The "I'm painting a Captain America Shield" thread
- Thread starter GeneralFROSTY
- Start date
IamJAd
Member
After two months of work, my sled shield is finally done. Many thanks to Valor for his direct answers to my questions, and to others in this thread for asking the same things I needed to know and/or answering them.
inb4 questions:
Paint
- Duplicolor Red/Blue paints
- Sprayed vertically in 2 thin coats followed by one heavier coat
- Clearcoat - Nearly two full cans of Rustoleum Crystal Clear Enamel, both sides coated (probably 20 thin coats). Overkill? Probably.
Methods
- Citristrip used to remove the red paint, was pretty easy. Bondo spreader used to scrape it off.
- 24 hours between each paint stage and 24 hours between clearing and wet sanding
- final result wet sanded with 1500/2000 grit sandpaper
- finished with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound/Polish/Wax. Compound buffing done by hand, polishing done with a DA buffer.
- Leather straps made from scratch out of bridle leather, hand stitched and edged.
- I know the main adjuster buckles aren't accurate, but I'm working on getting some machined and these are fill-ins.
Any dust on the shield in the pictures is because I took it outside for the good lighting; it's not in the paint. Please let me know what you think or if you have ideas on how I can improve it. Thanks!
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That looks amazing!
I've already stripped and painted the red a second time. I'm not sure it'll come out right this time.
I read somewhere that wet sanding dulls the paint. Not true?
Painting this shield ended up tougher than I thought it'd be.
Thanks! Wet sanding is best done on the clearcoat. I wanted a glossy finish personally, so I can't really speak toward those who want a satin look. Wet sanding the clear does take what could be a perfectly acceptable gloss finish down to a depressing matte, but as soon as you start buffing it with a good compound, the gloss comes back twice as nice as before.
Here's an example of what my shield looked like after the clear was wet sanded. It removes all of the 'orange peel' look from the rattle can application. That way when you buff it, it has a perfectly smooth surface and gives that glassy reflective finish.
2nd Attempt and it looks like I failed again. I see some parts that are shiny (better than yesterday) . Looks like I'm stripping this again. What am I doing wrong? I did a light coat where you barely see the paint and waited 7min to add another coat. I waited another 7min to put a heavy and final coat so total of 2 light coats and 1 heavy coat. On the last photo a paint dripped and tried to wipe it off and paint over it. Heres the result.
IamJAd
Member
Since I'm learning how to use this paint, I found a couple YouTube videos that shows guys using the Metalcast paint.
http://youtu.be/WmJTgwLOaGs
http://youtu.be/L0D9XTdhz2U
Considering what we're painting, I know we don't need any adhesion promoter or aluminum base paint. Just the Metalcast.
Those more experienced painters here, what do you think of the videos? Do you think the distance and speed that these guys are painting looks to be about right?
http://youtu.be/WmJTgwLOaGs
http://youtu.be/L0D9XTdhz2U
Considering what we're painting, I know we don't need any adhesion promoter or aluminum base paint. Just the Metalcast.
Those more experienced painters here, what do you think of the videos? Do you think the distance and speed that these guys are painting looks to be about right?
The same thing happened to me on mine. You'll get some areas that have a nice shine and others that look dull and dusty. It's from the paint drying at different rates, usually from the application distance being different, which is easy to do on a curved surface. Don't keep re-applying paint trying to get the whole thing to one level of sheen or your color will end up going too dark and you'll lose the gleam of the metal underneath.
Just get your color even. Look at it from lots of angles under good light. Once you apply your clear coat it'll take away the 'dusty' looking parts and make it nice across the whole area. It's amazing how much of a difference it makes.
IamJAd
Member
For those painting aluminum spun shields, the edge is 1/8 thick and angled away from the edge. Are you painting that edge? I'm finding it difficult to paint the edge and hit the outer ring properly.
I figure I can either a) tape it and leave it unpainted, b) paint with a brush after, or c) tape everything but the edge and spray.
I figure I can either a) tape it and leave it unpainted, b) paint with a brush after, or c) tape everything but the edge and spray.
