Prepping blades for paint

[grundlman]

Hey guys, having some adhesion issues with my painted blades. Do you guys etch the blades before starting the paint process?

 

Thanks

Jason

[smalljaw]

The blades you want to paint are steel blades. The reason is they are lighter so the weight from the paint won't effect the spin as bad. That said, you can paint brass blades but if they are plated you will need to take a Dremel sanding bit and sand the plating off or if they are lacquer coated you will need to soak in mineral spirits or acetone to get the lacquer off then lightly sand and they will be ready for paint.

[fshng2]

Smalljaw is it possible to Powder Paint them?

[cadman]

Smalljaw is correct you need to sand the blades if you want good adhesion. I have powder painted steel, brass and nickel plated blades front and back  and it works fine. I would suggest using a fluid bed as it puts on a thinner coat. Then if you want, you can put on all the colors after that. The only thing I noticed about the powder paint is that it does make the blades heavier, however it does not affect the spin. Make sure you use a good ball bearing swivel. Below are some painted blades I've done over the years. Any and all powder paints will work on blades.

Edited June 20, 2017 by cadman

[fshng2]

30 minutes ago, cadman said:

Smalljaw is correct you need to sand the blades if you want good adhesion. I have powder painted steel, brass and nickel plated blades front and back  and it works fine. I would suggest using a fluid bed as it puts on a thinner coat. Then if you want, you can put on all the colors after that. The only thing I noticed about the powder paint is that it does make the blades heavier, however it does not affect the spin. Make sure you use a good ball bearing swivel. Below are some painted blades I've done over the years. Any and all powder paints will work on blades.

 

Thanks for the info and pics.

Nice work!

Do the blades hold up better with PP vs painting?

 

[cadman]

I have been powder painting for over 10 years. I will say yes my preferred choice would be powder paint. Just like powder painting jigs, blades actually hold up better than jigs, because most of the time you are not dragging the blades. Also if you bake the blades, then they are real durable and if you decide to clear coat them, then you will have the best of both worlds.

 I have in the past painted blades with lacquer paints. I believe lacquer paint sprayed on over an etching primer is a good choice if you want to go wet paint. Lacquer paint can also be clearcoated for more durability. The only thing with lacquer is the smell and the clean-up.

Whichever you chose, they both should do the job, but I prefer powder paint.

[grundlman]

Thanks guys.....this has been very helpful