The "I'm painting a Captain America Shield" thread

[BananaBlitz]

Doing a steel sled first, and I've gotta ask everyone here who's done the same- How the blue bloody flying fork do you remove this paint? I've used five coats so far of stripper with a day in between them and it just won't come off. Not sure if I should sand it off, or if the scratches that will put on it will be irreversible? If nothing else, what brand of stripper works best for you on the original red paint?

 

[uncanny]

Klean-Strip Aircraft is magic. Let it sit for about 20 minutes or so and the paint practically slides right off. Wait for the paint to bubble...if there is any that hasn't bubbled after 15-20min, brush on some more stripper in those spots. I used a cheap plastic stripping spade, though you could pretty much wipe the paint off with a paper towel.

Be sure to wear some nitrile gloves, protective glasses & a mask with this stuff. I used a plastic Solo cup to scoop up some extra stripper, and the stuff ate right through the cup!

Here it is on amazon: GAR343 KLEAN-STRIP Aircraft Paint Stripper 1 Gallon:Amazon:Everything Else

 

[drakeprimeone]

Doing a steelsled first, and I've gotta ask everyone here who's done the same- How the blue bloody flying fork do you remove this paint? I've used five coats so far of stripper with a day in between them and it just won't come off. Not sure if I should sand it off, or if the scratches that will put on it will be irreversible? If nothing else, what brand of stripper works best for you on the original red paint?

Citristrip works great. Lowes or home depot

 

[uncanny]

I think I may have to gently wetsand before the clear coat. Didn't Valor or Frosty do that?

I have some sections of red that are smooth and absolutely gorgeous, while others are rough. I can maneuver the shield in the light and see the beautiful transparency underneath, but in other angles those spots look cloudy. I'm not sure that just adding the clear coat will help.....Does it?

 

[Valor]

You really don't need to wet sand your color coat. Even if it feels a bit rough. Once you clearcoat over it it will not matter. Now your clear coat ... THAT you need to wet sand the snot outta.

 

[uncanny]

Thanks, Valor. I ended up just buffing both shields tonight with a tshirt & remedied a bit of the problem. I guess my worry was less about the texture & more about how the rough areas didn't have the same candy clear appearance as the smoother spots, and I feared that adding the clear coat over top would lock that cloudiness in. Just a bit of buffing improved that quite a bit.

How many coats of the Krylon Satin do you think? Would one can be enough for two shields?

 

[Chris Fields]

The only shield I had to wetsand was my very first one... I haven't wet sanded one since then. It all depends on the look you want. the film look definitely does not look wet sanded.

 

[Valor]

Chris is totally correct. If you shoot a satin finish, the last thing you want to do is wet-sand it.

 

[uncanny]

Whew! That's good to know!

I'm definitely a little torn between the gloss and the satin. I'd previously decided on the satin, but the shields look so damn pretty now that they're painted & the gloss is tempting! I think I'll still go for the satin, however, for more of a screen accurate look...

 

[uncanny]

Any thoughts about a few coats of a gloss, followed by one or two of satin? I've read a review of the satin that said that on wood, this approach allows the grain to come through better. I wonder if it will work the same with the metal.

 

[Chris Fields]

not needed in my experience. I use the testors glosscoat semi gloss though for finished the shields. It is not as durable as an automotive clearcoat, but I have yet to find a good semigloss automotive clearcoat. Has anyone else found one?

 

[uncanny]

Thought you all might find this interesting. To be honest, all of ours turn out much better...but I guess this isn't bad for making it from scratch in a very short amount of time. I was kind of surprised at how "thrown together" it looks at the end:

Crafting Captain America’s Shield – Man At Arms
Crafting Captain America?s Shield ? Man At Arms | Graphic Policy

 

[uncanny]

Any tips on how to get droplets out of a clear coat?

I'm so p****d right now. I used Krylon Satin on one of my two shields, shot two coats and it looks wonderful. Shoot one coat on the other shield & it's good. Then I get to the next-to-last sweep at the bottom of the shield on what is going to be my last coat---and my finger must've twitched or something because there are about a dozen tiny droplets of Krylon Satin gracing the bottom of my shield in a lovely sweeping pattern! So close to being done and fubared it!

I sprayed vertically, hanging from a sawhorse. Shook the can vigorously after warming it first. I think my finger slipped after a sweep, and I must have started spraying the next sweep on the shield instead of off of it first.

I'm going to try to buff it with a tshirt in about an hour or so. If that doesn't work, I guess I'll have to try and wetsand it despite the satin finish. If there's no fixing it, my wife said she'd rather see me start a whole new sled than strip this one...so at least I have that going for me!





(Pardon the terrible lighting--this was on my back porch. Didn't take pics of the good shield yet. The lighting here doesn't do the rest of the shield justice---aside from this f-up, I'm pretty pleased with how these turned out as my first attempt.)

 

[Roquefert]

Just ordered my shield blank yesterday and am excited to start! I ordered the star from Valor about a year ago but did not have the funds for the actual shield blank until this year. This will be my first prop making attempt (besides a lightsaber made from pvc pipe and copper wire when I was younger).

-Roquefert

 

[Mr Mold Maker]

I finally couldn't take it anymore and bought a shield blank, and a star from Valor. I tried my hand at this before with a sled, and I actually picked up a satellite dish so I might try that after the shield blank.
My question is, and pardon if this has been answered I remember actually reading it but I can't find it now;
Why do I have to clear coat the shield? Has anyone made one and not clear coated it?
Also Krylon Crystal Clear should work fine if I do need to clear coat it right?

 

[Valor]

If you don't clearcoat the raw aluminum will discolor and stain with fingerprints VERY quickly.

 

[GeneralFROSTY]

not needed in my experience. I use the testors glosscoat semi gloss though for finished the shields. It is not as durable as an automotive clearcoat, but I have yet to find a good semigloss automotive clearcoat. Has anyone else found one?

Chris, I mixed up my own. I played around with various ratios of gloss and dull lacquer reduced with thinner until I achieved a sheen that I felt was just perfect.

You will need an HPLV spray gun since this is being done without spray cans.

 

[Mr Mold Maker]

Thanks Valor, I guess I'll clear coat it.
Krylon crystal clear should be fine with duplicolor right?

 

[MandoMan531]

Quick question for you guys. I have the star bent as close as I think I can get it, it doesn't sit perfectly flat and I'm afraid to keep bending it and make it worse. How do you guys get your star attached with minimal gaps? I've been trying to think of ways to keep the star flat while the JBWeld cures, but I'm not sure of the best way. Thanks!

 

[Valor]

I usually spread the JB Weld very thin on the back, keeping it away from the edges to it does squeeze out. I tape the edge down with masking tape, and place a quart of paint on top of the star. Let it sit overnight.