Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget **DONE!! FINAL PICS ON PAGE 4

Hey all!
I've been lurking for a long time, especially on this post. I finally decided to try and tackle this project as my first build. I've been having some trouble stripping the paint off of the sled. I've had to use multiple coats of the citristrip and I still haven't managed to get all of the paint off of the front, and then I freak out because I still need to do the back afterwards. Has anyone else had this trouble with Citristrip? Is there some combination of tool, paint stripper, and elbow grease that I'm missing somehow?
Thanks!
-Tom

Yes. I had a lot of problems getting the paint off the sled as well. The original paint that's on there is pretty heavy. It took a lot of scraping. I used a plastic putty knife to scrape it off. But I did most of it by turning the putty knife on its side rather than using the blade. I think I actually found that the plastic handle worked better. The blade was too flexible. Even with that I was taking it off in tiny half inch strips. It took a long time and was a huge mess. But it eventually came off. There were a few really stubborn spots but they were in the area that would be painted red so I didn't stress about it.

Good luck. Just plan on spending a couple of hours and getting a good workout along the way.
 
Letting the stripper cook for a solid day helps. And reapplying throughout the day. Mine was a bit stubborn too.
 
I've been leaving the stripper on for 24 hours, but It didn't occur to me to keep reapplying during that time. I guess I'll give that a shot. I've been getting some headway with the plastic putty knives, but they don't seem to keep an edge long enough to finish the job.
I was concerned about using a wire stripper for not wanting to scratch the shield, but I guess that I'll just be using the scratch pad to give the spin marks after that anyway, so I suppose it wouldn't be that big of a deal.
 
Might also want to pick up a different can of stripper, or a different brand. I had heard it can get old and lose it's potency.
 
Here is my shield that I finished a couple of days ago, just in time for Halloween! Special thanks to Valor for giving tips throughout the process.



photo (1).JPG
 
Maybe I'm late to the part on this, but after trying several different methods of getting the paint off, my final, very effective find was Scraperite plastic razor blades.

http://www.amazon.com/Scraperite-Pl...TF8&qid=1414986387&sr=8-1&keywords=scraperite

The holder that comes with this package is garbage, but they do fit in any razor sraper.
These did a fantastic job getting the paint off without scratching the steel.

Hope this is helpful!

-Tom
 
Love your build Valor. Absolutely stunning work. But how did you draw and cut out such perfect circles? Did you use the same kind of clock hand method you used to give the metal the spun effect?

Edit: Nvm should have read pg 15 first.
 
This is the first project I've ever taken on, and so far the results are incredible. I definitely want to thank Valor for this thread, and for sharing all of the templates, tips, and techniques.

I just wanted to let everyone know about a great product I used to help cut the circles when masking to paint. They're replacement blades for a Martha Stewart circle-cutter. I took a strip of plastic, drilled holes in it, then wedged the blades in and spun it around after covering the whole shield in tape. It worked great, but you have to be very careful taking the blades out of the protective covering-they're sharp.

I'm including a link to them below. I think masking for painting was the most difficult part of this project for me. I struggled for a while with trying to cut them freehand or attaching an X-acto blade to a plastic strip but couldn't get perfect circles. The blades are designed for just that and work great.

http://amazon.com/Martha-Stewart-Replacement-M281055-M281056/dp/B002BTOT0K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421082216&sr=8-1&keywords=martha+stewart+circle+cutter+blades
 
IMG_3945.JPG
1st Off let me just say, "THANK YOU!" I just completed my shield and can't thank you enough for this thread. I went the comic book route for my Cosplay attempt at the ECC this year. I wanted something Iconic for Stan Lee to sign and couldn't think of anything better than this. Building this myself and seeing the finished product makes me GEEK OUT! Again thank you so very much.
 
Here's the pictures of my completed shield front. The martha stewart blades made cutting the circles easy, but I had some problems with the tape itself and so there's a few rough edges.

I decided to simply mask out the star for budget reasons, it turned out surprisingly well. I printed out Valor's template over two sheets of computer paper to get the scale right. Then I took some painters tape and covered a sheet of wax paper with it. I used the template to cut the shape out of the sheet of tape, then simply peeled off the wax paper and applied it like a sticker.

To get the pattern on the star, I simply used a straight-edge and my x-acto knife. It turned out a little more rough that I had hoped but not too bad overall. I'm in the process of finishing up my leather cutting/punching then I'll have one awesome shield!

Thanks once again to Valor for this amazing thread

!Shield3.jpgShield2.jpgShield1.jpgShield4.jpg
 
Thank you so much for putting all this together valor, my clear coat is drying right now and I see what you mean about the orange peel-ish look. When you put the last coat of buffing wax on did you just do it by hand? And in a circular motion or just rubbing to your hearts content? Thanks
 
Thank you so much for putting all this together valor, my clear coat is drying right now and I see what you mean about the orange peel-ish look. When you put the last coat of buffing wax on did you just do it by hand? And in a circular motion or just rubbing to your hearts content? Thanks

Yup. All by hand and soft cotton t shirts.
 
Valor, I personally wanted to thank you for sharing all of your tips for this awesome build! I know I'm a little late to the party but I stumbled upon a video on Youtube just a few weeks back of this project and couldn't NOT give it a go. So I rushed on to Amazon and bought myself a sled. I have it cut and stripped and applied the spun look and it looks awesome so far! Can't wait to paint but I've decided to do that last. So I've used your blueprints and started fabricating my handle brackets. I have one fully completed and I must say I'm pretty impressed with what I've done. Just waiting for my JB Weld on my tee nuts to dry and get the second one assembled. I'm not going for movie accurate, more of a custom job to make it more personal. I had a few questions however. Has the tape held up for you with holding the brackets on? I prefer not using JB Weld for that if I don't have to. Should I paint blue first? How did you go about masking the circles? Should I use the center point technique with a pencil and mask around my line with pinstripe tape? Did you clearcoat the back? And if so, have you had any issues with yellowing of the metal. My brackets are made from aluminum. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! And thank you to everyone who has posted something regarding this project. You have all been a great help and an inspiration!
 

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Looks awesome. Live the eagle rivets. The 3m tape is still holding on all my shields. If you have a center hole using a spinner from that hole will get you perfect circles. And be sure to clear coat the back. It's steel and will rust.
 
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