Brushed Aluminum

abis · Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 8:18 am Post subject: Brushed Aluminum

I just made my first attempt at brushing aluminum and it went quite well, I must say. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a product I could use to seal the aluminum. I plan on printing up a decal as per Thomas Henry's Nuts and Volts article. (the link for that appears to have been lost btw.)

Here is the link to the tutorial I followed for the brushed aluminum:

http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=114028

Cheers,

Andrew

Photon · Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 9:58 am Post subject:

This is the stuff:
http://www.permalac.com/

I've been using it on my brass panels to keep them from oxidizing and it works great. I use the matte finish. expensive but was worth it for me.

goldenechos · Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 5:36 am Post subject:

I have been brushing aluminum and I have not found anything that works well to prevent oxidizing... I have tried clear laquer as well as a spray on clear POLY both in matte finishes. The metal looked AWESOME that day, but has since small patches of what I presume to be oxidization. These were small freckles of discoloration...

So I put the POLY on thicker and I am getting almmost no oxidization BUT, the look of the metal is not as pleasing... the thick coat of POLY obscures much of the brushing and gives the metal a more grey, plain look.

Permalac looks promising, and yes it is about 3 tmies the cost, but if it works, it will be worth it!

Please share if you have other success.

TR

Photon · Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 6:53 am Post subject:

Here's a side by side photo. The plate on the left was an early etching test that I did and has been oxidizing for a few months now. On the right is a more recent panel that has been treated with the permalac spray. Its looked the same since I sprayed it about a month ago. The mottled color in the lower corner & other imperfections occurred during etching from pinholes in the mask.

The photo is not so good but hopefully the idea comes across.

sorry if this comes across like a late night tv ad...but WAIT, there's more!

P.

sideXside.jpg

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How much would you pay to keep your synth panels from oxidizing? $100? $200? Now for just three easy payments of $5.98...

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goldenechos · Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 7:15 am Post subject:

UPDATE. Just had a chat with my Dad about this... he works on hot rods and custom cars. He shot down the spray on POLY as he said that it WILL YELLOW with age. This could be desirable to some, but if you are trying to preserve a look, it will obviously not be good.

He sugested a clear laquer... appparently I was using clear enamel, which, he said, will not do a very good job at preventing oxidization.

BTW...

Photon your work is beautiful. It has this steampunk vibe that is too often missing from modular panels.

TR

Photon · Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 7:26 am Post subject:

Thanks!

Yeah, Permalac is a laquer. I'm pretty sure thats what the 'lac' part refers to Very Happy

Clack · Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 4:03 am Post subject:

Hello,

Do you think the 'clear laquer' spray paint you can get in car shops would work?

sorry to budge in, maybe off topic, but is it possible to etch aluminum with ferric chloride? I have some of that laying around with some press'n'peel

blue hell · Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 4:31 am Post subject:

Photon · Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 5:41 am Post subject:

goldenechos · Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 8:24 am Post subject:

Check out Galv-etch as well if you are into etching Aluminum.

I have been wanting to try this as it is an enviromentally sane method of etching metal.

Works on Brass as well Photon.

TR

markusw · Joined: Jun 16, 2007 Posts: 23 Location: Vienna/Austria

Posted Image, might have been reduced in size. Click Image to view fullscreen.

This one was done with photo resist and exposure through an ink jet transparency. Developing was done with 1% NaOH, etching with ferric chloride (slightly lower concentration than I use for PCB's).
Finally, I put on a clear coat of "Zapon" laquer. Zapon laquers, as far as I know, are nitro cellulose-based. They are supposed not to get yellow over time.
So far this seems to be true. Wink

Regards,

Markus

Photon · Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 7:10 am Post subject:

Markus

Great job! Absolutely magnificent!

Dan Lavin · Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 7:24 am Post subject:

Markus,
That is freakin' amazing! Shocked

markusw · Joined: Jun 16, 2007 Posts: 23 Location: Vienna/Austria

Glad you like it Very Happy

The only drawback: you really need some good ventilation because that photoresist doesn't smell very healthy. Ideally, you also should have some kind of stove to dry the photo resist at IIRC 60°C for about 15 min.
The photo resist btw is them same type used for PCB's.
For exposure (like for my PCB's) I used a standard 250W bulb. It takes about 10 min to develop, but since I don't do enclosures on a large scale this isn't a problem.
Developing and etching is pretty straightforward.

Unkie Al · Joined: Nov 02, 2007 Posts: 24 Location: Washington DC

Has anyone attempted an engine turned finish? Think 1950s sports car dashboard, or the Spirit of St Louis engine cowling: http://www.charleslindbergh.com/history/sec/22spiritcowling-post1970.jpg

goldenechos · Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2007 5:17 am Post subject:

I did something like an engine turn finish using a dremmel. I did not like it though... too distracting to look at, and the printing on the panel was hard to read.

Tony