Varnishing Powder coated boxes

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

Hi all,

Have been using the Plasti-kote Clear Super (varnish) to finish my powder coated enclosures with water slide decals on.

After a few weeks little tiny hair line cracks appear all over and sometimes becomes quite brittle.

Has anyone had success varnishing powder coated enclosures? If so what kind of varnish are you using.

Thanks!

Mike

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Grendahl
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Post by Grendahl »

fastfrets wrote:Hi all,

Have been using the Plasti-kote Clear Super (varnish) to finish my powder coated enclosures with water slide decals on.

After a few weeks little tiny hair line cracks appear all over and sometimes becomes quite brittle.

Has anyone had success varnishing powder coated enclosures? If so what kind of varnish are you using.

Thanks!

Mike

Varnish can be applied to a painted surface, but it should be of a hard-drying, elastic type. Otherwise, it will crack when subjected to the thermal expansion/contraction that a stompbox goes through. You'll also want to make sure that the varnish will adhere to the powder coat.

Honestly though, I don't think I've heard of people using varnish over powder coat before. Most folks use a clear coat that's compatible with whatever base paint system they're using.
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Post by mictester »

fastfrets wrote:Hi all,

Have been using the Plasti-kote Clear Super (varnish) to finish my powder coated enclosures with water slide decals on.

After a few weeks little tiny hair line cracks appear all over and sometimes becomes quite brittle.

Has anyone had success varnishing powder coated enclosures? If so what kind of varnish are you using.

Thanks!

Mike

I gave up with the Plasti-kote Clear Super because I got the same results as you! Nowadays, I stencil the labels on to the paint, in more paint. If you're careful, you can get great results. I'll post a few pictures later.
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Post by MoonWatcher »

If you have access to a toaster oven (that will never be used for food again), you may want to try waterslide paper that can be baked on.

I have yet to try it myself, but it should eliminate the need for the clearcoat.

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