How to respray cases

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cb4ever104
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How to respray cases

Post by cb4ever104 »

Hi All.

I was just wondering if someone could share their advice on how best to respray cases. I have a President here that has pretty rough cases , and I'd like to maybe have a go at repainting them. Now from watching car restoration shows I'm assuming that I'm going to have to sand them down first. Does this have to be to the bare metal, as I don't have the tools for that. Or can I just use some heavy duty sand paper ? Once that's done , then again I'm assuming that I need to prime them and then paint them. I'm in Spain so I don't think I'll have the same paint brands as in the UK. There is a local "Chinos" shop to me and they had a whole row of spray paint cans the last time I was in , so I'm sure they'll have what I need.

Any info would be appreciated.

Sammy
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Re: How to respray cases

Post by The Collector »

If you search back a couple of years, I think I did a reasonably in-depth description on how I'd resprayed some cases, ie "sanding, filling, priming, first/second coats and clear lacquer" if required.
God know what the particular topic was called though, but if you try the above words using my user name, it might show up ;) It'll hopefully get you off to a good start.

You might find Youtube videos that'll help too.
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Re: How to respray cases

Post by cb4ever104 »

Hi Dave .

Thanks . Yeah , I remember something from a while back , but I was just too lazy to search today :)

In fact just the words "sanding, filling, priming, first/second coats and clear lacquer if required" make me want to just give them to someone competent so that they can do kit :) I'll dig around the forum and see what I can find .

Cheers !
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Re: How to respray cases

Post by The Collector »

I had a quick mooch and found this below. I did another post a year or two before that as well though, going into more details of how to strip and apply each layer of paint IIRC.

If you want to, you could use "truck bed liner" paint, which will give a textured satin finish. Matt paint will get damaged more easily, a satin finish is nice and a bit more forgiving, gloss has to look really good finish-wise or it'll be annoying to look at and can look like orange-peel, or you can go for the SSB Cybernet-style of little gloss spatters over a matt finish, like on the Nato 2000 etc. I did that to my Mk3 Cobra 148 GTL-DX's cases.

Note - Ensure any painting is done in temperatures above 20 degrees and it can't be damp, otherwise the paint may "bloom" and go all misty.



Taken from an old post:

Some tips for those possibly willing to have a go -


*Stick a breathing mask on, even if outdoors. Use latex/nitrile gloves to help stop you having coloured fingers for days on end :)

If you don't do a good job of sanding, filling etc. any paint applied will look pants. It's all about the preparation beforehand. If you can feel any blemishes in its bare metal state, any paint applied will simply accentuate the issue.

As mentioned above, most car spray paints will need a primer coat first. Check the can's instructions.

Multiple thin coats with a few minutes inbetween are preferable to less, thicker coats which can "pool" on the flat or run down the verticals.

Sprays are usually applied 12"-18" away from the object, depending on the can's nozzle spray pattern and passing speed etc.

Do the edges first. Move left to right, right to left in slightly overlapping passes. You'll need to quicken your speed it you see the paint building up too fast. I usually hold the casing like a waiter holds a plate. Once the edges are done, it can then be sat on top of a small paint can or similar to do the rest.

Some people let go of the nozzle as they pass the end of the object, others don't. I do myself as it wastes a bit of paint every time otherwise.

Shake the can about every 30 seconds to keep it mixed. Don't shake it over the object though in case a bit of excess paint on the nozzle flicks off onto it.

Don't try and spray a small patch as it won't look right, do the whole thing.

Don't spray and leave to dry where stuff from trees etc. can drop on it. Watch out for pesky flies too! Leave to dry for a couple of days. Don't leave to dry where the temperature can drop too low as the paint may end up with a "misty" effect which is called "blooming".

Don't spray in temperatures below about 15 degrees, and do it on a wind-less sunny day so there's very little moisture about or dust to land on it.

If doing stuff in a metallic colour, you'll usually need a clear coat of lacquer over the top to protect it.

There are probably load of tutorials on Youtube about spraying with cans. Different people will no doubt have different methods. I just make it up as I go along sometimes lol ;)
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Re: How to respray cases

Post by cb4ever104 »

Thanks for that Dave . I'll have a look at what materials I can get a hold of locally and decide on how best to proceed .

