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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

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  #1  
Old 01-29-2009, 10:43 PM
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calharkins calharkins is offline
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Painting a blade??

I want to paint a blade. So I called Brownell. They told me I needed to sand blast or etch the blade to get the paint to hold. I don't have access to a sand blaster so should I use a ferric chloride etch or should I just sand to 400 grit. Sanding to less than a smooth polish should theoretically give the paint something to hold to. What do you guys think???

Cal
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Old 01-30-2009, 04:09 AM
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AUBE AUBE is offline
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I've tried both the ferric chloride etch and various grit finishes (60-600grit) and none of them compared to sandblasting for me.

If you have an air compressor you can buy a cheap sandblaster for $30. If not maybe local shop will sandblast for you. There are several shops in my area that offer sandblast services. Also if you do have it blasted make sure to use sandblasting, and not bead blasting.

There are also etchants formulated just providing a good griping surface for painting/plating but I have little experience with them.
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Old 01-30-2009, 09:12 AM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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Sandblasting, definitely. But, if that is simply not available to you, then sand with 100 grit or even coarser. Sand blasting will be coarser than that. If you use the Brownell coatings that are baked on at 350 F you shouldn't have any problems.

You should know, however, that no paint or coating no matter how it is applied is completely resistant to being scratched or scraped off .....


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Old 01-30-2009, 11:05 AM
Suicycle Suicycle is offline
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The Brownells Moly coatings are the best adhering that I have used. But I did blast with playground sand at 100 psi. You want to prep the metal after sanding or blasting. It must be clean. Also as thin of a coat to color it is what you want..... I never had a wet looking coat on any of the barrels or actions I have done and they hold up fine. They actually do better than I though they would with abrasion resistance.
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Old 01-30-2009, 12:15 PM
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DaveRuhlig DaveRuhlig is offline
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I've had good luck taking the blade to 220 before coating. He's some examples:
http://www.knifenetwork.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=45328
Like Ray said, it's tough but not industructible. The blade has to be CLEAN though.
-Dave


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Old 01-30-2009, 08:27 PM
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Ray, I planned on using Brownell's epoxy paint. I have had much experience with epoxy as I owned a lure making company at one time. You could throw down one of our lead head jigs and the paint would bend but not come off. You could drag it across rocks on the bottom for hours and never break the finish. It is the toughest paint that I know of. I planned on baking the epoxy at about 300 degrees for an hour or so. Would that mess with the hardness on 1095?

Cal
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Old 01-31-2009, 09:23 AM
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No, not as long as you had previously tempered the 1095 at some temperature greater than 300 F.

Let us know how that paint works out. The environment and mechanics that a lure experiences is quite different than what most knives ever see so I'd like to know how a tough, flexible coating would behave ...


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Old 01-31-2009, 10:28 AM
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There are guys here with beadblasters, or tumblers. You could ask very nicely and throw 'em a couple bones and I bet they'd do it for you.


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Old 01-31-2009, 10:41 AM
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If you have a compressor or access to one here is a low cost alternative on the sand blasting. Walllyworld used to have them they are made by Cambell Hausfield they are called pencil blasters. They sell for around $10-12 bucks. A five gallon bucket and bag of childrens playsand and you are in business. Pour the sand in the bucket, you may have to screen as I found small gravels in some of the bags. You may also have to let the sand dry out as the bags tend to hold moisture and the little pencil blaster doesn't pick up wet sand too well. You stick one end of the pencil blaster in the bucket and the other end is hooked to the compressor and the air pressure does the rest!
Now mind you, it does not do a wide area at a time and if you don't have a high volume compressor you may hav to stop and let the compressor catch up every so often. One word of caution tape up any parts you don't want sandblasted! For around $20.00 you are in business with a small sand blaster! Should work great for what you are wanting to do.
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Old 01-31-2009, 07:34 PM
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Thanks CRC. I will check that out. Ray, you could be very right. I will let everyone know when I get this done. The knife is going to the sand box so I will ask the guy to keep me informed on the paint job. It is part of the Great Lakes waterjet military give away.

Thanks
Cal
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