I’ve been wanting to customize a couple of my aluminum yoyos with a new paint job, but I was unsure if that was actually possible with normal paint or if I would have to get something special. I’ve looked into it, but all I see is “dyeing” the clear ones (which I don’t have,) and was unsure if this was the same with aluminum. I also have spray paint and was unsure if I could do that too.
Also, can I just go over my aluminum and plastic yoyos with that glow-in-the-dark acrylic paint? Or do I have to get something special for that too?
you probably can, but you’d have to put multiple thin layers with a clear coat for the best result. i would recommend airbrushing it if you can, and prepare for a vibey yoyo
@yoyospirit does some amazing powder coated paint jobs you can check out in this thread. You would need an airbrush to do it like that. You probably can just paint it also but it might chip easy and look jank but that depends on how good you are with a brush. If I was going to paint one I would definitely prime it first. I dunno much about it tho…good luck sounds like a fun project !
Okok, thank you. I’m pretty good with an airbrush so I might try to do that with my least favorite cough cough Duncun Windrunner cough cough just incase I mess up.
Blasted yoyos are better to paint because of the texture - the paint grabs onto it a lot better.
I would go for automotive paint if you can. Several very, very light coats until you cover the entire piece. Then you could probably airbrush over it, then hit it with a 2K Clear if you want to clear coat it.
I used ceramic paint on one of my yoyos and it’s the most durable that I’ve tested so far. It was purely an accident because I was hoping my yoyo would look like a white ceramic piece.
Make sure you mask the bearing s eat/response area (response doesnt matter that much, but I prefer to keep it unpainted)
Before you paint the yoyo, you will want to prep it for painting. Dunk it in a simple green solution and let it soak for like 10 mins - remove without your fingers touching it (slap some gloves on) then rinse well with clean water and then paint after it’s dried - I would let it air dry if you don’t have some sort of tack cloth to pick up particles.
If you paint it outside, do not leave it in the direct sunlight to dry, the paint will have the chances of peeling, curling, warping, crinkling, etc.
This is what I meant about blasted yoyos being better for painting. If they’re smooth, or have no blast/grit to them, the paint doesnt stick very well. Doing several light coats helps, but it won’t matter if the surface is slick and the paint has nothing to hold onto.
My bad. You don’t have to soak it if you dont have enough simple green - scrubbing it with a tooth brush and some simple green works fine (soak method is just what a lot of people do and keep a bucket of simple green laying around)
No not at all! It was a lapse in my thought process as I realized that most people don’t have gallons of simple green laying around like me. The main thing is you just don’t want oils or particles on it so the paint has the best surface to adhere to.
