I had a few people ask about how I got my shiny metal flake finish on my D-EF47 and D-87 which you can see here. Since I got the 251 body from this thread a few months ago, and I was going to give it the metal flake treatment sooner or later, I thought I'd document my way of working.
To preface, my method is in no way the best way to do this. I got most of my ideas from watching how-to youtube videos and going through threads and articles on metal flake finish in the automotive world. My initial plan was to go to a car finish shop that specializes in metal flake, but the startup costs were very prohibitive. The surfaces these people work with are much larger and much flatter, so I had to figure out a way to downsize the entire process.
Also, this isn't a cheap option when you don't plan on doing this more than once. Total cost of all the tools and products is around 250€. For this mic I still had everything at hand, but I still used about 25€ worth of consumables. Which is also a good place to start the slide show.
From left to right : 2K metal putty, a spray can of silicon remover, a spray can of metal epoxy primer and a spray can of glossy black top coat. I use the metal putty when there are engravings in the mic body (text, logo, symbols,...) which I didn't have to do for this project. I ordered the metal putty and spraymax stuff from a web store specialized in car finishing products. I'll come back to how and why these are used.
From left to right : Hemway champagne gold auto metal flake (the finest size they have), 1K clear coat, thinner for the clear coat, and 2K clear coat. I'll come back to how and when these are used as I go along.
My tankless air compressor, which I got from an airbrush store. I also got the (very cheap) airbrush set on the right from there. It's a very rudimentary airbrush for coarse work, but even then I sand off the tip to make it rounder, and sand away some of the tip opening to enlarge it, to be sure the metal flake sludge flows easily through the opening.
Always wear protection! I use the gas mask when using the spray cans, and put on the goggles and overalls when using the 2K clear coat. Very nasty stuff that you don't want in your airways or other bodily cavities.
The makeover victim.
Not shown in the picture is the sanding paper I used to take of all coats of paint and get down to bare metal. I use the purple 3M stuff which I love. I start with 120 to do coarse damage, then use 320 to smooth out the deep scratches the 120 leaves. This is an advantage of working with metal flake - it gets so thick the base doesn't need to be super smooth like it would have to be for a normal color coat job. Also in the picture : my very professional mic body spraying holder frame. The wooden rod sits loosely between some screws, so I can turn it from the side and rotate the body and end cap as I'm spraying. Doesn't look like much but it works.
Close up of the masking tape situation. This is mostly to prevent unnecessary sanding at the end of the process, for grounding reasons but also for fit. Metal flake coats can get thick, as I'll explain later.
After thoroughly cleaning and de-greasing, I apply one coat of primer. Pretty straightforward so far. I let this dry in the sun for about 4 hours.
Next up, two coats of the black top coat, 15 minutes in between for flash off. I don't really remember why this is necessary, but it makes it easier to see where the flake isn't fully covering the surface yet - especially with light colored flake. This coat also dried for a few hours in the sun.
A closeup of the other side of the end cap, and the masking tape situation.
Preparing to apply the flake. I have two containers. The one on the left will hold the thinner, which I will only use to clean. I once made the mistake of adding thinner to the clear coat, and even though they're designed to work this way, with the metal flake in the mix I ended up with a dull looking syruppy goo which clogged the airbrush like crazy. But to remove gunk from the airbrush between sprays it works great. The container on the right will house the clear coat and metal flake mixture. I use a stainless steel nut as shaker. Metal flake tends to settle fairly quickly in the clear coat, and shaking the container with the nut inside keeps the suspension mixed as I spray.
The containers switched places in this picture. On the left is the metal flake and clear coat mixture, which is about 1:1, maybe a little more clear than flake. On the right is the thinner.
After the first pass. You can clearly see how much of the black top coat is still visible. Patience is key throughout everything that follows - better to do thinner and more coats then end up with saggy flake because the layer you laid is too thick, or a dull sheen because you loaded too much clear coat and flake mixture and it had started to dry in the bottle. This is exactly what happened during this project : I had to completely redo the end cap when the body tube and end cap got their fourth and final coat, because the clear coat had began to dry in the container and it turned the last layer very dull and opaque. Scrape of everything, sand back to bare metal, primer, 2 coats of black and 4 coats of flake. The body tube was fine though.
A little side note on the red tape at the edges of the body tube. My idea was to not spray flake on the edges, to ensure a good fit, but most of all to prevent chipping at the edges. After the spray job I would have to sand the ends of the tube for conductivity, and I noticed that if I have flake all the way at the edge, there's no clear coat to hold it down to the metal. Open up and close the mic a few times and the flake will start to chip the clear coat. Looks like that idea panned out, even though I had to use a file to remove some clear coat at the edge to have the tube fit in the end cap, which was already a tight fit with the original paint job. The head basket had enough clearance to not need any work.
A word of warning : it's impossible to not make a mess. If you want to go on this adventure, be prepared to have metal flakes everywhere in a ten meter radius. And look like you've been wearing glitter on your face. All worth it though!
