need help painting

I paint yoyos with car paint and i used acrylic paint to splash it was fine but i want to try to mask it by that i mean painting the yoyo a color then masking it with hot glue or something then painting over it so it has a splash effect the only thing is i cant splash with hot glue any ideas

Wax? You can find a wax that has a fairly low melting temperature but with a contrasting color to the base coat(so you can see it) and then melt that down and then splash it onto the yoyo. However, and forgive my ignorance on painting, but it seems that this method would work best if you’re going for minimal base coat coverage, with the new paint color coat you’re working on being the main color, with your base coat being the splashed color.

The thing that has me worried the most is removal of the wax and any issues that might have with the new paint going down. With the low melting point, it could come off easily if done before the paint really has time to set. The idea is the same as using painter’s tape to mask off an area as you don’t want to wait for the paint to dry before removing the tape. Otherwise, you can take off paint you didn’t want to remove.

Another idea might be involving some sort of printable adhesive paper that you could lay down, but with all the geometry on a yoyo in such a small area, I don’t thing this would be a good idea.

I don’t know, It could just be that the originals are actually splashing a thick paint, then doing a scraping process to remove thickness and then sanding to a smooth finish using a wet sanding process and very fine grit sandpaper?

I don’t plan on buying a yoyo with a splash or spatter design unless I’m buying it in order to have it stripped and then repainted a solid color. But, before it goes out for re-finishing, I’d check it out to see if the different paint colors added texture, mainly for satisfying my own curiosity. My own opinon: I find the splatter and splash designs to be ugly and is something that would make me NOT want to buy something simply because of that.

I’m just an audio engineer. I don’t paint! What do I know…

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I,ve heard of useing Elmer’s glue. Use a paint brush to splash it on then let it dry. Paint let dry then peel. I’ve never acualy tryed it but it seem’s to that it would work just fine for what your trying to do.

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The good old masking problem.

In a previous life, I painted various Star Wars helmets and armor. Quite a daunting task I might add. Anyway, depending on what you’re using to paint with will depend on what you use. My favorite is using spray can paint. Obviously start with a primer. Being a yoyo, you wont need much. Then, paint the entire yoyo the color you want your splash to be. Once that is dry, use toothpaste as a mask and “paint” with it where you want you scratches or splash to be. Put it on nice and thick to cover over your base color. Once thats on, spray paint the entire yoyo what ever color you want. Once it’s dry, use a damp rag and wipe off tooth paste - thus revealing the base splash color. Its actually really simple and looks good with sharp clean lines. Its called a layering technique. You can use toothpaste or even something like mustard - I tried mustard once and it yellowed things. Toothpaste is best. If your interested, send me a PM, I’d be happy to help. Been toying around with this idea for a while myself.

Here’s a shot of my first helmet. It was all done using layers. Stared with silver and worked my way up.
http://pixa.s3.amazonaws.com/images/017/15880654_th.jpg

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With that kind of work, you must be popular with the sci-fi and anime crowds.

I’m just one of many that does stuff like that. It too is a rather large community. Always had/have an interest in art. On the side, along with yoyoing, i paint miniatures, build rpg terrain, draw comics, and do pretty much what ever else I can get my hands on that’s creative. Maybe now I can carry that over into yoyos. I like most of the designs, but it would be cool if you could order a specific yoyo with a “blank” appearance to it so a person could paint their own and customize it. Just a thought…

Actually, some companies produce a raw metal yoyo. It’s a finished product unto itself, but that’s a good starting point. I think the current splash, splatter, speckle and acid wash are ugly and I can’t find myself wanting to buy a yoyo with such a design. I’d rather buy an “unfinished” one for the same price, then spend extra to send it to a painter to have it painted or powder coated using the color of my choosing instead. That’s just for metal. Maybe also make a generic grey plastic design(generic as in no decoration, not in regards to shape) for those who want to paint plastic yoyos too.

I think your idea has validity. I don’t think they’ll do it, but it can always get stripped back down to to bare metal, primered and repainted or power coated. I think powder coat has an advantage as it’s supposedly not as prone to chipping and more durable.

Powder coating has a HUGE disadvantage though. It’s way too hard to get it balanced perfectly.
It can be done but not in large quantities.

correct me if im wrong, but grinding goes down correct?

I’ve never personally had to deal with anything small enough where ensuring balance would have been an issue. I can see where your concerns would be. Since we’re dealing with the particles adhering based on I forget either positive or negative charge, it does help add to a fairly even coat, but I can easily see how it can also cause some unevenness as more particles clump onto an area.

As far as grind responsiveness, I know you can have textured powder coat materials that can give various surfaces, such as a satin-like finish. I’m used to more 3D textures where you can really feel it. Since the powder coat actually melts and bonds to the surface in the baking process, I could easily see the powdercoat filling in the satin surface and basically undoing that work that was done to make something suitable for grinding. You can always do a satin process to the powerdercoat afterwards.

Now that I think about it, I know you can do masking for powerdercoat, but it’s typically done as “one piece, one color”, but I know that’s not a set in stone rule. It’s just a bit more difficult. Plus, I do not know when you’d remove a masking in the process. I know that the charge that is applied to help attract and keep the particles in place is kept throughout the process(coating and then baking). I do not know how much bleed there would be.

But, as I said, stuff I’ve been dealing with, balance hasn’t been an issue. I’ve been dealing with stuff liker rack plates and panels. This is stuff that needs to be properly cut to size within tolerances. After that, what is needed is a coat that is durable and has complete coverage. This is to prevent rust and protect the material. in some cases, we need to have it printable or often with just enough texture for easy grip. Some of the 1-space rack panels I have have a dull black powder coat, and it’s got some texture on it which I’m sure would be fine for grinds. My stage box(where my main inputs come together and then go down a 56-channel MASS connector) is powder coated in a black semi-gloss that was silk-screened. It also has a bit of a texture. You’d just have to see it because I can’t describe it effectively and I don’t know how to photograph it in a manner where you’d see it.