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Old 27th Apr 2021, 2:21 pm   #4
G6Tanuki
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 13,953
Default Re: Painting modern enclosures

Mt 'preferred' aesthetic is 1940s military/industrial [black wrinkle-finish, paint available from classic-car-restoration suppliers] or 'pseudo-post-WWII-Military' [think Larkspur-green].

Plasti-Kote works OK but I find it too shiny! - my current go-to is the Rust-Oleum Matt range which gives a much more-discreet and appropriate finish. Quite a few of my things are done in their 'Oxford Green' which isn't _excatly_ the same as NATO-green but still looks good.

To get good adhesion on aluminium you really need to use an etch-primer. U-Pol "Acid #8" - available from Halfords etc - is my preferred option here. You only need a very thin misting, don't put it on any thicker than just enough to conceal the underlying metal.

One other tip - leave things to dry properly! Avoid the temptation to start assembling controls etc on to your sprayed parts as soon as it ~seems~ dry, or you risk tearing the paint around screws/nuts etc.

I leave the primed parts for several days in a warm place [on top of the oil-boiler during winter]. If you can still smell solvent when you sniff them, the primer's still curing so needs to be left longer.

Then spray top-coat - don't overspray, too thick a layer will either run, wrinkle as it dries, take finger/thumb-prints when subsequently handled, or tear round fittings as mentioned above. After the same drying as for the primer I often pop the painted parts into the oven [at maybe 150C, after the previously-cooked food has been removed] and left as the oven cools-down to help the final curing.
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