I watched those same videos before I started and applied the paint exactly how they/the can specified. It worked out fine.
Do remember on your heavy coats to wipe the nozzle after every pass or two. Paint builds up quickly and will splatter onto your surface, leading to immediate heartbreak. Once the paint drops are on there, there's really no easy fix. You'll have to decide whether or not it's noticeable enough to strip it and start over. Any attempt to fix it will generally make it worse... I know this from experience.
My best advice for metalcast: paint horizontally on a lazy Susan, 2 wet coats 6 inches from the surface, spinning the shield as you spray a constant flow. It takes a little practice, but this will avoid the spotty, dusty finish a lot of you are seeing
IamJAd
Member
One stripe at a time? Or both at once?
Lord Magneto
Sr Member
After two months of work, my sled shield is finally done. Many thanks to Valor for his direct answers to my questions, and to others in this thread for asking the same things I needed to know and/or answering them.
inb4 questions:
Paint
- Duplicolor Red/Blue paints
- Sprayed vertically in 2 thin coats followed by one heavier coat
- Clearcoat - Nearly two full cans of Rustoleum Crystal Clear Enamel, both sides coated (probably 20 thin coats). Overkill? Probably.
Methods
- Citristrip used to remove the red paint, was pretty easy. Bondo spreader used to scrape it off.
- 24 hours between each paint stage and 24 hours between clearing and wet sanding
- final result wet sanded with 1500/2000 grit sandpaper
- finished with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound/Polish/Wax. Compound buffing done by hand, polishing done with a DA buffer.
- Leather straps made from scratch out of bridle leather, hand stitched and edged.
- I know the main adjuster buckles aren't accurate, but I'm working on getting some machined and these are fill-ins.
Any dust on the shield in the pictures is because I took it outside for the good lighting; it's not in the paint. Please let me know what you think or if you have ideas on how I can improve it. Thanks!
holy hell man that came out great. I really wish I wasnt traveling for two weeks for work so I could start the stripping and painting process.
Thanks for the additional tips. That shield is a beauty.
Hey did you actually throw down a dark line between the circles? It almost looks like you added something to enhance the rings.
Thanks! I didn't add a dark line intentionally. There's a very thin line of purple where the red and blue blended a bit. My masking of the blue to paint the red may not have been as perfect as I wanted it to be; it was one of the trickier parts of the build.
Lord Magneto
Sr Member
Damn thing looks beautiful man. Now the real question... how you going to display that?
I'd like to make a display case for it. I already told my wife that it's going on the living room wall, though. She gave me an exasperated look but is humoring me. It's just so shiny! I know a satin finish is more accurate, but a sled shield isn't totally accurate anyways.
If anyone has ideas for a cool case, I'm open to suggestions.
drakeprimeone
Well-Known Member
I'm in the process of making a custom flight transport / display case. Not the appropriate forum for it but here are a couple progress pics.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
Lord Magneto
Sr Member
Haha man I can only imagine what my wife would say if I told her that.
Uhhh I beg to differ... and I want to see more. Create a thread for it homie.
Hey guys,
Anyone here know if you can get Testors in australia and if so where? I've done multiple searches and not come up with the right ones yet. I'm looking for the following which Chris Fields provided links for in another thread:
Spray Custom Red 3 oz (tes1605) Testors Hobby and Model Enamel Paint
Spray Transparent Blue 3 oz (tes1257) Testors Hobby and Model Enamel Paint
If not any ideas on what would give a similar finish? I'm sorta new to this game (been spending too much time sculpting) so any advice is much appreciated.
Thanks
Anyone here know if you can get Testors in australia and if so where? I've done multiple searches and not come up with the right ones yet. I'm looking for the following which Chris Fields provided links for in another thread:
Spray Custom Red 3 oz (tes1605) Testors Hobby and Model Enamel Paint
Spray Transparent Blue 3 oz (tes1257) Testors Hobby and Model Enamel Paint
If not any ideas on what would give a similar finish? I'm sorta new to this game (been spending too much time sculpting) so any advice is much appreciated.
Thanks
