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

ive been reading this thread for a while but just posting for the first time. lots of great work here!! I built a shield for my 5 yr old out of fiberglass and used Testors to paint it. I really liked the hue of the colors but hated how they laid down and how long they took to dry. some parts would lay down nice and then a blobby sting of junk would shoot out
or I would get bubbles. I figured my son would smash this thing in no time so I wasnt too worried about redoing it (pictured below). for my aluminum one I decided to try Duplicolor. i painted the blue and my first attempt was a little too dark so like many on here I stripped it and tried again. my second attempt seemed great. everything laid down great and I think the color was spot on. would love some feedback on if this is the anodized look I should be aiming for.
thanks
Adam
image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg
 
I had a tough time wet sanding the testors when I did the fiberglass one. Even with using 2000 grit I found that while it would level the orange peel or dust coats, it also alter the uniformity of the color. Clear gloss coat helped but I'm not sure how it all works on the alum blanks as I've not wet sanded anything there. Interested to hear.
 
If you are clear coating your shield you do not need to wet sand your color coat. Also, if you are clear coating you don't need to worry if your color coat looks a bit flat in some areas. People who are obsessed with getting a perfectly glossy color coat need not be. That's what a clear coat is for. Trust me. All my shields had uneven gloss on the color coat. After a good clear coat followed by wet sanding and polishing. It all evens out. The important thing with the color coat is consistent coverage. It should look like the same darkness if red. Don't worry if it looks flat or even pebbly in some areas.
 
Last edited:
Valor said:
If you are clear coating your shield you do not need to wet sand your color coat. Also, if you are clear coating you don't need to worry if your color coat looks a bit flat in some areas. People who are obsessed with getting a perfectly glossy color coat need not be. That's what a clear coat is for. Trust me. All my shields had uneven gloss on the color coat. After a good clear coat followed by wet sanding and polishing. It all evens out. The important thing with the color coat is consistent coverage. It should look like the same darkness if red. Don't worry if it looks flat or even pebbly in some areas.
Click to expand...

you out the man valor. Much appreciated for all the ongoing help
 
Valor said:
If you are clear coating your shield you do not need to wet sand your color coat. Also, if you are clear coating you don't need to worry if your color coat looks a bit flat in some areas. People who are obsessed with getting a perfectly glossy color coat need not be. That's what a clear coat is for. Trust me. All my shields had uneven gloss on the color coat. After a good clear coat followed by wet sanding and polishing. It all evens out. The important thing with the color coat is consistent coverage. It should look like the same darkness if red. Don't worry if it looks flat or even pebbly in some areas.
Click to expand...

Crap. I was going to satin gloss but I've opted to use the Duplicolor gloss clear. I totally forgot about the wet sand and polish stage.

Is there a post somewhere that recaps those steps? I'm pretty sure there is one.
 
Kevin Gossett said:
A lazy Susan is your friend!
Click to expand...

I'll pick one up later this week and give it a shot. So it sounds like you basically just keep the shield spinning on the lazy susan and spiral your way to the edges of the shield? Sorry if that's a dumb question, but I'm just trying to make sure I don't mess it up. As much trouble as I've had painting, I'd hate to ruin it all once I get to the clear coat.

Also, any tips on painting the very edge of the shield? I want to paint this part of the edge -> [ but don't really know how. Any thoughts would be much appreciated!
 
Here's the finishing process I followed:

After the two color coats are down, I used the following product, Krylon Clear Laquer:

http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/productdetails.aspx?sku=998055446&SessionExpired=True

I put a whole can worth of thin layers on. When you're done the finish may look a bit dull or "orange peel". Don't worry, that's what the next steps are for:

Use the red sheet of paper from Testors Wet/Dry Sanding Film set to wet-sand then entire front of the shield. This will even out the finish. It will still be dull, but more smooth.

Testors 8802 Wet/Dry Sanding Film- 5 Grits, 5 Sheets

The grab a wet piece of cotton t-shirt and use Turtle Wax Polishing Compound to remove the tiny scratches from the sandpaper:

Buy Turtlewax Polishing Compound (10.5 oz.) T241A at Advance Auto Parts

Then finish by using Maquires cleaner wax. It will buff final tiny scratches out and leave the finish super-smooth.

Walmart.com: Meguiar's Cleaner Wax Liquid: Automotive
 
Awesome. Thank you guys so much for all your advice! I couldn't finish, and actually wouldn't even have started, this project without everyone's advice!

As an aside, here are my brackets, clear coated and ready for attachment:

photo 1 (2).JPGphoto 2 (2).JPG

If the outer straps look loose, it's semi-intentional. The clips are attached with superstrong 3M 200 dpi and 400 dpi velcro. They're actually a pain to pull off. The hope is that when I attach the brackets to the shield, I can detach the clips and use the entire assembly for shoulder straps =) I'll post shield pics as I do it. As is, I've stripped the shield 3 times. Can never quite get it the way I want it to look.

Thanks again for all the advice!
 
How long do you guys normally wait to peel your tape up after laying down some paint?

I was debating on waiting a full 24 hrs or at least 12 hours. About to throw down the blue tonight.
 
I peel my tape up almost immediately. If you allow the paint to dry you're more likely to encounter paint sticking to the tape and peeling up
 
A quick question because someone here will know the answer, but how many 'rivets' are supposed to be on the back bracket? I'm electing for tapping out holes for allen head screws, but I'd like to get the number right. Side note, it's almost ready to weld!
 
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