SteveF's Pedal Building Journey

SteveF

Sounds like a plan  

Adam_MD

Philtre said:

SteveF said:

Adam_MD said:

Craft knife and a good ruler on a cutting mat.

That's exactly what I did. Maybe I had the blade at an angle in towards the ruler trying to prevent the knife wandering away from the ruler (which was outside of the image) :-/ 

I think it's actually the thickness of the vinyl sticker itself rather than a not sharp cut. I'll try and keep the knife more vertical next time and see if that works better. 

Maybe the edge is showing because of the enclosure's dark background? My enclosure was light grey. Perhaps a lighter coloured border on the decal would work? I'll have to check next time I cut one.

Which paper are you both using the stuff I linked in your thread @Philtre?  

I haven’t had a white line showing on any of mine since I stopped using scissors and started using a knife and ruler.  I use black sparkle enclosures all the time and don’t have issue.

This was printed on white paper

Adam_MD

Philtre said:

As an aside, have you noticed how pedal building is 90% enclosure drilling, painting, covering, printing, and other hardware issues and 10% actual electronics?

That’s the main reason building and selling pedals as a diyer is uneconomical.  When someone looks inside a pedal and says it only has £5 worth of electronics in it they’re correct but the enclosure and the amount of time it takes you to finish and build the damn thing is why you can’t flog them for the £20 some people think it costs you to build them.  

Thats also the reason I do batches of enclosures so I can get it out of the way and onto the fun stuff the electronics.

Adam_MD

SteveF said:

Much happier with the clear coat this time.  More coats and it's got a nice thick coating on there now with a lovely glossy sheen.  I guess time will tell how durable it is.  Still a bit tacky, so I'll leave it at least another 24 hours before building it up I think. 

I’ll tell you what your sprayed clear coats are a lot better than mine.  My early pedals before I started using envirotex look much worse than that.  

Philtre

The paper I use is this - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00PFW4K7C/

I wonder how long it's best to leave the newly printed decal before (1) cutting it and (2) pouring ET on it? Not sure if the ink from the printer needs time to settle or dry?

Adam_MD

Philtre said:

The paper I use is this - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00PFW4K7C/

I wonder how long it's best to leave the newly printed decal before (1) cutting it and (2) pouring ET on it? Not sure if the ink from the printer needs time to settle or dry?

That’s weird that looks like the stuff I use but I never have that white border you guys are talking about.

I only leave it a few minutes to dry then cut it out stick it down sort my envirotex and pour.  I usually print 4 or 5 decals on 1 page to cut down on waste then get on with it after they’ve had a few minutes to dry.  

SteveF

Yeah I use the same stuff.  I suspect it's the angle I had the knife or that it was a Stanley knife rather than a craft knife - maybe it has a different angle on the blade?

SteveF

Adam_MD said:

That looks great  

SteveF

Adam_MD said:

I’ll tell you what your sprayed clear coats are a lot better than mine.  My early pedals before I started using envirotex look much worse than that.  

The first two weren't as smooth. I don't think I was putting on enough layers and I actually think I was applying it too thinly (believe it or not!) so I was getting a slightly mottled effect.  This was basically about 6 layers 30 mins apart.  

Philtre

SteveF said:

This was basically about 6 layers 30 mins apart.  

You're gonna love Envirotex...

Adam_MD

Philtre said:

SteveF said:

This was basically about 6 layers 30 mins apart.  

You're gonna love Envirotex...

Definitely.  once you pour you babysit it for 2 hours then just don’t touch it for up to a week and you’re done.  

SteveF

I guess that's the only benefit of the spray coating then, I can probably get away with building this one tomorrow.  As we said though, not sure how robust it will be. 

Philtre

I think each person has to learn from their own experience and mistakes. I built a Fuzz Factory pedal that I hand painted with Posca pens and sprayed with Rustoleum Gloss Clear Coat. It now looks like a pile of steaming cat's piss. So I've stripped it down and I'm going to use a decal and ET on it. Design it, Print it, ET it. Done!

SteveF

Are you completely sold on ET now then? The other day you still weren’t convinced it was the ultimate solution. I like the screen printed look of ‘real’ pedals - I wonder if there’s a DIY way to achieve this. 

Philtre

SteveF said:

Are you completely sold on ET now then? The other day you still weren’t convinced it was the ultimate solution. I like the screen printed look of ‘real’ pedals - I wonder if there’s a DIY way to achieve this. 

Not completely sold. The process is better than spraying lots of layers and being dependent on being outside to spray. Screen printing would be ideal, of course.

Philtre

Philtre said:

SteveF said:

Are you completely sold on ET now then? The other day you still weren’t convinced it was the ultimate solution. I like the screen printed look of ‘real’ pedals - I wonder if there’s a DIY way to achieve this. 

Not completely sold. The process is better than spraying lots of layers and being dependent on being outside to spray. Screen printing would be ideal, of course.

Actually I think, for me, the ideal solution would be printing onto a sticky vinyl-type label that is completely water-proof and robust and didn't peel off. Something like how Electro-Harmonix do their pedals:

Adam_MD

I get the appeal of the simplicity of just printing the sticker but I honestly think the Electro-Harmonix pedals just look really cheap and nasty.  I like having the gloss of a nice clear coat or epoxy over the top I think it really deepens the colour.

Some of the guys on Madbean have done some screen printed pedals and kost of them look really pro.  I think pedal parts plus does some screen printing but the cost of postage makes it too expensive for us over here.  Plus you have to be doing a small for it to even be remotely economical over there.  They do look cool though.  

Danny1969

I tend to use clear vinyl, this is the same material they use to wrap vans and such. It's waterproof but not as resilient as ET but far quicker to do. Basically this is one sticker that covers top and 3 of the 4 sides. I apply the sticker before drilling and that shows me where to drill which is quicker than marking out. I might try ET'ing over the top for strength 



I kind of like the business like look rather than the comic \ abstract look of normal DIY pedals. 

SteveF

Adam_MD said:

I get the appeal of the simplicity of just printing the sticker but I honestly think the Electro-Harmonix pedals just look really cheap and nasty.  I like having the gloss of a nice clear coat or epoxy over the top I think it really deepens the colour.

Some of the guys on Madbean have done some screen printed pedals and kost of them look really pro.  I think pedal parts plus does some screen printing but the cost of postage makes it too expensive for us over here.  Plus you have to be doing a small for it to even be remotely economical over there.  They do look cool though.  

I agree, I'm not a massive fan of the look of the Electro Harmonix pedals. Maybe if the rest of the pedal was powder coated first it would be ok, but they just look unfinished to me. 

SteveF

Danny1969 said:

I tend to use clear vinyl, this is the same material they use to wrap vans and such. It's waterproof but not as resilient as ET but far quicker to do. Basically this is one sticker that covers top and 3 of the 4 sides. I apply the sticker before drilling and that shows me where to drill which is quicker than marking out. I might try ET'ing over the top for strength 



I kind of like the business like look rather than the comic \ abstract look of normal DIY pedals. 

I like that - how do you get it to go around the rounded corners etc?