges to make them fit in your box, but when I drilled my button holes earlier today this happened:
http://img152.imagevenue.com/loc341/th_02396_DSC00365_122_341lo.JPG
it’s still not really a big issue, since the stick will work jus fine, but I’m sure a lot of you better builders out there would be a bit concerned. Plus it doesnt look like I’ll have an easy time countersinking screws into that…
in regards to a thinner wood material tho, the store also had ‘hardwood’ and ‘peg board’ if I can remember correctly, are those any good / better?? I dont think the peg board would be since it’s full of small holes…
also I’d like to say 5 Quadrille graphing paper is an EXCELLENT tool for measuring where to drill your button holes (at least for american style sticks). Pin point one spot on the sheet, your next hole is 6 squares away!! The layout comes out quite perfect!
Either the SFAC stick, or the T5 stick if you can find it. Both are easy mods to do and can be bought for “cheap.”
If you’re going to cover the wood in some way, fir/spruce/pine plywood will do fine. It’s ubiquitous as well, so I’m not sure why your store doesn’t have any (seems like that’s what you’re saying).
I think I did see the pine plywood, but not in the pre-cut aisle.
I didnt even see the pre-cut aisle before the last time I was there either!!! I wish I had so I wouldnt have to be the owner or eight 12’’ x 48’’ planks of mdf -_-
anyway, so yeay I didnt wanna spend another $20+ for the 96x48 sheet. Spending $6, even if it’s a wasted $6, seems much more better. Regardless I’ma definitely double check next time I’m there
Why don’t you just use MDF for the top?
Thanks. I had taken a look at the SFAC stick, but it’s the American layout and I was looking for Japanese. I probably should have mentioned that in my other post.
The Tekken 5 stick looks cool, but the couple of place I saw are at least $75. Thanks for the help though, I guess I’ll keep looking.
becoz it seems to thick, mdf is 3/4’’ plus lexan means I may mount the stick too deep. Plus, the stick may extend past the bottom of the box.
If I had a router tho, that would be a very different story. But I got absolutely no reason or desire to buy one, same with a table saw.
maybe when I find myself in the demographic that father’s day marketing targets I’ll reconsider. Either that or when I’m really really rich 