Repainting a steel backplate

[nmur]

hey guys

planning to repaint the backplate of a keyboard (a RF87U, to be exact), and have seen a couple of posts from people who were doing the same thing, but i just want to see if i have it down right:

• sand down plate to remove paint, with increasing grit sandpaper
• apply primer
• apply multiple coats of spray paint
• apply protection coat

is there anything i'm missing or anything i should keep in mind?

[tufty]

If you use industrial single coat paint, you can lose the primer and protection stages, and keep the thickness down for the same or better hardness.  This is the kind of paint that gets used on excavating machinery... I did my mountain bike with Besa's "Urkinox" (which is available as a pre-prepared aerosol in all RAL colours) and it's tougher than old boots.  If you want really hard, go for an oven-dry paint (Besa's "Urkidur" for example).

[HPE1000]

Yeah I would try to not go the route of completely removing the existing paint from the plate and priming it. If you simply rough up the surface of the plate and then start painting over that, it should be just fine.

Also if you want a nicer finish I would wet sand the paint every 2-3 coats so you do not end up with orange peel. If you are using a metallic paint, you have to put one more coat of paint on after sanding as you cannot really sand and then polish a metallic paint like you can with a non metallic.

If you are doing no sanding between the primer, paint, and clear coat, the paintjob could end up looking really bad.

[nmur]

thanks guys

If you use industrial single coat paint, you can lose the primer and protection stages, and keep the thickness down for the same or better hardness.  This is the kind of paint that gets used on excavating machinery... I did my mountain bike with Besa's "Urkinox" (which is available as a pre-prepared aerosol in all RAL colours) and it's tougher than old boots.  If you want really hard, go for an oven-dry paint (Besa's "Urkidur" for example).

that sounds interesting, and potentially pretty easy. i'll have to see where i can get that here in Aus.

Yeah I would try to not go the route of completely removing the existing paint from the plate and priming it. If you simply rough up the surface of the plate and then start painting over that, it should be just fine.

Also if you want a nicer finish I would wet sand the paint every 2-3 coats so you do not end up with orange peel. If you are using a metallic paint, you have to put one more coat of paint on after sanding as you cannot really sand and then polish a metallic paint like you can with a non metallic.

If you are doing no sanding between the primer, paint, and clear coat, the paintjob could end up looking really bad.

i am planning on using a non-metallic paint so that's good to know about sanding in between coats. had to google what you meant by "orange peel" but yeah definitely don't want it to turn out like that

[hexmonkey]

I would also be careful to wipe the bare metal down with a solvent before primer - just to make sure all finger oils, etc., are gone. Denatured alcohol or mineral spirits would work.