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Posted: 9/12/2024 10:49:43 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Thor][Edited]
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I’ve mentioned this in comments before, but never actually took a photo so show it. One of the things I see a lot of first timers/diy guys do on multicolor jobs is put their secondary layers on way way too thick. This leaves thick ridges at the edges when you pull off the stencils. Part of the problem likely related to the bright yellow stencils that are commonly used with Cerakote. I’ve seen quite a few “in progress” photos where the entire item, stencils included, are one solid color. That’s not supposed to be the case. They should still be rather yellow, especially if a light color is being used, but it kinda screws with your brain’s desire for uniform coverage. The large stencils in photo below are the last stencils applied and actually show more coverage than normal because I came back with a second dark color to add some gradients. The smaller, completely covered stencils, are now 2-3 layers deep. Attached File Secondary coats are supposed to be thinner than Cerakote spec. They are purely cosmetic and will bond and become one with the base layer, forming one thick coating. Adding thick secondary layers makes the overall coating too thick and will make it prone to chipping from impacts. I run my fluid and fan at about 1/2 of normal, and turn the air down as well. I "airbursh" in between the stencils. I spray straight on and not at an angle, thus limiting the spray getting under a stencil should it lift. You should also plan your layout so the lightest color is the first one you spray. If you start with black, and then spray white, you are going to need to put too thick of a white coat on to cover the black, or you just accept that your white is going to be a dusty light grey. If you can’t avoid black under brighter colors, lay them so the next darkest color comes after black. In the case of these mags, I did white>black>brown followed by tan gradient>light green followed by dark green gradient. If you noticed, I started with light green instead of dark green. This does mean that some of the light green appeared darker in the areas that it was sprayed over the brown gradients. When working with gradient colors uniformity isn’t necessary. It just means when I sprayed the dark green gradients I ended up with 3 shades of green, haha! Do a 20min 185F flash cure and pull off the stencils. Take a microfiber cloth (smooth side) ball up a section of it and work it along your part rather aggressively. Since the Cerakote is not at full hardness this will help break down and smooth any ridge or buildup that you may have between the layers to minimize the edge. End result of a 4 layer Cerakote job with very little if any perceivable ridges. Attached File And because no one is perfect all the time, there was one spot on a mag where I went a little too thick on the green. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By anachronism: Looks good! How do you keep the gradients from becoming a really rough dry spray finish? I turn my air and fluid down, and close the fan so its shooting the tight cone. I then used it like an airbrush. The slower your move, the more coverage. The faster you move, the more "misty" it looks. Usually I start in the middle of where I want my gradient and create a small oval swirl. Starting slow in the middle and moving faster as I go out. |
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@Thor Do you happen to have a step by step guide on using stencils like the once you have pictured on the mags? I get the general concept but looking at an example of your start to finish work with pointers on masking more complex surfaces like a pic rail and hard corners would be helpful. Even if it's not something you generated but you think would be a good point of reference, please point the way. Thanks |
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Originally Posted By Wangstang: @Thor Do you happen to have a step by step guide on using stencils like the once you have pictured on the mags? I get the general concept but looking at an example of your start to finish work with pointers on masking more complex surfaces like a pic rail and hard corners would be helpful. Even if it's not something you generated but you think would be a good point of reference, please point the way. Thanks @Wangstang I just came back to this to link it to someone else and saw your question. Incase you didn't see it, I made a post about stenciling here that may answer your questions: https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/Stencil-tips/19-554618/ |
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