Clearcoating enclosures

Frequent question about boxes and accessories: painting, etching, clearcoating, lettering, glueing, and so on.
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sleepykitty
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Post by sleepykitty »

My sis painted my byoc chorus with acrylic paint. I heard about clearcoating the finish so as to protect it?
How do I go about with this clearcoating? What do I need?

Goggle doesnt seem to cough out any answers :roll:

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Dave Simpson
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Post by Dave Simpson »

Krylon Crystal Clear works pretty good for me. :mrgreen:

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ubersam
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Post by ubersam »

Any clear acrylic lacquer should be ok. I use Duplicolor from the local auto parts store. Don't lay on the clear too heavy all at once, you'll run the risk of getting runs which could ruin the artwork. Start with a few light coats, two or three, let it flash or dry to the touch, then a few more light coats. Let the coats build up, letting it dry to the touch between each coat, until you reach the desired thickness.

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sleepykitty
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Post by sleepykitty »

Orite thanks for the replies! :D

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Lachlan C.
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Post by Lachlan C. »

Acyrilics take that little bit longer to dry/harden than enamels in my experience. The flash (light) coats are definately the way to go. If it's sunny where you are pop the enclosure outside to dry/harden for a couple of days post the final coat of paint. Once I'm happy with the thickness of clear coat and I have left it a couple of days to harden I usually sand the enclosure lightly with 2000 grit sand paper or steel wool and then polish it out with polishing compound. The polishing compound you can get from some sort of automotive supplies store. With 5-8 Coats of Clear and this sanding method you can get the "dipped in water" shine in your finish. Make sure you use a non-yellowing acyrilic for the jobs as well - I've made the mistake a few times (A blue enclosure in about a month turned off green :shock: )

- Lach :D

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sevinisthenumber
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Post by sevinisthenumber »

i was painting some 1290's and had the black finish looking great until....
I sprayed my clearcoat on and it started cracking the finish. it looks bad.. or good to some but not what i wanted. What caused this and how can i not do it again?
"The man who says he knows everything will never know the truth"
C.S. Lewis

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Maxwell
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Post by Maxwell »

I was checking out the clearcoat at my local auto parts store, and I noticed Duplicolor makes at least two different types...one is an acrylic lacquer (I believe this is the "Truck, Van, and SUV" can), and the other is an acrylic enamel (this is the more ordinary labelled clearcoating). Any idea which would be the better choice? I'll be coating over Rustoleum paint (which I believe is enamel).

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