S.
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Re: How to respray cases

Post by The Collector »

It's a shame you don't live locally, or I'd tell you to pop them round and I'd give you a hand. I'd have to go OTT on the masks though as I can't breathe in fumes or it'll do me in lol.

At the end of the day, if you bugger them up, you can just wipe all the paint back off with cellulose thinners or a bit of sanding and just start over again.

Practice makes perfect as they say. No one ever showed me, I just had a go when I was younger and got better as I went.

I reckon there were probably loads of runs, orange-peel finishes and patchy areas at first as I was only about 14 when I started messing about with spray cans. I'll be 55 in a few weeks ;)

One thing that might be handy for you to buy is a hot air gun if you haven't already got one? They're only about £15 I think. They're invaluable to gently warm the surface (not too close though or the paint will bubble up!). It'll help prevent blooming and "skin" the paint so that little flies don't stick to it so easily whilst it's drying.
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Re: How to respray cases

Post by lambrettadave »

Great tutorial Dave.

I've a few things myself to smarten up so may give this a go when the weather gets a bit more warmer
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Re: How to respray cases

Post by Auldgeek »

Maybe the mods on here could do a sticky for this. Great wee tutorial. :thumbup:
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Re: How to respray cases

Post by Buick Mackane »

Topic Now a Sticky. Keep the paint off the TM1 Axminster :)
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Re: How to respray cases

Post by The Collector »

I've got some Cobra/SS casings myself that I need to strip and respray as they're somewhat tatty, but sadly I doubt if I'll get around them before summer's here. 99% of my painting is done outside for ventilation reasons, so I need it to be dry, not windy at all and for it to be pretty warm.

I might try the truck bed liner paint finish on them as I've not used it on casings properly yet, but my car's mirrors and the bottom half of my car are coated in it. It gives a stippled finish, it dries and hardens pretty quickly which is a bonus, plus it's hard-wearing from then on. This type of finish will also cover up any deep scratches or other imperfections better than a flat, gloss finish. These casings look pretty good though, other than someone having tried badly to paint over/ patch up the existing finish.
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Re: How to respray cases

Post by 43Echo695 »

I had a base station case professionally re-powder coated a while back,
and it was surprisingly economical.

They chemically stripped the old finish, so no scratching from sandpaper.

There were a variety of finishes & colors, depending if you wanted an
original look, or something custom.

It looks better than new. ;)

73's
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Re: How to respray cases

Post by The Collector »

43Echo695 wrote: 06 Feb 2022, 10:04 I had a base station case professionally re-powder coated a while back,
and it was surprisingly economical.

They chemically stripped the old finish, so no scratching from sandpaper.

There were a variety of finishes & colors, depending if you wanted an
original look, or something custom.

It looks better than new. ;)

73's
For those that would prefer this harder-wearing finish or don't want to have a go at spraying the cases, how much did yours cost to have done?
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Re: How to respray cases

Post by 43Echo695 »

..This was a few years ago now, but it was around the equivalent of 25 quid. Would be a bit more now.

The radio is a Teaberry Stalker XX export, so had the original black finish. It's packed away, otherwise
I would post some pics.

A couple of other rigs will get the same treatment eventually, the only thing I'll do differently is take it
somewhere that will do the stripping & powder coating both on the same premises.

73's
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Re: How to respray cases

Post by The Collector »

If you haven't got tools, masks, paint stripper, wet & dry paper, cans of primer, top coats and lacquers plus the know-how, then that's a good alternative to using a couple of hours of elbow-grease.

If like me, you've already got the stuff, then you can probably get about 4 sets of mobile cases or 2 homebase covers done from one £5 spray can, plus some time and effort.

But, the definite advantages with powder-coating will be that it's tougher, better against rusting and is useable almost straight away, whereas paint ideally needs to harden for a while before refitting takes place.

I suppose if it's your pride and joy radio and it's staying where it is for years to come, then the larger outlay for powder-coating isn't so bad.
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Re: How to respray cases

Post by The Collector »

Quick update -

I've started stripping some Cobra/SS360 cases on a radio I'll be selling at some point and I've been taking a few pictures as I've been doing so. Once I've finished stripping, prepping and respraying them, I'll pop the pictures on here along with a few basic instructions to help others that may want to have a go at spraying stuff themselves.

As I've said before, I'm no expert, so you may have different ways or ideas on how to do it. Whatever works best for you is the way to go ;)
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