I have done something similar with etched-engraved dials. I got the powder from Harbor Freight. I have several colors but black really to be the most appropriate. The cost for a lifetime supply jar is only a few dollars.
I use a razor blade to squeegee it into the etched areas and then bake it in my shop toaster-oven (my rex-kitchen toaster oven) for about five minutes. I then clean up the surface with fine sandpaper and add as many coats as I like. (As the shampoo bottle says, Rinse and repeat.) I will be interested to learn about variegated colors that simulate patina colors. Jack From: sundial [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bill Gottesman Sent: Sunday, September 20, 2015 1:11 PM To: [email protected] Cc: Sundials List Subject: Re: Hello Ken, I have tried some powder coating on aluminum with acceptable results. 1. I do not have any powder coating facilities. I bought small amounts of powder coat on the internet (I don't recall where, but could look it up), along with a small amount of a liquid solution that suspends the powder so I could paint in on with a brush. I mostly used this to paint-fill engraved text, but also on some broader areas. I then baked the part in my kitchen oven at the proper temperature (I think 325 degrees), and the results were very good. Good adhesion, good appearance. I can't yet speak to weatherability, but the product was advertised as UV (sunlight) stable. 2. There is no question in my mind that electrostatically applied powder coat is superior to the brush-on method in terms of flatness of application and uniformity of color density. 3. Several powder coat suppliers sell colors that are variegated, meaning that the finished product is not of uniform color. For example, I tried some copper and bronze patina colors that really looked good when baked, with the sort of small scale variations in color that you expect to see on patinated copper and bronze. I can check my records for more details if you are interested. -Bill On Sat, Sep 19, 2015 at 6:34 PM, clarkkr--- via sundial <[email protected]> wrote: --------------------------------------------------- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Cc: Date: Sat, 19 Sep 2015 18:34:17 -0400 Subject: Looking for suggestings on surface treatment of my aluminum cross sundial "Time to Reflect" Hi Everyone, I am looking for suggestions on different types of surface treatment that I could do on my aluminum cross sundial besides powder coating and enamel paint in the lettering. I could anodize it but I am not sure it would hold up in the sun. Would some kind of light acid etching work or some kind of staining on the aluminum? Thanks, Ken Clark Elizabethtown, PA The following is my post from Facebook and link. Time to Reflect sundial. This is a sundial that I been working on for over a year. I designed this aluminum cross sundial on CORELDRAW which was saved as a DXF file and converted to SOLIDSWORK program and CNC by Max Machine of Elizabethtown, PA. I am still looking at different options for the finish. I have been thinking of powder coating it blue-green patina like the statue of Liberty. This is still a work in progress and is mounted over my well pipe for now. I still need to fabricate the mounting bracket and will be bolted to probably an 18 inch diameter concrete base. I need to find the right location or church that will accept this sundial. Thanks, Ken Clark https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10205271882252638.1073741827.1114522471 <https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10205271882252638.1073741827.1114522471&type=1&l=0a021f4dfa> &type=1&l=0a021f4dfa -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by <http://www.mailscanner.info/> MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.
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