Poly finishes - How difficult ?

[mike 110]

My project is on shaky financial footings at the mo ! Just wondering if anyone has tried those Poly furniture type sprays that are available from B&Q ? It's just that they're half the price of the nitro .....

[Angel]

I used one to patch up my sons bass. It was white with 2 'massive' chips missing, I filled them then sprayed over. Not brilliant but good enough on a cheap instrument.

[nugget]

I used it once and the results were VERY good. It's a bit harder to spray than cellulose but with care it fine, it still takes loads of time rubbing down etc. Just take care to get wet coats (not sprayed too thin). Use a sanding sealer before spraying as you'll use less cans and less ££££ shellac sealer worked fine for me with polyurethane over the top.

[Prosebass]

Plasticote , great stuff...

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='Prosebass' timestamp='1351195230' post='1848631']
Plasticote , great stuff...
[/quote] can't stand plasticote! but that's me! Disolves plastic
My advice... if you want cheap spray paints (cheaper than plasticote) find out where the local graphitti artists get their stuff, it's basically modified car paint and runs about £5 a can.

[Prosebass]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1351195825' post='1848650']
can't stand plasticote! but that's me! Disolves plastic
My advice... if you want cheap spray paints (cheaper than plasticote) find out where the local graphitti artists get their stuff, it's basically modified car paint and runs about £5 a can.
[/quote]

Does it ? news to me, I love the stuff, some great finishes.

Its actually called Plasti-Kote for the pedants among us.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='Prosebass' timestamp='1351196230' post='1848662']
Does it ? news to me, I love the stuff, some great finishes.

Its actually called Plasti-Kote for the pedants among us.
[/quote] yeah, you know how plastic cement slightly melts plastic to stick onto it - it seems to do the same. It's good for some things... but for others not so good, that's what I found on my sculpture degree, useless on polystyrene! (and graphitti paint was also cheaper)

[Pete1967]

Have to say I'm a bit of a Plasti-Kote fan too. It's easy to use and gives a good finish if you follow the basic spraying rules and do what it says on the tin. Spray coats thick enough so they can flow, but not so thick they run and no more than an hour apart so that they can bind together OR leave it 24 hours and flat down with a very fine grit.

Patience is your friend (well she's mine anyway but don't tell the Mrs )

[brensabre79]

Fender have been using poly varnish since the late 50s, just putting nitro over the top for the finish coat. I think its far easier to work with than nitro, if you overspray nitro it pools and cracks taking the dried stuff underneath with it. If you overspray poly you just have to rub back a bit more to get rid of the orange peel effect, and its a lot more forgiving and you can re-coat in a matter of hours rather than days.

Just make sure you wear a mask, spray in a well ventilated area (but not outside, unless you like dead flies in your finish) and out of direct sunlight!

[LukeFRC]

actually just costing up my project.... undercoat (£13), nitro colour (£9) and clear coat (£14) - a cheaper alternative is looking better!

[mike 110]

Plasti - Kote ! That's it ! Looked at the site and it's going to be a Blue of some kind Mediteranean maybe ... How many cans will I need ? 1 primer , 1 colour & 1 clear ? What about sanding ? First ever project so I'll be bugging you lot for a wee while !

Thanks so far by the way !

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='mike 110' timestamp='1351252541' post='1849259']
Plasti - Kote ! That's it ! Looked at the site and it's going to be a Blue of some kind Mediteranean maybe ... How many cans will I need ? 1 primer , 1 colour & 1 clear ? What about sanding ? First ever project so I'll be bugging you lot for a wee while !

Thanks so far by the way !
[/quote] have you already stripped the finish? if not, and having got halfway through mine... suggest not to!

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='mike 110' timestamp='1351252541' post='1849259']
Plasti - Kote ! That's it ! Looked at the site and it's going to be a Blue of some kind Mediteranean maybe ... How many cans will I need ? 1 primer , 1 colour & 1 clear ? What about sanding ? First ever project so I'll be bugging you lot for a wee while !

Thanks so far by the way !
[/quote]

oh and... at a guess is wilkinsons the cheapest place to get it you know?

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='Prosebass' timestamp='1351196230' post='1848662']
Does it ? news to me, I love the stuff, some great finishes.

