Many have asked me about my techniques in sputtering so I thought I'd share. I don't consider myself to be pro but I've learned how to get pretty fair results. I'm not a painter (although I have done lots of painting from car interiors to model cars) so I'm sure there may be others that are better at it than me. Although it's kind of hard to explain how I do it, keep in mind I'm only sharing what I've learned to work best for me as I have tried many methods & I can get different finishes.
I first started sputtering in late 2003 when I heard of this. As far as I know & as far back as I can remember Lambda is the one who came up with this. Kevin is the one I thank for this. This thread started by Milky is one of the early threads that I can remember, there were others but I can't find them.
To start, the paint used is very important. The paint Lambda used is Kryon Crystal Clear Acrylic Gloss #1301. There's also Krylon #51301 which is essentially the same, I find no differences between the two. Another one that was not available back then is Rustoleum Crystal Clear Gloss #1901830. Pay attention to these part numbers or the description as both are available in matte finishes as well.
I've experimented with other clears over the years & these two still give me the best results. Although both work great I now prefer to the Rustoleum as it seems to be more durable. Neither turn yellow over the years but I have had reflectors start to "crack" (the sputtering) over the years with the Krylon. Haven't experienced that yet with the Rustoleum, perhaps it has something to do with the UV resistant formula?
I don't use the stock tip that comes with the Krylon although it's not bad. IIRC I use a tip from RC car body paint from when I was into RC (I tend to keep tips from all the different spary cans I've had). The Rustolem's stock tip is horrible for sputtering IMO. The spray particle size is too large. That's fine if you are looking to get a heavy sputter. Finding a nice replacement tip for the Rustoleum may not be easy as the can uses a female tip rather than a male tip as most commonly found on spray cans. Although I prefer a fine spray pattern it's not abosultely necessary to get a nice finish.
As Kevin stated, forget anything you know about spray painting, well somewhat. Generally with painting you want to avoid the orange peel effect but this is what we want to simulate a schotastic reflector.
I use a technique similar to what Kevin has stated. The first coat(s) I "mist" in short bursts to give a "overspray" coat. Depending on the amount of texture I want I will give 1-3 coats like this. If these inital coats are too heavy you may not achieve enough texture after the final coat. Let dry between coats. 5 mins is good enough as the paint drys fast. What I do differently than Kevin is give it a final "wet" coat as if you were painting to achieve a nice finish. This will bring back the shine to the reflector if done correctly. To simulate a stipple reflector don't give it a final "wet" coat.
For smaller reflectors I find that a final wet coat is generally not needed. Instead I give a slightly heavier coat on the initial coats & I never need to do more than two coats. I can usually get a good texture with just one coat.
Other do's & don'ts that I do.
-Don't try cleaning the reflector's surface to promote surface adhesion (you should never ever touch a reflector's surface with anything!).
-Use compressed air to blow the surface clean. Clean between coats if needed. If you're using an air compressor be sure to drain your tank of water and/or use a good air/water seperator.
-If you get lint in the paint while spraying, either live with it, or wait till the coat dries & if you're lucky you might be able to blow it off with compressed air if the lint landed on the coat as it has somewhat dried. If using an air compressor don't blow to close or with high pressure, you can blow the coat right off.
-If cutting the cam off or modifying the reflector, do so before sputtering.
-If it's humid or very cold you may not get good results. Avoid sputtering on rainly days. Luckily I'm in Socal so I don't see very many of those days.
-Don't use sputtered reflectors for hotwires. I've never actually tried though.
-Most importantly don't be an idiot like me who sometimes sputters in the garage with no doors open cause I don't want bugs to get in. :laughing: Sputter in a well ventalated area but not in a windy area.
I'm sure there's more that I can't think of right now but I can always add to this later. There's other techniques that I find to work as well but again, this is just what I find to work best for me & is not necessarily how you are "supposed to do it". I'm sure others have different methods too, like hair spray so I've heard.
If anyone else would like to share their thoughts & techniques or have questions, please do not hesitate to post here.
Some examples:
I've had lots of practice & even more practice with these sales:
Sputtered Mag Reflectors (Sale Thread)
Modified MiniMag Reflectors (Sale Thread)
Post #18 from the Mag sale thread shows some differences on schotastics compare to the ones I have done.
Hard to show the results as different angles on camera will make the texture appear differently. Believe it or not, these two pics are of the same exact reflector (from the post above).
Left: Sputtered reflector, Right: KD MOP (FM clone)
MagAA
HDS McR-20
FM Deep 2"
Left: Stock FM Deep 2", Right: Sputtered FM Deep 2"
Sputtered McR-20
Sputtered Khatod20
Sputtered KL4
Left: Sputtered KL4 MC-E, Right: Stock KL4
Sputtered Streamlight hybrid reflector (DragonHeart)
Looks like this stock.