You can also see that I disassemble and clean the airbrush spray tip between every coat of flake. Metal flake goop clogs up the very fine passage very easily, and having drying clear coat come out of your airbrush and create blobs and strings on your mic body is not a fun experience. Also, I wear gloves throughout the entire process - to prevent my hands to get covered in metal flake and harmful chemicals, and to keep finger grease off the mic body parts.
This is what it looked like after the four coats of metal flake. Here you get to see how difficult it is to capture the effect in a still image. The blurry background actually gives a better idea of just how sparkly this already looks. At this point it's important to have the thick layer of clear coat that holds the flakes together to dry out as much as possible. I left these to dry and harden for two days - outside in the sun during the day, inside on the radiator during the night. Then they were ready for the 2K clear coat.
This is after six thin double passes of 2K clear coat, 12 minutes flash off in between coats. The point of these coats is to fill the height differences created by the rough metal flake, and to create a relatively flat surface.
On this closeup you can see that I got a pretty smooth surface after the six coats, with some flakes sticking out because they ended up perpendicular to the surface. The next step is to sand down the clear coat without going too deep, which would damage the metal flake layer. It's important to note that the 2K clear coat can only has a workable window of about 24 hours. On the label it says 48h but to be on the safe side I aim for 24. This means that this thick layer of clear coat needs to dry and harden within that window, so I put the parts inside on the radiator again, since the weather was pretty cold that day.
Using a hard sanding block to create a flat surface, I went at it with the 800 first. I do this under a lightly running tap. Wet sanding gives a much smoother result, especially with these super fine grains. After I removed most of the bumps with the 800, I go down to 1500 and then 3000, sanding by hand, or rather by finger, to sand out the little valleys where the 800 grit on the hard block didn't get. This is very gentle sanding - more like rubbing - as not to go too deep through the clear coat.
Since I used my bare hands to sand the parts - gloves take away sensitivity in the finger tips - I degrease the parts thoroughly before the next step.
Here you can kind of see the result. The picture was taken in low light so it's not the greatest quality but you can make out the dulled out surface and the shiny bits that are deeper than what the sanding block took off. This is actually kind of scary to do the first time, since it looks like you ruined all your hard work. Most of the sparkle from the flakes is dulled out by the sanded surface.
But the sparkle comes back with a vengeance once you finish off your work with two more coats of the 2K clear coat. It actually deepens the sparkle since the light is less refracted by the rough surface you had before the sanding. Looking back I could've sanded a bit deeper, and added one extra final clear coat, but I'm satisfied with the result.
And here it is. A shiny, champagne gold (and still very empty) ElaM 251 clone!
To preface, my method is in no way the best way to do this. I got most of my ideas from watching how-to youtube videos and going through threads and articles on metal flake finish in the automotive world. My initial plan was to go to a car finish shop that specializes in metal flake, but the startup costs were very prohibitive. The surfaces these people work with are much larger and much flatter, so I had to figure out a way to downsize the entire process.
Also, this isn't a cheap option when you don't plan on doing this more than once. Total cost of all the tools and products is around 250€. For this mic I still had everything at hand, but I still used about 25€ worth of consumables. Which is also a good place to start the slide show.
From left to right : 2K metal putty, a spray can of silicon remover, a spray can of metal epoxy primer and a spray can of glossy black top coat. I use the metal putty when there are engravings in the mic body (text, logo, symbols,...) which I didn't have to do for this project. I ordered the metal putty and spraymax stuff from a web store specialized in car finishing products. I'll come back to how and why these are used.
From left to right : Hemway champagne gold auto metal flake (the finest size they have), 1K clear coat, thinner for the clear coat, and 2K clear coat. I'll come back to how and when these are used as I go along.
My tankless air compressor, which I got from an airbrush store. I also got the (very cheap) airbrush set on the right from there. It's a very rudimentary airbrush for coarse work, but even then I sand off the tip to make it rounder, and sand away some of the tip opening to enlarge it, to be sure the metal flake sludge flows easily through the opening.
Always wear protection! I use the gas mask when using the spray cans, and put on the goggles and overalls when using the 2K clear coat. Very nasty stuff that you don't want in your airways or other bodily cavities.
The makeover victim.
Not shown in the picture is the sanding paper I used to take of all coats of paint and get down to bare metal. I use the purple 3M stuff which I love. I start with 120 to do coarse damage, then use 320 to smooth out the deep scratches the 120 leaves. This is an advantage of working with metal flake - it gets so thick the base doesn't need to be super smooth like it would have to be for a normal color coat job. Also in the picture : my very professional mic body spraying holder frame. The wooden rod sits loosely between some screws, so I can turn it from the side and rotate the body and end cap as I'm spraying. Doesn't look like much but it works.
Close up of the masking tape situation. This is mostly to prevent unnecessary sanding at the end of the process, for grounding reasons but also for fit. Metal flake coats can get thick, as I'll explain later.
After thoroughly cleaning and de-greasing, I apply one coat of primer. Pretty straightforward so far. I let this dry in the sun for about 4 hours.
