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World Leader Pretend
Ruling teh World
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Boston, MA
 
2007-08-03, 17:46

Quote:
Originally Posted by zsummers View Post
What kind of paint got you that awesome flat black, WLP? And any tips to applying it? I have a few things I want to build and paint like that.

Great work overall, too. You should consider getting a "fixer-up" down the road someday. You could build a beautiful home.
The flat black isn't too hard to do, but it does take some work to get right. For most of the surfaces I just used "America's Finest (or something like that) brand, "ultra-flat black". It is like $1.90 a can at Home Depot. For the nice, really smooth surfaces like in the picture you have to do a bit more work:

If you are using MDF, try not to sand any of the surface. Only sand the joints. MDF absorbs unevenly if you break the factory finish too much. You could also light scuff the entire surface, but I wouldn't recommend it. If you are using other materials try to get the surface as even as possible.

Give the item a good 2-3 coats of the flat black paint, and let dry to the touch.

Coat the item with as many coats of spray lacquer (clear gloss) as you want, a minimum of 3 coats. You don't have to sand between coats, and you can re-coat after it is relatively dry to the touch (lacquers set up and dry fairly fast)

After the lacquer is applied let it dry the full amount so it is completely dry, then start wet-sanding the lacquer starting with a 400 grit on up to a 600 grit. Once it is to the point that wet sanding is ineffective, use some automotive "rubbing compound" to further remove small imperfections. The rubbing compound is like a cream and you just have to rub it into the finish with a rag. Then buff the rubbing compound away.

At this point you have a gloss-black finish that should look pretty good, but if you want that ultra-smooth flat look then carefully take the original black paint, and mist it from farther away then normal. Try to avoid any concentration of paint. This will give you a really nice flat black surface, although you probably would get away fine just using the flat black without the whole lacquer stuff.
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