Tips on painting a polka dot pattern?

B

Brad Gamma

Weaksauce
Joined
Jan 9, 2008
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78
Hey guys.

I am about to start ordering things for a new modded case for my girlfriend, and I have a few questions about the paint job I want. I am most likely going to order a Lian Li a05n, and do a custom paint job on it. The outside of the case I want to sort of replicate the style in the following picture (bear in mind, this is for my girlfriend, its the sort of stuff she likes)

img-thing


Now, I have a powdercoater near me who can do the whole outside of the case in the green I want for a good price. But what would be the best way to add the polka dots? The finish isn't a HUGE deal, I don't need the dots to be mirror smooth, or as good quality as the powder coating. Any tips? Is powdercoating and then putting dots on a good idea? How would you do it.

Consider that this is my first paint job and also that I can't go nuts with money. My budget isn't that low, but I mean I can't afford to go buying airbrush guns or ovens or something :D

Thanks in advance!
 
You could get the little color coding dot stickers and use the backing off of them. You can get them at walmart, office depot, or even newegg. Just find ones with plenty of space around the sticker.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16848013049&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Labels+++Stickers-_-Avery-_-48013049

Or you could just draw a circle in paint or word and print them on labels. Same kind of idea, you'll just have to cut out a lot of little circles.

You'll just use the backing as a "stencil." Just use an xacto knife to cut through the paper so you can separate each dot. Peel off the outside and leave the dot. Stick on each little "stencil," mask off the rest of the case, and spray paint it white. You may have to go over it a couple times, but not too thick each coat or it'll run. Leave all the masking in place and clearcoat to make sure they stay on. It'll give them a little shine too. Now unmask carefully and you're good to go.
 
haha, that sticker pack idea thing is pretty clever, I'm gonna have a look around.

Man, this is gonna be one hideous computer! :D
 
Do an initial paint color that will be the color of the dots, then use the sticker idea above and lay out where you want the dots to be, and spray the other color on top, then go back and peel each sticker off. /Done
 
Shadowssong said:
Do an initial paint color that will be the color of the dots, then use the sticker idea above and lay out where you want the dots to be, and spray the other color on top, then go back and peel each sticker off. /Done
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+1 Great idea
 
Do an initial paint color that will be the color of the dots, then use the sticker idea above and lay out where you want the dots to be, and spray the other color on top, then go back and peel each sticker off. /Done
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That idea will work unless you are using powder coating. The heat they use to bake the paint would burn up your little stickers and would likely mess up the paint underneath. If he uses regular spray paint this will work better, but not with powder coating.
 
hotbrass said:
That idea will work unless you are using powder coating. The heat they use to bake the paint would burn up your little stickers and would likely mess up the paint underneath. If he uses regular spray paint this will work better, but not with powder coating.
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Yeah there lies the problem. I really would like to get the bulk of the painting done at the powdercoaters, especially since I'll only be putting the dots on 2 of the 4 sides that will be painted. If push comes to shove, I can just wuss out and have a nice plain green finish (her favourite colour).

So yeah I'm just thinking of good ways to get some sort of dot-holed stencil, rather than doing the inverse dot idea thing.

What I might do aswell, Is just throw in a 200x200 piece of aluminium at the coaters too, that I can experiment with first.

Also thank guys, I'm loving the speed of this forum, thought I'd have to bump this after a while :) Next week I'm hoping to start a scarily coloured worklog.
 
Powder coat the green and then buy white circle stickers (probably sold as labels, should come on a roll) and use those as the dots instead of using them as masks and painting the dots. ? Of course then the dots could be removed but it would work though. Maybe pc the green, apply the stickers, then put on a clear coat over the pc green+stickers?
 
Stencils will need to be thin and adhered tightly to avoid runs. You might could have a sign company die cut you a low tack vinyl template that could be stuck to the case, painted and then peeled off. Key is light coats and let it dry completely before removing the stencil.
 
Nighted said:
lol, I misread your nick as "Bad Gramma". hahahaha
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Haha, funny you should say that. My name is Chris, but when I was a teenager every time I tried to say Bad Grammar, I would accidentally say Brad Gamma. It caught on :D

cnealjr said:
Stencils will need to be thin and adhered tightly to avoid runs. You might could have a sign company die cut you a low tack vinyl template that could be stuck to the case, painted and then peeled off. Key is light coats and let it dry completely before removing the stencil.
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Yeah a guy on the best case scenario forum suggested this, sounds interesting. Any worklogs showing someone using a vinyl template, or anything else I can read? Is this something most sign shops would offer do you think?
 
do you have to make your girlfriend's case look gay? i don't get why you are bothering.
 
Anyway, OP you could just paint it twice. Once with main color you want, then attach the stencil and paint over it again.
 
Have it powder coated green, then get a local guy to airbrush your "dots" you want.
 
To answer your question, most sign shops should have a vinyl die cutter that they use to make signs with. I don't know what they would charge, but it might be worth asking. Just tell them what you are wanting to do, and that you need a low tack, removable template and they should be able to help you.
 
If you can find a graphic design store, or a really good art store you can buy precut circular masking tape dots on a role. Staedler & Mars make them. They are 1 inch diameter if I recall. I have a role in my drafting kit from back in the day.
 
Go to a vinyl cutter. And have them cut a sheet of circles in the pattern you want. Then instead of keeping the stencil, keep the part with the circles. Then apply the sheet to the side panel at one time. You will get nice, even, straight, circles and they should be basically permanent. They will be shinier than the label stickers since they are vinyl. If you are trying to do this on curved panels, good luck.
 
I would just have a sign shop print the polka-dot pattern and wrap it in vinyl. Easy, perfect, and if a panel gets messed up, you can just re-wrap that panel if you get a little extra.
 
Yeah I'm definitely gonna check out some sign shops, find some vinyl cutters. It wasn't something that even remotely crossed my mind, but so many people are suggesting it! I found a few websites, I'll start making some calls and emailing some people.
 
Imho a vinyl die is probably overkill for this project. I highly doubt he'll be painting more polka dots anytime soon. If I were doing this, I would either use the inverse dot sticker idea or maybe cut a hole in a file folder, set it down, and run the airbrush over it real quick. I've used file folders, masking tape, and just plain paper to make airbrush stencils and as long as you spray light coats you're fine. The same strategy will work with rattle can paint too. Just keep your distance so the aerosole doesn't blow the stencil.

You could use contact paper to do this too. Just use your xacto and a hole stencil you can find in the school supply section or the dollar store. Cut your circles the way you want them and stick the whole thing to the case. Spray and wait for it to dry and add coats as you desire.

I would paint them instead of getting stickers and putting them on. You don't want them coming off and leaving little sticky spots on the case to collect dirt and dust.

I'm just an advocate of doing things as simple as possible and as cheap as possible while still getting the desired results. Paying someone for a vinyl stencil that you'll probably use once, seems like overkill to me when you could do this yourself with very little time or money in it.
 
Screw the paint! just use the dot stickers! Unless she is a perfectionist she will love it.
 
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