Duplicolour Metalcast

[JoJo T. Magnifficent]

hey, finally got some time of uni (cause its finaly the midyear break) and ive been thinking of getting round to painting up that saga PRS copy i got off universaljems a while ago (id like to thank brian again for the awesome service). I was looking at using some red duplicolour metalcast pain to get a nice translucent finish to show off the flame maple vaneer and then clearcoat over it, but my freind, whose being using the metalcast paint alot to detail his engine bay lately tells me that it wont work unless i use primer and some groundcoat stuff aswell (which is a matt grey) and that kinda defies the point of using the translucent paint in the first place.

what im basically asking is can I just use the metalcast spraycans straight onto the sealer that saga put on the kitset and then clearcoat over that, and if not are there any other ways i can achieve what i want for little cost? cheers in advance for any help.

[ryanb]

I don't see any reason why not -- assuming the Metalcast is compatible with the sealer and top coats. You need the gray base coat if you want it to have the anodized metal look it was designed for. But it sounds like you are looking for a transparent candy finish. Test it out on some scrap. If you are happy with the result, then go ahead.

[JoJo T. Magnifficent]

I don't see any reason why not -- assuming the Metalcast is compatible with the sealer and top coats. You need the gray base coat if you want it to have the anodized metal look it was designed for. But it sounds like you are looking for a transparent candy finish. Test it out on some scrap. If you are happy with the result, then go ahead.

cheers for the reply,

unfortunately the only scrap to test on is the kitset guitar itself (jk, its a decent guitar for what i payed for it, the only real thing that isnt up to standard for a factory guitar is the fretjob, frets were of a few different hieghts and there was lots of adheasive that had spilled over the fretslots when the frets were pushed in. a little filing and sanding fixed this up pretty well though, and it plays surprisingly well.)

weather the metalcast will stick to the sealer that comes with the saga kits is the main thing im lookin for if anyone knows. my freind seems to think not because it didnt stick properly to the pulley he tried painting without the groundcoat, but i reckon thats cause its straight metal.

I vaguely remember someone doing one of these saga kits in translucent blue and im not sure but i think they used metalcast to do it, but searching the forums didnt yeild much, so if anyone remembers who it was or atleast if they did use metalcast, that would be much apreciated.

[Mr Alex]

I know nothing about metalcast, but my brother knows his paints better than anyone, and alot of his knowledge has rubbed off on to me in recent months.

In my experience, shellac sticks to nearly everything, and nearly everything sticks to shellac.(what marvelous little bugs!)

Most products I've used call for an industrial epoxy basecoat, if you use it, you'll have no trouble, it's rather expensive though, and I doubt necessary with metalcast. The fact metalcast comes in aerosols tells me it's nothing too fancy. This is New Zealand after all

Basically, use what the can says to use, because in the long run, the finish won't always last too long otherwise.

Now, if it were me finishing this guitar, and I wanted a translucent red, I'd tint shellac with universal tinter(ask your local paint store for some) when you have a satisfactory colour, I'd use cabbot's CFP, it brushes well, is rock hard(designed for floors) and takes 3 days to harden. I think you can get a 1litre can for about $25NZ at most hardware stores, a 4 litre has done my work benches(which are huge btw), a guitar, and several other things, and I've probably still got 3.5 litres left. Don't bother with the optional hardening additive if you get some, the stuff straight from the can is plenty hard enough for a guitar. The last guitar I built had about 5-6 coats of CFP over tinted shellac, and that came out awesome, not factory standards, but I didn't buff it. just levelled between coats.

Edit: Had a quick read up on that metalcast stuff, without the right primer, you'd be wasting your time, it would probably bubble after a few weeks.

Edited June 30, 2006 by Mr Alex

[JoJo T. Magnifficent]

cheers for that, ill have a look into it. I might try givin my mate tracy a call, he has contacts for getin all the industrial grade stuff, so he might be able to get something to suit my purpouses.

I may just end up going for the anodised look using the basecoat, cause I plan on just flogging it off on trademe once im done for just enough to recoup my losses, i got it for the building practice (ive had completely rewire the control harness which fell to bits aswell :S). i guess if i do put in a couple of plain stripes itll still show some of the flame maple

[badsnap]

If you are trying to get a metal looking finish, why do you want some flame showing??? The two seem mutually exclusive! Who knows, perhaps you would come up with a cool new finish, but maybe I'll explore that...seems interesting. However, if you are trying to gain experience and are going to sell the guitar, I would accent the flame with a tinited clear and/or stain and save the Metalcast for a future project. Perhaps you want to use the Metalcast because it's free?? Whichever way you go, post some pics so we can all learn with you!!...Rog

[Mr Alex]

I could hook you up with some mistinted 2 pack isocyanate free industrial poly. But the chances of getting a colour you want is very slim, and the dangerous goods courier would cost an arm and a leg.

But seriously, go to a dulux trade store, and see if they have any mistinted acrathane. The only colours people seem to get it in is grey and umm, black-grey. So the chances of getting some red is pretty slim, but could be worth the inquiry.

I think the CFP is probably one of the cheapest, fastest and easiest ways to go, bar, spraying 2 dollar aerosols with no durability.

[AlGeeEater]

That's probaly me you're talking about Yes, you can just spray the Metalcast over the sealer. You may want to sand the sealer a bit flat though with 400 grit wet paper. Don't do too many coats of the Metalcast stuff, it darkerns after a while, so do thin coats until you get nice even coverage. I did some heavy coats, along with too many and it completely washed out the flame. I suspect this has more to do with the veneer not being the highest grade of flame and not being able to spray directly over the veneer.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/AlG...er/DSC00422.jpg

(I think that was the first painjob I ever did actually. Now that I look at it, it looks horrible! :DB)

Good luck,

Chris

Edited June 30, 2006 by AlGeeEater

[ihocky2]

If you are going for translucent and don't have your heart set on Metalcast, check out the House of Color Shimmerins line sold through Plastikote. You could skip the silve or pearl base and just use the tranlucent candy coat. I have found this sold at some Walmarts, but not all. It seems anywhere that sells Plastikote instead of Duplicolor will carry it.

[JoJo T. Magnifficent]

That's probaly me you're talking about

Haha! it was you! thanks for the reply

when you say a few light coats, would a can or less be sufficient for the whole guitar? also do you know of any "alergies" to certain clearcoats metalcast has? im a n00b when it comes to painting

thanks again for the info, much apreciated.