finishing an aluminium enclosure

[TheTransient]

I am trying to get back into building some pedals for myself and kind of want to step up my game in the finishing department. I like the look of the DBA and earlier Seppuku pedal, and since my current build will be a DBA Interstellar Overdriver clone, I wouldn't mind doing something in that vein. Now I know that DBA screen prints, which is pretty impractical for just one pedal. I am not sure how Seppuku pedals are done, are they likely to be screen printed too?

Anyways, I was thinking using stencils would be the next best thing for that style (bare enclosure showing between a sections of paint). Is there a decent way to get that style without screen printing?

I've also been looking around online about getting spray paint to stick to an aluminium enclosure, preferably without using primer as I want to have sections of bare metal showing, and basically its sand it smooth and bare, clean with water and turps, dry, paint straight away. Any tips on this?

Also, is there are partcular type of paint that will have the best results? Probably looking for a matte black and maybe a white to begin with.

[mysteriousj]

Do you have Dulux in Aus? I've used it a bunch of times and it's always worked out pretty well.

I never bothered with sanding at all I just give them a clean with turps then paint them but some enclosure are rougher than others. If you can heat the enclosure up before painting that gives a better finish, you can use a heat gun or toaster oven etc. If you do have an old toaster oven baking it in that for a few hours around 60 degrees c will give you a better finish. It's probably not so big a deal in Australia on a hot day though.

I mostly use a primer but the times I didn't I noticed they were more prone to chipping. If you're just painting on the face this isn't such a big deal it was only the corners that seemed easy to chip off.

[TheTransient]

Do you have Dulux in Aus? I've used it a bunch of times and it's always worked out pretty well.

I never bothered with sanding at all I just give them a clean with turps then paint them but some enclosure are rougher than others. If you can heat the enclosure up before painting that gives a better finish, you can use a heat gun or toaster oven etc. If you do have an old toaster oven baking it in that for a few hours around 60 degrees c will give you a better finish. It's probably not so big a deal in Australia on a hot day though.

I mostly use a primer but the times I didn't I noticed they were more prone to chipping. If you're just painting on the face this isn't such a big deal it was only the corners that seemed easy to chip off.

Good point.


Of course we have have Dulux, its like the biggest paint brand here man haha. But I cant say I have looked for Dulux spray paint. I ended up grabbing the White Knight etching primer, flat black, flat white and clear coat. I have had good results with their hammertone stuff (would have been better had I prepared the enclosures better though!), but never tried their standard range though. Should be interesting.

Hopefully I can have a crack at a spare enclosure on the weekend, gotta sort out some sort of a design to stencil first though...

[JonnyAngle]

It sounds like you should etch the image on there. Feel free to email me if you need help.

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

side question.. is it a bad idea to paint/clear coat the enclosure first then drill?

[Jero]

side question.. is it a bad idea to paint/clear coat the enclosure first then drill?

It can lead to problems...the shavings scratching the finish; if it's a crazy hand painted thing, and you miss drill...

Just be careful.

[ryan_biggamepedals]

When I first started making pedals I would print onto the back of label paper and iron on the toner to the box. I works on most paints, but you have to be careful as it could damage some powdercoats. Bare aluminum is the safest obviously, and you would need to clear coat so it doesn't rub off.

[TheTransient]

So, blue scotch tape as a basis for stencils is good and also bad. good as it sticks to enclosure nicely and is easy to remove. bad because it tears and intricate designs just dont work. plus its hard to line it all up straight. The new White Knight matte black epoxy enamel spray can i got seems to be much better than the other stuff i was using (Anchor gloss black lacquer spray). I also took the tips of wet sanding, turps and water clean, dry, then spray soon after, seems like it might have helped too.

kept it simple and ended up just doing a solid black section on the lower half of the face of the pedal. I think stencil is the way to go, just need to figure out my stencil materials/method better for next time.

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

side question.. is it a bad idea to paint/clear coat the enclosure first then drill?

It can lead to problems...the shavings scratching the finish; if it's a crazy hand painted thing, and you miss drill...

Just be careful.

thanks man, doesn't seem worth it. just gunna keep doing drill then paint.

So, blue scotch tape as a basis for stencils is good and also bad. good as it sticks to enclosure nicely and is easy to remove. bad because it tears and intricate designs just dont work. plus its hard to line it all up straight. The new White Knight matte black epoxy enamel spray can i got seems to be much better than the other stuff i was using (Anchor gloss black lacquer spray). I also took the tips of wet sanding, turps and water clean, dry, then spray soon after, seems like it might have helped too.

kept it simple and ended up just doing a solid black section on the lower half of the face of the pedal. I think stencil is the way to go, just need to figure out my stencil materials/method better for next time.

was just thinking about trying this too w/ the blue tape. wonder if u pull off the tape at a different point. maybe the paint was too wet or too dry?

look for the thicker plastic type sheets for stencil material. they sell them at michaels type places. i like them because they can take a lot of sprays and u can clean them and start fresh again. thinner sheets & cardboard can get weird. u could prob get some generic plastic sheets for cheap if u look around too

[TheTransient]

This was the end result of the Interstellar Overdriver clone. Pretty simple, but overall I am happy with it. Didn't use primer or clear coated and it seems to be fairly well on there, just see how long that lasts haha

[Chankgeez]

That looks pretty good, TheTransient, and I like that green LED too.

[whitepaws]

check out Mantic pedals' instagram. they do some pretty sick masking techniques on some of their pedals. usually more bright colors than DBA or seppuku, but super textured.