Stick a photo on painted metal?

roseblood11 · 2009-06-29T21:38:43+00:00

Hallo, neben der Fotografie baue ich auch elektrische Effektgeräte für Musiker. Nun möchte ich mal beides verbinden und ein solches Gehäuse mit einem Foto g...

roseblood11

Hello, as well as photography, I also build electrical effects units for musicians. Now I’d like to combine the two and design a case like this with a photo: http://www.banzaieffects.com/files/images_...led/d_16160.gif It’s a solid (=rigid) aluminium case, finished with a smooth coat of white acrylic paint. The photo is about 6 x 11 cm in size and is to be stuck onto the top. Afterwards, the enclosure and photo will be coated with clear acrylic varnish in several emulsions, as the whole thing will be a distortion pedal for electric guitar, operated by foot... -What is the best adhesive to use? Spray adhesive (which one?)? Or, instead of using adhesive, simply press the photo onto a wet layer of clear varnish? And: Should I apply a coat of clear varnish to the photo before sticking it on (just the front, or the back as well?)? I’m worried it might still warp, stretch or swell if I only varnish it after sticking it on? Kind regards, Immo

Urnes

Hi, I’m not exactly an expert, but I reckon it looks a bit more up to scratch if there’s no paper backing on the casing. So I’d try using liquid emulsion and then apply a coat of clear varnish over the top. Another option – though I’m not sure if it works – was once mentioned to me by a car painter. He used to take posters, spray a few emulations of clear varnish over them, then peel off the paper, leaving the ink on the clear varnish – like a film. He’d then place this on the bonnet and spray a few more layers of clear varnish over it, and the pseudo-brush finish was done. But I reckon that would only work if you print the image digitally onto paper, because you need the colorant. Regards, Sven.

Wolfram

Hi Imo, If you can afford it: Any decent car paint shop will know companies that can transfer photos onto a thin, self-adhesive, solvent-resistant film. You can paint over these, just like decorative strips on a car, however you like. Various photo services also offer prints on film to ‘embellish’ things like plates and cups, for example. :angry: You’ll need to ask whether they can be painted over. The cheapest method would be to print the image onto thin (printing) photographic paper. Colour laser printing isn’t quite as smart, but it’s more lightfast. Coat this print with acrylic clear varnish in several thin layers, stick it on (also using clear varnish), and then paint over it. I’ve done this on motorbike tanks. I don’t know if it works with synthetic resin paint.... . You can also apply a light-sensitive photographic emulsion to (almost) any object and then expose and develop the workpiece directly..... . Can it be painted over.......? <_< Regards Wolfram