Testing Color Changing Paint

On droid number 2 I wanted to do something a little different so I am testing the color changing paint from Rust-Oleum. I grabbed some small aluminum sheets from the local hardware store and gave it a go. I tried the Blue - Purple and the Green - Red. I also tried them on various types of backing to see how well it would coat and if high gloss or flat would work best.

I did not wait long enough for the blue to dry before I flipped it over so it has a bit of dirt on it, it really looked better before I screwed that part up. I have decided to go with the Green - Red blend as I really liked the look of the primary green color and the red was really subtle and that looked nice.

Here is the Blue - Purple

Here is the green. It was a bit hard to have the camera pick up the transition to red but in person I really liked the effect.

The Painted Dome.... almost done

First let me start by saying I am dumb as I forgot to take picture of the masking job I did that took me almost 3 1/2 hours to complete. I used the yellow Frog Tape and I have to say this stuff is worth every penny. I highly recommend it. I still screwed up the paint a little but not nearly as much as I could have. So without further adieu here is R2's dome in all it's blue and silver glory.

Now to keep this blog as honest of a record as possible here are all the shots that show you the paint I screwed up and will have to touch up.

EL Wire... The Not So Traditional Droid Lighting.

If you are not familiar with EL Wire check this out. I just got my samples in from two suppliers and I really like them. I need to pick a color and then decided if I want the .9mm or the 1.2mm they both fit however the 1.2 might need a bit of "help" getting in the correct spots.

So the plan is to place them in all the lines that separate the panels for R2. Since this droid is going to be the more durable droid and I am not cutting many or any of the pie panels and side panels out I wanted to give him a little "flare" here are EL Wire pictures in my office (aka basement electronics workshop).

Metallic Coat Finished

OK I gave up.... After I finally got a near mirror finish on the dome I spotted 2 runs and 3 odd "dots" in the paint and it was showing every possible in perfection to such a level that my 3 year old was happy to point them all out.

URRG I hate failing at this stuff. So I decided to texture to the paint to mimic a hammered metallic finish. Here is the result of the silver / metallic coat.

I am pretty happy with the results, no runs no bubbles and I got out all of the pitting and strange "dots" plus this finish hides the imperfections and fingerprints really well.

Starting the Metallic Coat

Time paint the metallic color. I am going for a high shine, highly reflective paint job. I am using Rust-Oleum metallic and metallic finish. The plan was 2 - 3 base coats of standard metallic and 2 - 3 coats of metallic finish. I applied the first set of coats of metallic with sanding in between coats and it went on well but I ended up with a few drips and some pitting in the paint. I continued and tried to get the paint as shinny and perfect as I could. However I ended up the day with a nice shine but not nearly as clean / pure as I wanted.

In the end I used 4 coats of standard metallic and 5 coats of metallic finish. However with all the sanding in between I feel like a total of 3-4 coats was sanded clean off the dome.

Here are some pictures. Click to enlarge.

Time To Prime The Dome

today I primed the dome. I used Kilz primer in a spray can. I sprayed 2 thin coats then sanded the primer. Then added an additional coat and wet sanded the primer then a final 4th coat and wet sanded that one. In between each coat I cleaned it with Goo Gone which was very messy but did a really good job. Next time I am going to wear latex gloves.

Painting The Dome Before Cutting.... Ohhhh No.....

I am getting ready to paint my dome tomorrow and I have not cut out any of the panels yet. I know I know this is really not the order you are supposed to do things in however as I am not sure how long it will be before I get all the electronics designed and my circuit boards built I wanted to have something that started to look like R2.

So I am taking a chance that I can cut slow and careful enough with my Dremel that only minor paint repair will be required.