Help needed! Yoda Saber... Removing paint from metal

[NeoRutty]

Hey hey...

So I'm working on a Yoda saber from a Bolsey Flash...

The end cap is incorrect, and I don't have any replacement ideas... so I figure I would try and make the one it comes with work... to an extent.

It's black painted, but metal underneath... it looks as if some had already been scratched off....


photo (7) by Ellery Van, on Flickr

I thought of sanding off the rest, but don't want it to look scratched all to hell either...

has anyone sanded off paint this way before... start with a harsh paper and work down to fine... will it look ****ty? how can I shine it up to a smooth metal (I don't have a metal working shop... I do everything on my tiny coffee table in my tiny condo...)

Suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[panterateama]

sand it with a high grit... like 300-400 to get the paint off and then u can sand again with a much higher grit like 800-1000 to get rid of the scratchmarks... that will make it look like brushed aluminum... if you want shiney reflective metal, do what I said, both steps, and then you will need to buff it smooth with a buffing wheel... obviously if you dont have a workbench, you dont have a buffing wheel lol but you can get a buffing wheel that you can put in a drill and then buff it smooth with buffing compound... all of this can be bought from a hardware store or a car repair place that sells bodywork items

hope that helps

 

[NeoRutty]

sand it with a high grit... like 300-400 to get the paint off and then u can sand again with a much higher grit like 800-1000 to get rid of the scratchmarks... that will make it look like brushed aluminum... if you want shiney reflective metal, do what I said, both steps, and then you will need to buff it smooth with a buffing wheel... obviously if you dont have a workbench, you dont have a buffing wheel lol but you can get a buffing wheel that you can put in a drill and then buff it smooth with buffing compound... all of this can be bought from a hardware store or a car repair place that sells bodywork items

hope that helps

Yep, that helps...

I have a dremel, so I've now looked into buffing heads for that... will give it a try, and put up a final build thread soon.

If I can just get a lambo wheel....

 

[panterateama]

what's a lambo wheel?

(sorry I don't recognize the term)

 

[NeoRutty]

what's a lambo wheel?

(sorry I don't recognize the term)

Ah, sorry about that...

The one piece I'm missing from the Yoda saber (Bolsey flash version) is the lamborghini wheel as the emmiter.

I've seen the 1/16 model the wheel comes from on Ebay, but I just can't do 100 plus dollars for a plastic wheel rim right now...

 

[Fyberdyne Labs]

You may try to remove the paint lacquer thinner to remove the paint. Just cover in a bowl and that should remove pain from metal. Not good for plastic at all. But if it is anodize black that might be harder to remove.

Mark

 

[chameloon]

Looks like anodized...

 

[NeoRutty]

You may try to remove the paint lacquer thinner to remove the paint. Just cover in a bowl and that should remove pain from metal. Not good for plastic at all. But if it is anodize black that might be harder to remove.

Mark

I ended up sanding off, and looks pretty good... brushed look in the end... figure I'll brush up the rest of the flash handle as well... since it's pretty beat up. I wouldn't try this out on a Graflex... but a 9.99 bolsey...sure!

 

[teecrooz]

You could buff out some of the brushed look by using fine steel wool if you wanted to.

 

[NeoRutty]

You could buff out some of the brushed look by using fine steel wool if you wanted to.

If my attempt to brush it turns bad... then I may have to try that out... the original has a subtle brushed look that looks okay, so I'm going to try and match that first...

My fear with any of this is it will have an uneven look over the visible parts of the flash.... we'll see I guess... If I ever get out of work today, tonight is the night.