S-Doggy Posted May 24, 2021 Report Share Posted May 24, 2021 Just finished applying (sprinkle technique) fine silver metal flake and sealing the flake with 2K. Flake is very secure now but does have somewhat of a raised texture. I would rather not sand sand the texture away per se, but would like to get a thicker gloss finish that is wet sand-able and buff-able. What gloss product is suggested? Would rather not do 40 layers of thin aerosol. I do not have a paint sprayer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted May 25, 2021 Report Share Posted May 25, 2021 Our local car paint vendor sells a 2k designed just for that. It basically requires a paint sprayer but since you already have secured the flakes I guess you could use a paint brush as well. However, that stuff requires professional level facilities regarding ventilation and personal protection so it's not something you'd do on your kitchen table or garage! They sold me that stuff only since I could tell that there's a painting room with a wall size vacuum. There's other, potentially less poisonous 2k clearcoats available for households, maybe one of those. Apart from the fumes the biggest issue with brushing is to get a thick enough layer to be sanded level. Instead of a brush, a mohair roller might give a better result. Spray Max makes 2k rattle cans. I got one from that same place. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted May 25, 2021 Report Share Posted May 25, 2021 here's what I know about sparkle... I did a sparkle green finish a few years back - all from rattle cans. I painted the body green, then put it in a plastic tub. I dusted it with gloss poly and used a metal shaker to shake out metal flake onto the wet gloss. the metal flake I used was actually green, and it was pretty decent sized flake (too big for most spray guns). it took about 7 million cans of clear to cover it. I found early on that you need to put the gloss on VERY thick... thick enough to bury the metal flake and not burn through when wet sanding. if you do... you'll sand the green off the metal flake and end up with little silver spots. I learned this the hard way... because when you clear and you think you have enough - you don't. your finish is going to be VERY lumpy due to the metal flakes stacked on top of each other. when I finished it... was about the thickest finish I've ever done and wet sanding it nearly destroyed my elbows! still hurts thinking about it... that said... it turned out beautiful. I might have some pics at home - would have to look but either way a quick google search will show lots of tutorials on how to do it this way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Doggy Posted May 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2021 Good stuff, thanks. I did use Spray Max 2k over the flake to seal it and it is now really solid...which is good as I have a very secure flake surface. It's all silver (silver base and silver flake) so color loss to some gentle wet sanding will be low risk. What I need is simple very thick applications of clear gloss that I can re-apply many times. The mohair roller vs a brush is a cool thought. Maybe I'll brush first just to fill indentations from flake to flake then...use the mohair roller to get a smoother but thick application,. What I'm struggling with is what gloss product to use. Stew Mac makes a water based liquid clear gloss in a can/tub that I could roll on...any thoughts on that? Thanks guys I really appreciate the thinking!!! BTW no paint room or large air vac in my small workshop...alas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted May 25, 2021 Report Share Posted May 25, 2021 1 hour ago, S-Doggy said: Good stuff, thanks. I did use Spray Max 2k over the flake to seal it and it is now really solid...which is good as I have a very secure flake surface. It's all silver (silver base and silver flake) so color loss to some gentle wet sanding will be low risk. What I need is simple very thick applications of clear gloss that I can re-apply many times. The mohair roller vs a brush is a cool thought. Maybe I'll brush first just to fill indentations from flake to flake then...use the mohair roller to get a smoother but thick application,. What I'm struggling with is what gloss product to use. Stew Mac makes a water based liquid clear gloss in a can/tub that I could roll on...any thoughts on that? Thanks guys I really appreciate the thinking!!! BTW no paint room or large air vac in my small workshop...alas. if I had to do again... I would consider using clear grain filler. it sands much easier and in theory you could just lather it on and then sand it smooth. I'm not 100% sure this wouldn't leave a visible distinction between the filler and clear coats... but it'd be worth a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted May 25, 2021 Report Share Posted May 25, 2021 Post deleted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted May 26, 2021 Report Share Posted May 26, 2021 I was thinking about a clear grain filler as well. I've never used one, though, so I don't know how clear it actually is. Some testing would be required to see if it works as promised. The automotive lacquer I bought was suggested for its clarity, it really is clear unlike many others. The clearcoat I put on my floor was purple and the one I applied to my door was brown like tea, Both dried "clear", darkening and deepening the pine. But even the faintest hue may affect the underlaying colour. The other floor lacquer which was used by a pro was "clear" as well but it was milky due to the UV protection. Agreed, after 26 years the wood is still much lighter than the floor I laid down ten years ago, but it also looks less "alive". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn.LaSanche Posted December 16, 2021 Report Share Posted December 16, 2021 Just curious but did you guys set the flake after applying it? Almost everyone I’ve seen apply flake the step after is to lay the flake down with air. Apparently it’s not supposed to stand like metallic base in a candy type finish. just asking because I am prepping a guys bass to do a Murdered Candy finish on it here soon. Murdered Candy- Black base, red flake, red candy over flake to fill/depth, candy black over the red to hide the red. Finish looks black til light hits it obliquely, then the red candy/flake pops out. It’s a cool finish but hopefully it’ll look good on this bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted December 16, 2021 Report Share Posted December 16, 2021 8 hours ago, Bjorn.LaSanche said: Almost everyone I’ve seen apply flake the step after is to lay the flake down with air. Makes sense... It's been a good day, I've learned something new! If for nothing else, setting the flakes saves a ton of lacquer which can even have an effect in how alive the guitar is. No tonewood gets better with a 1/4" layer of plastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted December 26, 2021 Report Share Posted December 26, 2021 When I did mine I tried that as I had read about it but it seemed to do nothing for me… admittedly I was only using a can of air at the time so maybe not enough power there, but the real problem for me seemed to be flake laying on top of flake builds up height pretty quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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