Hello, I found this site just today, and figured you guys knew what you were doing, so I'm inclined to post here.. A while back I added a window and small paint job on the crossbar, as well as added some lights to my case. I want to go further now, I want to mod the outside. I want a "brushed metal" look. Is this possible? I've searched high and low for some guides, but all are for painting--not getting a metal lookm or for brushed steel, with a steel case, and I'm pretty sure my case is aluminum. so, can I just sand my case down, and get the brushed metal look? Add a clear coat or two? I want a shiny, almost mirror brushed look.. any ideas? Here's a pic of my case right now.. nothing special. Any words or advice appreciated...
First, Welcome to the Forums! ok, back to modding, First you would have to chemicaly strip the panels of paint. Next im pretty sure its just sand with corse sandpaper. Im not really sure, but that seems to make sence.
what's generally refered to as "brushed metal" is usually panel sanded metal, where basically a giant belt type sander sands sheets of metal all in one grain (direction) I actually do this stuff for my job but we generally like to get rid of that uni-directional grain. A belt sander with a strait edge perhaps could warrant the same effect. It would be very hard to sand by hand straight without arching the grain. another thing to try would be a "paint stripping wheel" you can find them at hardware stores or auto body places it fits a standard drill but strips paint along its circumfrence. It might achieve a slightly better finish as it's designed to strip paint without sanding metal and thus would "brush" it. good luck hope this helps
Hi, thanks for responding! The look that I want is similar to below: which I found here: http://www.madshrimps.be/forums/showthread.php?pagenumber=1&threadid=11063 As you can see, he's only used a hand-held belt sander. I am intrigued by the "paint stripping wheel," and may give that a go, and if it's not the desired effect, I can go with the sander afterwards. Also, aside from just being brushed, I want it to be shiny, as well as protected.. so would a couple clear coats do the job, or perhaps something else? Also, I wonder if it would be possible to achive a brushed metal look with the plastic front and side-handle/latch? I assume someone out there may have attempted something similar? Thanks!
use an random obital sander if your going for the curved look, works great. If I still had pics of my old case i'd get you some.
I read somewhere (I think it was in a project log on this site) that someone did it by simply using a metal brush
what you do is strip the paint with stripper or a sander, then to get the brushed look take a 2X4 and wrap it in 600-800 grip sand papper to make parrallel lines on the panel. mode on M8
Welcome to the forums! Have a search for coolmiester, decent guy and all that, but more importantly he's posted a few pictures of steel and alu stuff he's polished up. Now I know you want the brushed look, but when it comes to clear coat his posts will tell you what to do. In fact, I think he just leaves them as they are after a good polish and things tend to stay ok.
yah you can clear coat after "brushing" the metal as you should because unless the case is aluminum it will quickly rust. The 2X4 wrapped in sandpaper is a novel aproach I haven't thought of, as for getting it shiny going over it once with say a low grit sandpaper then again with a high would probably do the trick, you could probably polish it to some extent but they are kind of opposite effects as the brushed surface is groves in the surface refracting light and polished metal is trying to get it as smooth as possible. I can vouch for the paint stripping wheel giving the right effect as I use them from time to time along with panel sanders, its more a question of time effectiveness and ease of use. at any rate a paint stripping wheel is about $8 but come to think of it you could buy a wire brush wheel for the same price so then you could at least say it really is brushed. (the difference between the 2 is that the paint stripping wheel is a higher grit and synthetic material, wire brush wheels are wire...)
Ditto on getting the brushed look. Ever seen stain-less steel appliances? Stainless steel does not come with that finish. They 'engrave' it with the process described above (very particular process with a belt sander). Stick with the belt sander idea, it will work the best. Regardless if your case is steel or aluminum, you need to protect it. Raw aluminum will oxidize over time. First thing to get that brushed look looking better is to give that pattern a mirror finish without getting rid of the grain. This is commonly called a 'satin' finish. Goto your hardware store and find some stuff called rouge (it looks like red clay). This is a fine metal polish. Its like very fine sandpaper, but you use a cloth rotary wheel to apply it. It will take out all tiny scratches without changing the surfaces fine detail. Rouge is sometimes referred to as a metal polish. Its most commonly used during jewelery fabrication, but Ive seen it in HomeDepot. Lastly, I wouldnt trust protecting the finish with just the rouge. Go find some spray stainless-steel polish. It is supposed to be for (you guessed it) stainless-steel appliances, but it will also work on other metals. Clear-coat doesnt bond very well with pure metal. Its meant to bond with (already applied ) coats of paint. Just as paint needs a primer to bond with metal. A polish on the other hand, is designed to (temporarily) give a protective coat for what its designed for (hence, the stainless steel polish). Take it or leave it. This is how I have managed to make raw aluminum pieces look like satin finished stainless-steel at work.
Thanks everyone for the welcome and the advice. Today, after purchasing a few supplies yesterday, I did a test-run on an old system case from my attic. I did a belt-sander vs. the paint-stripping wheel and found that the belt sander provided a more consistent pattern, while the paint-stripping wheel certainly did the job, it was not as consistent for it does not have as much surface area in contact with the panel, and thus created a sense of inconsistency. The belt-sander was perfectly what I was looking for. At this point, it looked great, pretty shiny since it was just sanded. After that, I applied three different techniques which i read about across the internet, using supplies I had/just bought. One one third, I applied car wax/polish alone, on the next third I applied just the clear coat, and on the last I applied both the wax, then clear coat. Needless to say, I was pretty dissappointed. All three techniques left a haze over the shininess, leaving it semi-dull. So, I've decided to try (ironically enough) Hazer's approach. I will need to purchase the rouge and spray stainless-steel polish. Hazer, if you read this, this is what I plan to purchase, unless you know something that should keep me from buying these: Fuller Spray 'n Sheen Stainlkess-Steel Spray Polish 4 oz. Red Jeweler's Rouge Then I will have to purchse the buffing wheels prob from same place as rouge. Thanks everyone for the advice, after I finish (rpob won't be for a while, since I'll have to order these products) I'll post some pictures!
glad we could help. I still suggest coating it with something as those metals will tarnish over time. The rouge (which is an abrassive and in case you wanted to know its ground up sea shells in a oil and clay mixture not unlike plasticine) will polish up the surface quiet nice, avoid finger prints as those will show up as well. Its a shame about the clear coat hazing. its also true that on a polish surface with no primer it won't stick well (wouldn't hold up to scratching) The final and best option would be to finish it perfecty and then have it powder coated, clear super shiny surface thats hard as nails. Anyways good luck
I used paintremoval stuff (Nitromors) and rotarybrush in drill. Im not sure if that's what you're searching but here it is anyway. Oh allready second edit I think that's BRUSHING, in other pic it were normal sanding IMO. Brushing makes deeper scratches and so stronger texture. Sanding makes things flat (sorry my language, I didn't sleep lastnight )
