Powder coating a Luke ROTJ...

[Twinsen]

Hi everyone,

I'm soon going to get my ROTJ Luke LE (MR) fully redone.

I will have it media blasted to remove all scuffs and scratches, then it will be powder coated with "Xtreme Chrome".

This treatment will be applied to all the solid aluminium parts.

The orange neck and control box cover will retain the stock MR paint.


My main concern is about the grip and lower neck areas.

Once they are media blasted, they will look like that :



I will have to choose what kind of powder coating I want to use on them :

- Super wet black (high gloss finish)



- Flat black (really dull black)



In both cases, once the powder coating is done, I will clear over the 9 grip rings.

I'm having a really hard time picking up a color.

Flat black seems more accurate, but wet black looks killer.

A thought ?

Anyone ?

 

[scarf man]

Do they offer a satin black?
That's what I used on my Rylo saber and it looked great.
It was paint, not powder coat, but you get the idea.

 

[Twinsen]

Well it's done by the folks over at the TCSS workshop, and satin black is not offered.

Maybe flat black with a clear coat will give a slight gloss.

But I don't know if adding a layer of clear coat on a powder coat is recommended though

 

[Laffo]

No No No - Clear Coat over Flat Powder Coat will give you a high shine and most likely a mess. Clear Coat will not adhere to the Powder Coat and will probably flake.
Be careful media blasting Aluminum. Make sure you use a mild media (Soda etc.). That still can really screw up soft stock. If it's just to remove scuffs and scratches you could just buff it.
Laffo.

 

[Jumpin Jax]

No No No - Clear Coat over Flat Powder Coat will give you a high shine and most likely a mess. Clear Coat will not adhere to the Powder Coat and will probably flake.
Be careful media blasting Aluminum. Make sure you use a mild media (Soda etc.). That still can really screw up soft stock. If it's just to remove scuffs and scratches you could just buff it.
Laffo.

Sounds right. I blasted my saber in a bead blaster at maybe 40 PSI, gave a nice frosting without digging in.

 

[Twinsen]

The media blasting will be done by the TCSS worshop, and I guess they know what they're doing... But still, I mentionned that it was for an aluminum Luke ROTJ MR saber, and the guy said it was fine.

According to the picture on their website, not only it will remove slight blemishes, but it will also give a dull, smooth, flawless and even finish.

And that's precisely what I want before they apply the powder coat.

But what I don't know, is if the Xtreme Chrome powder coat is transluscent or not.

Of course black powder coat is opaque, but what about Xtreme Chrome ?

Because the point of the whole media blasting thing is to make sure you can't see any scuffs or scratches through the coat.

If Xtreme Chrome is opaque, then I don't have to get everything media blasted, because I can easily buff out the scratches.

I will ask this to the workshop... :confused