Does everyone paint both sides?

[Waylon80]

Hey everyone. How do all of yall paint your signs? Do y'all just lay it flat and paint and clear the front side only or do y'all hang it and paint both sides front and back the exact same. My only reason for asking is wouldn't painting the back practically be a waste of paint since it'll never really be seen since it'll be up against the wall. Thanks

[little blue choo]

If it's a sign going against the wall I will paint or patina the front and clear it then I will shoot the back side with a coat of cheap satin black rattle can so it doesn't look to bad and will also keep down the possibility of rust in the future. I shoot the rear with several light coats and never have a problem with it coming through on the front side. So don't spray heavy or at an angle and you will be fine.

Rick

[GDS Metal Worx]

I powder coat all my pieces, so both sides get hit anyway, but I would never sell someone anything that does not have some type of coating on the bare steel. Bare steel WILL rust even if it is inside only. The humidity in the air will cause it to rust over time and potentially stain the wall. If you are doing a rattle can paint you can paint all the fronts in the color of your choice, once it dries, you can lay it face down on some CLEAN cardboard and hit it with light coats of black, or whatever color, to seal it up like choo said. I have also had good luck using the duplicolor truck bed coating in the spray can. You can shoot it real lightly and it dries super fast. It will bond to itself so you can do multiple light coats as well.

[little blue choo]

Hey GDS I have been meaning to try the bed liner on some pieces for some time but have never gotten around to it. I have some duplicolor and rapture bed liner in the shop. Guess I'll have to try it this weekend. Will probable look better than the satin black paint not to mention more professional.

Rick

[GDS Metal Worx]

Hey Choo, the duplicolor in the spray can is pretty nice, it has a nice texture to it, similar to about 120 grit paper. I have a gallon and a half of the raptor, and the gun to spray it with, but I have not tried it out yet. I am sure the raptor is more like the line x when it is sprayed, and is better for a truck bed than the duplicolor, but it is harder to do because you have to add the hardener to it, then clean the gun out and all that jazz. For the back of art stuff, you cant beat the duplicolor in a can

[gamble]

For my small parts I powder the top only since I don't have room to hang it in my oven. If I paint it 90% of the time I do the top only.
If I do the back its to test the spray paint and make sure it will spray evenly. I also only patina the top

[Waylon80]

If it's a sign going against the wall I will paint or patina the front and clear it then I will shoot the back side with a coat of cheap satin black rattle can so it doesn't look to bad and will also keep down the possibility of rust in the future. I shoot the rear with several light coats and never have a problem with it coming through on the front side. So don't spray heavy or at an angle and you will be fine.

Rick

Yeah I've tried doing that before but always failed at not getting any overspray on the front side (We use HVLP guns for everything). So I was taping up the front then shooting the back but when you pump out hundreds of signs a week taping each one takes up a lot of time. Though I was doing some brain storming and correct me if I'm wrong but could you not sand both front and back then paint the front then as you clear the front go a head and clear the back just to seal the bare metal. See we are changing up our complete painting setup. Here soon our process will be cutting the sign, sanding, applying spray on chrome, then shooting one or more of 17 different candy concentrated clears over the chrome then shooting a extra coat of straight clear for added protection. I just wonder if you can shoot clear coat straight over sanded bare metal on the back because that's something we've never tried yet. Thanks again

[tnbndr]

I just wonder if you can shoot clear coat straight over sanded bare metal on the back because that's something we've never tried yet. Thanks again

You should be able to, I have done it on several occasions and it adheres fine.
My usual process is to clear or paint the rear of the piece with Rustoleum. Then I go over the already polished steel front with a flap disc quickly to remove any overspray from doing the rear. Then I finish the front of the piece. I am careful but if a little overspray gets on the rear of the piece I don't really care. But everything is sprayed and protected from rusting for a while.

[Waylon80]

I just wonder if you can shoot clear coat straight over sanded bare metal on the back because that's something we've never tried yet. Thanks again

You should be able to, I have done it on several occasions and it adheres fine.
My usual process is to clear or paint the rear of the piece with Rustoleum. Then I go over the already polished steel front with a flap disc quickly to remove any overspray from doing the rear. Then I finish the front of the piece. I am careful but if a little overspray gets on the rear of the piece I don't really care. But everything is sprayed and protected from rusting for a while.

Alright sounds good I think I'll start doing that. Clearing the back first before I finish the front so I can actually finish the front with it laying flat down instead of hanging it since from what I've always heard you get a much better finish if it's laying flat so it can all flow out better. Also I might add in our order forms for the customer to pick if they want a standard front finished & back raw but cleared for protection or a double sided finished sign at a additional cost (for those picky customers lol)

[GDS Metal Worx]

Waylon, what spray chrome system are you getting?

[Waylon80]

Waylon, what spray chrome system are you getting?

I'm thinking about ordering a kit from angel gilding so far they've got the cheapest kits I've been able to find so far. I'll actually probably just buy their chemicals only and build my own setup. You got any other suggestions?

[GDS Metal Worx]

I have done quite a bit of research on these systems, I have been looking for an alternative to chrome powder coat. Cosmichrome seems to be the leader of the pack when it comes to sprayable chrome plating. They guarantee that their clear coat will not turn yellow, most other systems have a bad problem with the clear yellowing as fast as in a few weeks. Their systems are used by the top guys in automotive building as well as by West Coast Customs • General Motors • George P Johnson Co • Zebco • Storyland Studios • ColorWare • Fisher Price • Whirlpool • and others.

That being said, it is not cheap. The small system will do parts the size of a hubcap or so and is $2100.00. The master system is like 8 grand. But you definitely get what you pay for. I have been looking at the small system for a while now and may buy it by the end of the year.

[GDS Metal Worx]

I just check out the system you were talking about and it looks interesting as well. And with an automotive 2K clear, I would think that it would not yellow, unless it is a reaction with the coat below it

[Waylon80]

Yeah from what I read you can take their clear and use it as a base then spray the chrome then use the same clear over the chrome. But I'm going to pass on ordering their clear I'm going to order my clear from paintforcars.com much better deal.