advice on painting/dying plastic case parts

[tsponholz]

Hi all,

I'm back asking more about my Antec Solo drive bay issue. I hope I'm not boring everyone, but I really want to keep the clean look of this case.

I want to turn these:
http://www.antec.com/Detail.bok?no=516

into a nice Piano Black to match the sides of the Solo.

First, should I start with a base coat of vynal dye or should I use gloss paint? The final coat will definately be a clear gloss.

Do I need to give it a primer?

Should I use a silver primer? I've heard it gives the colour more "depth."

Thankfully I've ordered a few of these, so I can probably get more than one crack at it.

 

[sailer]

I've done some painting in the past, but would not claim to be an expert. So take my advice for what its worth and if someone has better, than follow their's.

Yes, use a primer. A good primer will slightly etch the material and provide a better surface for the paint to adhere. I generally base the primer color according to the future color, in other words, a dark primer with a dark color and a light primer with a light color. This varies with the effect I'm trying to produce. Sometimes, when using clearcoats or "candy" types colors, I use a silver or gold primer to accent the final color, giving it some depth and highlights.

I've haven't used vinyl dyes, so I don't know how they would affect things. The only hang up I see with them is that they might permanently change the surface and make painting a different color in the future difficult.

If you are using a clear gloss as a final coat, it won't matter as much whether the base coat is gloss or not. That said, probably using a gloss base coat will give more of the depth that you want. Since you ordered a few of these, experiment a bit to see what gives you the desired result. I'd also try an experiment on a back side of a part so that it won't matter if it turns out bad.

My best experince in painting, and I admit this is personal taste as much as anything else, is to primer, sand, primer, and resand. Then I put on a few coats of paint, resanding every coat, and finish with a clear coat. This gives me a finish that has good depth, like you're looking through some water at the color underneath.

Again note, someone else may have a different or better way of painting than I do. I'm just writing based on the experience that I've had.