Next up, two coats of the black top coat, 15 minutes in between for flash off. I don't really remember why this is necessary, but it makes it easier to see where the flake isn't fully covering the surface yet - especially with light colored flake. This coat also dried for a few hours in the sun.
A closeup of the other side of the end cap, and the masking tape situation.
Preparing to apply the flake. I have two containers. The one on the left will hold the thinner, which I will only use to clean. I once made the mistake of adding thinner to the clear coat, and even though they're designed to work this way, with the metal flake in the mix I ended up with a dull looking syruppy goo which clogged the airbrush like crazy. But to remove gunk from the airbrush between sprays it works great. The container on the right will house the clear coat and metal flake mixture. I use a stainless steel nut as shaker. Metal flake tends to settle fairly quickly in the clear coat, and shaking the container with the nut inside keeps the suspension mixed as I spray.
The containers switched places in this picture. On the left is the metal flake and clear coat mixture, which is about 1:1, maybe a little more clear than flake. On the right is the thinner.
After the first pass. You can clearly see how much of the black top coat is still visible. Patience is key throughout everything that follows - better to do thinner and more coats then end up with saggy flake because the layer you laid is too thick, or a dull sheen because you loaded too much clear coat and flake mixture and it had started to dry in the bottle. This is exactly what happened during this project : I had to completely redo the end cap when the body tube and end cap got their fourth and final coat, because the clear coat had began to dry in the container and it turned the last layer very dull and opaque. Scrape of everything, sand back to bare metal, primer, 2 coats of black and 4 coats of flake. The body tube was fine though.
A little side note on the red tape at the edges of the body tube. My idea was to not spray flake on the edges, to ensure a good fit, but most of all to prevent chipping at the edges. After the spray job I would have to sand the ends of the tube for conductivity, and I noticed that if I have flake all the way at the edge, there's no clear coat to hold it down to the metal. Open up and close the mic a few times and the flake will start to chip the clear coat. Looks like that idea panned out, even though I had to use a file to remove some clear coat at the edge to have the tube fit in the end cap, which was already a tight fit with the original paint job. The head basket had enough clearance to not need any work.
A word of warning : it's impossible to not make a mess. If you want to go on this adventure, be prepared to have metal flakes everywhere in a ten meter radius. And look like you've been wearing glitter on your face. All worth it though!
You can also see that I disassemble and clean the airbrush spray tip between every coat of flake. Metal flake goop clogs up the very fine passage very easily, and having drying clear coat come out of your airbrush and create blobs and strings on your mic body is not a fun experience. Also, I wear gloves throughout the entire process - to prevent my hands to get covered in metal flake and harmful chemicals, and to keep finger grease off the mic body parts.
This is what it looked like after the four coats of metal flake. Here you get to see how difficult it is to capture the effect in a still image. The blurry background actually gives a better idea of just how sparkly this already looks. At this point it's important to have the thick layer of clear coat that holds the flakes together to dry out as much as possible. I left these to dry and harden for two days - outside in the sun during the day, inside on the radiator during the night. Then they were ready for the 2K clear coat.
This is after six thin double passes of 2K clear coat, 12 minutes flash off in between coats. The point of these coats is to fill the height differences created by the rough metal flake, and to create a relatively flat surface.
On this closeup you can see that I got a pretty smooth surface after the six coats, with some flakes sticking out because they ended up perpendicular to the surface. The next step is to sand down the clear coat without going too deep, which would damage the metal flake layer. It's important to note that the 2K clear coat can only has a workable window of about 24 hours. On the label it says 48h but to be on the safe side I aim for 24. This means that this thick layer of clear coat needs to dry and harden within that window, so I put the parts inside on the radiator again, since the weather was pretty cold that day.
Using a hard sanding block to create a flat surface, I went at it with the 800 first. I do this under a lightly running tap. Wet sanding gives a much smoother result, especially with these super fine grains. After I removed most of the bumps with the 800, I go down to 1500 and then 3000, sanding by hand, or rather by finger, to sand out the little valleys where the 800 grit on the hard block didn't get. This is very gentle sanding - more like rubbing - as not to go too deep through the clear coat.
Since I used my bare hands to sand the parts - gloves take away sensitivity in the finger tips - I degrease the parts thoroughly before the next step.
Here you can kind of see the result. The picture was taken in low light so it's not the greatest quality but you can make out the dulled out surface and the shiny bits that are deeper than what the sanding block took off. This is actually kind of scary to do the first time, since it looks like you ruined all your hard work. Most of the sparkle from the flakes is dulled out by the sanded surface.
But the sparkle comes back with a vengeance once you finish off your work with two more coats of the 2K clear coat. It actually deepens the sparkle since the light is less refracted by the rough surface you had before the sanding. Looking back I could've sanded a bit deeper, and added one extra final clear coat, but I'm satisfied with the result.
And here it is. A shiny, champagne gold (and still very empty) ElaM 251 clone!
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