Pedal Decoration/Painting

frankie pajamas · Post by **frankie pajamas** » 10 Mar 2009, 15:10

Alright so I just finished my ts-808 keeley clone and assembled the pedal unpainted (pcb mounted inside). I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for decorating / painting the pedal w/o having to remove the guts, as I'm somewhat afraid of damaging the pcb (mounted pretty well in there). thanks, frankie

soulsonic · Post by **soulsonic** » 12 Mar 2009, 06:12

You'll be happier if you remove the guts to paint it.
But maybe, if you did something other than painting, you could probably do it with the guts still in there.
I recommend fooling around with craft inks and stamps. You could maybe get some cool effects with inks - either brushed or stamped on. Look for solvent-based permanent inks.

Louishr · Post by **Louishr** » 15 May 2009, 05:37

I couldn't find a thread specifically about paint finishes/ cool paint tricks so I figured I'd start one. I've definitely seen some really cool looking pedals on the forum and thought it would be a good resource to gather any kind of techniques people are willing to share.

I'll start with one of my techniques for a crackly paint finish. example:

I start with a plain bare metal box and laydown a coat of flat black spray paint nice and even. Any color works it's just to help create a smooth surface and flat black is cheap. Then I spray down 3 or 4 thick coats of Valspar Crackle Top Coat (you can find it at craft stores, they also sell a bottom coat but I skip it) This stuff cracks as it drys, the thicker you put it on the bigger the cracks so maybe test it out first to get cracks the size that you want. After that drys for an hour or so i purposely chip off some paint of to age it more. I then lay down a coat of clear spray ( I use polycrylic because it's really durable but you can use any clear spray on product) just to make sure nothing more chips off. Then you can paint it whatever color you would like, I did a gold metallic finish. Your pedal will be looking pretty good but I really suggest this last step to make the cracks pop. If you don't have any buy some oil paint, like artists oil paint (I'm a professional illustrator so I have a bunch) you want to get a dark color that compliments your pedals paint color. My pedal is a golden color so I used burnt sienna mixed with a little black (basically a warm dark brown) you want to dilute this paint with mineral spirits till it looks transparent, you're making a glaze. Take this paint with a brush and cover the pedal with a thin coat of it. It should only make your pedals paint look darker not cover the original color. let this sit for 15mins, oil paint takes forever to dry, but you don't want it to completely dry just soak in a bit. Now take a paper towel and lightly wipe you pedal down. What you doing is removing all the oil paint from the raised surfaces but leaving it in the cracks, this makes the cracks darker and more defined. now add any text or logo's that you want and seal with the clear coat of your choice.

I'll keep posting new techniques if you guys like them and I would really love other people to do the same. I'm just trying to contribute to the forum any way that I can.

RnFR · Post by **RnFR** » 15 May 2009, 06:20

great technique, that looks great! and it just so happens i've got about 10 cases of that stuff in my garage right now! my girlfiend's dad's construction business is downsizing, and they are selling a bunch of stuff off and we are hanging on to it while they do. i might be able to sell some to forumites for dirt cheap. i'll ask pops next time i see him. sound interesting to anyone? i'm not sure about shipping aerosol cans though- i'll have to look into that.

meanwhile, i'm going to have to give this a try. is there any way to get a more dense amount of crackling? more/smaller cracks per sq inch? anyone tried baking?

Louishr · Post by **Louishr** » 15 May 2009, 07:23

the crack size depends on how thick you spray it on, the results you see is 4 thicks coats, the more coats the bigger the cracks, if you only did one or two coats the cracks would be small and form tighter shapes, I suggest two coats, one coat makes really small cracks. when applying coats spray it on kinda thick, wait a minute or two then spray more if you want to add more coats letting it rest a minute or so in between coats.

soulsonic · Post by **soulsonic** » 15 May 2009, 11:25

that's cool! It looks shattered!

steelplayer · Post by **steelplayer** » 16 May 2009, 16:00

Whoa...

VERY cool!!

Thanks for sharing the details on that Louishr . RnFR, if you did wind up selling off some of that, put me on the list as interested.

RnFR · Post by **RnFR** » 16 May 2009, 18:41

for sure. anybody know what the deal is with aerosol through the mail?

cpnyc23 · Post by **cpnyc23** » 16 May 2009, 19:38

I believe that the only requirements for mail transport of combustible or pressurized gases and liquids is that it be labeled as such and shipped ground transport. Pressurized canisters in the cargo bay of an airplane lead to serious problems.

-chris

Fuzzer · Post by **Fuzzer** » 17 May 2009, 01:46

Thanks for the information, it looks like Ben Grimm's pedal to me.