Faux Brass

[Sparky_NY]

Not machining but material related.   

 

As we all know, brass costs have gotten totally out of hand.    I have been considering alternatives that would look like brass.   

 

About a month ago, I bought a Harbor Freight powder coating system, $60 with coupon.   My main idea was to powdercoat the metal pieces of the tripod when the time comes, probably in black.      Well,  I got to looking and there are 6500 colors/types available from just one vendor (prismatic powders).    They have a \"tinted\" clearcoat brass that is intended to go either over a chrome color base OR bare polished metal.   I ordered some and today gave it a try.

 

I took a scrap of aluminum about 1x4 , polished it up and coated it.   After the usual baking at 400 deg I was amazed at how much it looks like brass.   How close does it look???    The aluminum coated piece laid up against my real brass housing matches about as identical as you could ask for !!   Its amazing !!    I would say that with real and a coated piece on the table in front of you, standing, you couldn\'t tell which is which.

 

I am inside now but will try and get some pics tomorrow.   Don\'t know how well pics will do justice to such comparisions but will give it a try.

 

Here is a link to the product.       https://www.prismaticpowders.com/shop/powder-coating-colors/PPS-4431/top-brass?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlZz94cPk3wIVjjZpCh3BpglEEAQYASABEgLKe_D_BwE\'>https://www.prismaticpowders.com/shop/powder-coating-colors/PPS-4431/top-brass?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlZz94cPk3wIVjjZpCh3BpglEEAQYASABEgLKe_D_BwE

 

AND a couple pictures from their website that I would say is a real good representation.

[Sparky_NY]

Here is a coated aluminum test piece against the real brass housing.     Naturally, the camera does not capture such color / lighting  details well,  it actually matches FAR better than the pic looks.

 

BTW     Polishing then coating the heads of those steel screws to look like brass is in the plan.

[bruski]

I ordered some for the exposed box cam on the 357 since I can\'t find a piece of receiver tubing big enough. It should work ok on steel and I already have a Harbour Freight powder coating system on hand.

  Thanks for the information about this product sparky.

 

bruski

[Sparky_NY]

I ordered some for the exposed box cam on the 357 since I can\'t find a piece of receiver tubing big enough. It should work ok on steel and I already have a Harbour Freight powder coating system on hand.

  Thanks for the information about this product sparky.

 

bruski

Its a tinted clear, so the base metal has to be shined up first.     Anything on the surface shows through.    I\'m still amazed how well it matches and it should be plenty tuff.

 

I also got some \"metallic charcoal\" for the tripod pieces and that test came out beautiful.

[Timcor123]

Hey Sparky,  great idea on the powder coat.  I have been putting off buying the brass for the wheel hubs on my D&E.  Was going to make them in 6061 and just paint them but the powder coat looks like another option.  I\'m going to check out the Harbor Freight system.


Thanks for the tip


Tim

[Stirlingking]

Here is a coated aluminum test piece against the real brass housing.     Naturally, the camera does not capture such color / lighting  details well,  it actually matches FAR better than the pic looks.

 

BTW     Polishing then coating the heads of those steel screws to look like brass is in the plan.

 

Sorry for the late response. I am still on the early part of the learning curve of how forums work. 

I just now clicked the \"Like This\" button. 

I will check out the links again now that the fog is starting to clear. 

Whatever the price difference is compared to 30 year old cans of K-Mart gold spray paint is probably 

a bargain. 

If this process is as simple as it seems, it could free up enough time for me to work on the electroplating 

or metal spraying setups. 

Stirlingking 

[Sparky_NY]

Sorry for the late response. I am still on the early part of the learning curve of how forums work. 

I just now clicked the \"Like This\" button. 

I will check out the links again now that the fog is starting to clear. 

Whatever the price difference is compared to 30 year old cans of K-Mart gold spray paint is probably 

a bargain. 

If this process is as simple as it seems, it could free up enough time for me to work on the electroplating 

or metal spraying setups. 

Stirlingking 

Powders usually run about $15 a lb and go a LONG way.    I got the harbor freight gun/system and it was about $50 with the 20% coupon.    Powder coat is extremely tough, thats one of the big advantages.    Its fully cured in about 20 minutes (oven time).   I love the process !       I plan on using it for a lot of the tripod parts.