Stipple effect sputter McR-20
Another stipple effect sputter McR-20
Thanks for looking. :wave:
I first started sputtering in late 2003 when I heard of this. As far as I know & as far back as I can remember Lambda is the one who came up with this. Kevin is the one I thank for this. This thread started by Milky is one of the early threads that I can remember, there were others but I can't find them.
Basically, forget anything you know about spray painting, as a nice even coat will only get you a blurry picture of the beam artifacts. You want the Krylon to just sputter onto the reflector surface in small droplets. Don't shake the can more than 15-20 sec before spraying. Spray from about 14 inches in very short burst. Rotate the reflector 90 degress between spray burst.
The one on the left is sputtered, on the right stock.
To start, the paint used is very important. The paint Lambda used is Kryon Crystal Clear Acrylic Gloss #1301. There's also Krylon #51301 which is essentially the same, I find no differences between the two. Another one that was not available back then is Rustoleum Crystal Clear Gloss #1901830. Pay attention to these part numbers or the description as both are available in matte finishes as well.
I've experimented with other clears over the years & these two still give me the best results. Although both work great I now prefer to the Rustoleum as it seems to be more durable. Neither turn yellow over the years but I have had reflectors start to "crack" (the sputtering) over the years with the Krylon. Haven't experienced that yet with the Rustoleum, perhaps it has something to do with the UV resistant formula?
I don't use the stock tip that comes with the Krylon although it's not bad. IIRC I use a tip from RC car body paint from when I was into RC (I tend to keep tips from all the different spary cans I've had). The Rustolem's stock tip is horrible for sputtering IMO. The spray particle size is too large. That's fine if you are looking to get a heavy sputter. Finding a nice replacement tip for the Rustoleum may not be easy as the can uses a female tip rather than a male tip as most commonly found on spray cans. Although I prefer a fine spray pattern it's not abosultely necessary to get a nice finish.
As Kevin stated, forget anything you know about spray painting, well somewhat. Generally with painting you want to avoid the orange peel effect but this is what we want to simulate a schotastic reflector.
I use a technique similar to what Kevin has stated. The first coat(s) I "mist" in short bursts to give a "overspray" coat. Depending on the amount of texture I want I will give 1-3 coats like this. If these inital coats are too heavy you may not achieve enough texture after the final coat. Let dry between coats. 5 mins is good enough as the paint drys fast. What I do differently than Kevin is give it a final "wet" coat as if you were painting to achieve a nice finish. This will bring back the shine to the reflector if done correctly. To simulate a stipple reflector don't give it a final "wet" coat.
For smaller reflectors I find that a final wet coat is generally not needed. Instead I give a slightly heavier coat on the initial coats & I never need to do more than two coats. I can usually get a good texture with just one coat.
Other do's & don'ts that I do.
-Don't try cleaning the reflector's surface to promote surface adhesion (you should never ever touch a reflector's surface with anything!).
-Use compressed air to blow the surface clean. Clean between coats if needed. If you're using an air compressor be sure to drain your tank of water and/or use a good air/water seperator.
-If you get lint in the paint while spraying, either live with it, or wait till the coat dries & if you're lucky you might be able to blow it off with compressed air if the lint landed on the coat as it has somewhat dried. If using an air compressor don't blow to close or with high pressure, you can blow the coat right off.
-If cutting the cam off or modifying the reflector, do so before sputtering.
-If it's humid or very cold you may not get good results. Avoid sputtering on rainly days. Luckily I'm in Socal so I don't see very many of those days.
-Don't use sputtered reflectors for hotwires. I've never actually tried though.
-Most importantly don't be an idiot like me who sometimes sputters in the garage with no doors open cause I don't want bugs to get in. :laughing: Sputter in a well ventalated area but not in a windy area.
I'm sure there's more that I can't think of right now but I can always add to this later. There's other techniques that I find to work as well but again, this is just what I find to work best for me & is not necessarily how you are "supposed to do it". I'm sure others have different methods too, like hair spray so I've heard.
If anyone else would like to share their thoughts & techniques or have questions, please do not hesitate to post here.
Some examples:
I've had lots of practice & even more practice with these sales:
Sputtered Mag Reflectors (Sale Thread)
Modified MiniMag Reflectors (Sale Thread)
Post #18 from the Mag sale thread shows some differences on schotastics compare to the ones I have done.
Hard to show the results as different angles on camera will make the texture appear differently. Believe it or not, these two pics are of the same exact reflector (from the post above).
Left: Sputtered reflector, Right: KD MOP (FM clone)
MagAA
HDS McR-20
FM Deep 2"
Left: Stock FM Deep 2", Right: Sputtered FM Deep 2"
Sputtered McR-20
Sputtered Khatod20
Sputtered KL4
Left: Sputtered KL4 MC-E, Right: Stock KL4
Sputtered Streamlight hybrid reflector (DragonHeart)
Looks like this stock.
Stipple effect sputter McR-20
Another stipple effect sputter McR-20
Thanks for looking. :wave:
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