Its actually called Plasti-Kote for the pedants among us.
[/quote] question - as I'm willing to be proved wrong in everything I've said....
Plasti-kote colours comes in gloss, satin and matt right.... now if I want a really gloss finish would you put a gloss acrylic clear coat over the top? and if so could you use a matt or satin finish underneath?
or do you not need the top coat?

[mike 110]

.[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1351268034' post='1849545']
have you already stripped the finish? if not, and having got halfway through mine... suggest not to!
[/quote]. Hi Luke , no I haven't stripped the finish . It's more of a dye really so I've just sanded it down a bit , I have gone through to bare wood in a couple of places , due to my heavy handed ness ! But not much .

As for the Plasti Kote , I've only really seen it in B&Q at £7:49 and online at a little dearer , but there is a Wilkinsons a couple of miles from me so I'll check there and also The Range has a depot fairly nearby so that may be worth looking at as well

[nugget]

[quote name='mike 110' timestamp='1351252541' post='1849259']
Plasti - Kote ! That's it ! Looked at the site and it's going to be a Blue of some kind Mediteranean maybe ... How many cans will I need ? 1 primer , 1 colour & 1 clear ? What about sanding ? First ever project so I'll be bugging you lot for a wee while !

Thanks so far by the way !
[/quote]

I think you'll need a lot more than that.... unless you're sh*t hot with a spray can

Try spraying the primer let it dry for a week or 2 then rub it dead flat without rubbing through to the wood, that'll give you an idea of how many cans each stage will take. There is more rubbing with the colour and top coat as these need to be perfect (or close to) and the top coat will have the most rubbing to get the mirror gloss finish. you MIGHT get away with 2 cans of colour and top coat i you're primer is perfect and you're carefull with the sanding but be prepared to use more than that.

It's a great fun thing to do and the results can be very impressive so persevere and show us the progress

Dave

[Pete1967]

[quote name='nugget' timestamp='1351532876' post='1852287']
I think you'll need a lot more than that.... unless you're sh*t hot with a spray can

Try spraying the primer let it dry for a week or 2 then rub it dead flat without rubbing through to the wood, that'll give you an idea of how many cans each stage will take. There is more rubbing with the colour and top coat as these need to be perfect (or close to) and the top coat will have the most rubbing to get the mirror gloss finish. you MIGHT get away with 2 cans of colour and top coat i you're primer is perfect and you're carefull with the sanding but be prepared to use more than that.

It's a great fun thing to do and the results can be very impressive so persevere and show us the progress

Dave
[/quote]

Good advice IME... if you want to use a clear coat on top to get that really shiny finish use the matt finish paint. It'll save you a tiny bit of work - depending on how sh*t hot with a spray can you are You could always get down to you local flyover at 2am with your hoodie on and get some practise in

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='Pete1967' timestamp='1351612058' post='1853251']
Good advice IME... if you want to use a clear coat on top to get that really shiny finish use the matt finish paint. It'll save you a tiny bit of work - depending on how sh*t hot with a spray can you are You could always get down to you local flyover at 2am with your hoodie on and get some practise in
[/quote]

that's what I was going to ask - can i stick matt/satin colours under a clear coat - or would you just use a gloss colour and no clear coat?

[Pete1967]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1351635903' post='1853657']
that's what I was going to ask - can i stick matt/satin colours under a clear coat - or would you just use a gloss colour and no clear coat?
[/quote]

Either - but you can get a better 'sparkle' with a clear coat and they tend to be harder wearing... BUT check the compatibility between the paint and the clear coat, and obviously clear coating is more work. I suppose it depends what you're looking for in the finish. For a solid colour finish not using a clear coat gives a more 'traditional' look I suppose, but if you want uber glossy and hardwearing its clear coat all the way with all the flatting and buffing that goes with it!

[mike 110]

After much deliberation and fund raising ,I've got all the components ready to complete my first Bass refurb . A little change though , I've decided to use Rustoleum Painters Touch Spray - Ivory Bisque . I've just a couple of queries - What happens when I've finished undercoating ? Do I let the paint dry then rub it down ? If so what with ? ....Do I repeat the process for the Gloss coats ? I'm not sure about a clear coat yet .... I take it I'd need a certain kind of sanding paper/material too ?