Paint job techniques. Suggestions?

[Mojo Fandangle]

I've been looking into how to use painting techniques to make my enclosures look more interesting and am hoping to do some swirling, crackled, and snake skin effects.

Anybody got any tips and or photo's of pimped paint jobs to share?

Here's a photo of my Bloviator build. Pretty basic stuff really but I'm happy with it.
Just a green base coat with pink and purple spray paint sprayed into the spraycan lids and splattered over the enclosure

[GermanCdn]

There are a lot of paints that are incompatible with each other (Krylon's really good for this), so if you find a few that don't work well together, you can get a really diseased/twisted look out of laying down a solid base coat (say flat black or military green), then spraying a somewhat incompatible top coat in gold or orange or another contrasting colour will often bubble/peel/pit the surface.  But it's costly, takes a lot of trial and error (or the result thereof), and can be replicated easily.

[Mojo Fandangle]

Thanx for the tip. I've got a few different brands of spraypaint I can experiment with.
I've seen a youtube vid showing how to do a diseased/twisted look by spraying a base coat then applying a second colour and drying it with a hair dryer so that it bunches up and gives a cracked/peeled looking effect with the base colour showing through.

I'll try both with some of the paint I've got as leftovers.
Thanx again

[selfdestroyer]

Here is one I used to do, before I started etching everything. I would take Rustoleum Hammered paint and spray a thick layer of a dark color then a thick layer of a light color and bake it in a toaster over for 15 minutes at 150 degrees. I played with different colors and got the best results (to me) with a dark color then a light color.

I got "interesting" results like this:
This is a 1776 Effects Buzz Saw


Cody

[SmoothAction]

Hey Dallius Mcnoob, I think your paint job looks great.  Spray (enamel) paint can be used for coating, accenting, dripping, even dipping. I love a good dip swirl. Seems like you got it down, loving the 'spackled' look you have going. Great color choices. @Selfdestroyer, your hammering is great. It's pretty crazy how close you managed to match the undercoat to the knobs. I've only used the cheap hammered stuff, but I've also never baked an enclosure. New Mexican summers and all that I guess.

Here's some of my artwork I REALLY want to put on enclosures. Haven't yet put it on metal, but street art is fun, fast, and cheap. Seeing Selfdestroyers hammered enclosure makes me curious about implementing gas giants into these... I guess I'm trying to say that spray enamel is extremely intuitive and dynamic, you can do a LOT with very little.







I need to work on technique, but here's what I've been focusing on with spray enamel. It's all about contrast, composition, color, attitude. Maybe you'll get some ideas from me/Davent will chime in and put us all to shame with his brilliant technique. Love that dudes artwork 

Looks great, keep em' coming guys.

Max

[wgc]

http://www.goldenpaints.com/technicalinfo_crcklpst  for acrylics, probably what I'd try first

http://www.valsparpaint.com/en/find-the-right-product/interior/spray-paint/crackle-basecoat.html

awesome stuff there, max!

[Gledison]

Hi there!
Here a couple of my swirl finshed pedals.
I´m using "magic marble" paint and no Borax needed, only a bucket with water and the mixing paints.
It´s very easy and im quite happy with results.
let me know if you want more information. will be glad to help!

[SmoothAction]

Wow those swirls look edible! I've never used magic marble, just spray can into borax/water, but those swirls are so thick. Looks like candy.

[mcallisterra]

Hi there!
Here a couple of my swirl finshed pedals.
I´m using "magic marble" paint and no Borax needed, only a bucket with water and the mixing paints.
It´s very easy and im quite happy with results.
let me know if you want more information. will be glad to help!

Those are amazing! I'm not sure about the OP, but I'd love to know how you get such great results! I'd love to know how you do the lettering with them also.

[davent]

I'm guesssing here but it looks to me like regular black/clear decals applied over areas painted the lightest colour of the swirl.

Lucious swirls!
dave

[mcallisterra]

I dunno - there's white text over red swirl in that one.

[Gledison]

Those are amazing! I'm not sure about the OP, but I'd love to know how you get such great results! I'd love to know how you do the lettering with them also.

Hi There, i can send you the information by PM if you want.
Regarding the letters. Its always the difficult part. What i´ve found out is the following:
First i print the labels in a transparent waterslide decall (lazerprint).
than, i print the same in a transparency, cut it, and i use it to paint the internal part white using a white pen.
after that, i applied the decall on the top or the white painted part and voilá.
its a little work , but the results are quite ok!
cheers

[mcallisterra]

Great technique, they look awesome!

[GrindCustoms]

Those swirls are very nice man! 

Beating the hell out of an enclosure is something that i really dig doing, either using a dremel, applying thick coat of paint let half naturally dry and then shoot the propane torch had it, distressing it by sanding or putting it in a 5gallon bucket with rocks and giving it the shake.. have always give me the goods.

Rej

[blearyeyes]

Don't remember where, but I saw a guy take his enclosure outside and shoot it with a shotgun... Destressed fer sure...