While normal painting is all about how to achieve a smooth surface finish, crystal paint does the opposite and produces a beautiful coarse pattern. This canned spray-type crystal paint can easily produce the coarse pattern that was the symbol of high-performance engines in the past, and although it requires a baking process at 120 degrees Celsius, it can also be used for unique customization depending on your creativity.
The symbol of a high-performance engine is used for custom paint
Crystal paint sold by CARVEK. There are two types: the can spray type and the neta can sprayed with a spray gun. Both are one-component types that require no hardening agent. Although a baking environment is required, the advantage of the can spray is that it can be painted quickly.
The standard colors of black and red are often seen, but blue and yellow are unique. You can use them not only for repair but also for customization depending on your idea.
There are a number of paints that differ from regular solids and metallics, such as candy colors and matte paints, but crystalline paint is at the top of the list in terms of individuality. Crystalline paint is characterized by a finish that is the exact opposite of the smoothness required of ordinary paint, and it has been the standard for painting the head covers of high-performance automobile engines since the 1970s.
As it is called "shrinking paint," the surface of the coating after curing is characterized by the appearance of countless wrinkles. Immediately after application, the surface is glossy and smooth, but after baking and drying, the surface of the paint film randomly shrinks to form a unique pattern. Ordinary urethane and acrylic paints shrink due to the incompatibility of the paint thinner, but crystalline paints use a resin that shrinks by baking, so the pattern will always shrink when heated.
The feature of crystal coating is design and texture. In addition, when applied to the cylinder head cover, it is expected to improve the quietness of the engine. It is said that the resonance sound emitted from the headcover may be attenuated by the large surface area of the painted surface due to the innumerable crystal patterns. As an example of use other than in automotive applications such as automobiles and motorcycles, there is an example of use in the interior of a fashion brand in a department store. It is also possible to create unique interiors by painting metal sheets cut into squares like tiles with crystal paint and applying them to walls. It's up to you to come up with your own unique finish.
Crystalline paints are one-component paints, and their durability against solvents and gasoline is equivalent to that of acrylic and lacquer paints. In addition, it has a drawback that partial repair is difficult because the pattern is unique and needs to be baked. Therefore, when the paint film is damaged due to aging or other reasons, it is common to peel off the entire surface and repaint.
- Point 1: The feature of crystal coating is that countless coarse patterns are formed on the painted surface.
- Point 2: Not only can it appeal to your design personality, but it also comes with functionality.
It can be used to recolor parts that are no longer looking good.
The meter ring is made of stainless steel, so it is not rusted, but the chrome-plated meter case is rusted. Even if the rust was removed with a wire brush and sandpaper, there was nothing that could be done about the unevenness of the surface, and if it was a normal paint finish, it would need to be polished with putty or a thick coat of surfacer. In addition, even if you paint it silver or black, it tends to be seen as "it's a rusty case, so you covered it up with paint".
After degreasing and masking, spray the crystal paint. The key is to apply a thin layer of paint while allowing it to dry, because if you apply a thick layer all at once, it will drip. If the surface is flat, it is difficult to drip, but if the paint is applied thickly, the thinner contained in the paint cannot be volatilized even though the surface is hardened first during baking, and the contents may remain soggy.
However, CARVEK's crystal coating is available in black, red, yellow and blue variations, and is sold as a can spray for easy painting. CARVEK is a manufacturer that develops and sells paints and equipment for custom painting, such as gun coats, powder coatings, heating and drying equipment, sandblasting cabinets, etc. CARVEK offers both spray gun and can spray types of crystal coating.
Because of its unique finish, crystal paint is often perceived as being for repairing crystal paint, but in fact it can be applied to any part as long as the material can be baked and dried. It is also possible to custom paint a steel gas tank with crystal paint, although this may not be practical considering the care required after painting.
What we show here is an example of painting a speedometer case whose chrome plating has rusted due to aging. If you want to completely repair the rusted chrome plating, the only way is to re-plate it, but since the material of the meter case is thin, it may not be possible to remove the unevenness of the rust when it is polished in the plating pre-treatment. Even if repainting is done, puttying is necessary and no matter what color you paint it, you can't shake the impression that it is to cover up the rusted chrome plating.
However, even if the purpose is the same as hiding rust, if it is a crystal coating that has individuality in the paint film, a new value of custom paint is created.
The surface of the meter case will remain uneven if you just scrub off the rust from the plating with a brass brush and degrease with acetone, but the unevenness of the surface will become less noticeable by the complex coiled pattern created by the crystal coating. On top of that, it gives a unique look, so you can kill two birds with one stone.
If you want to achieve a color other than the four existing colors, you can also apply another layer of paint after the crystalline paint has been baked and dried, which should be an effective accent to the custom paint.
- Point 1: Can spray type crystal coating can be easily applied.
- Point 2: If you use it as a repair paint, you can get a custom taste.
When baked at 120°C for 20 minutes, a uniform shrinking pattern appears.
The surface will harden even when dried naturally, but the essential cozy pattern cannot be formed unless it is heated. If you heat it locally with a heat gun or the like, the coating film will be pulled locally when it shrinks, and you will not get a uniform finish. A toaster oven can be used, but when the temperature during heating cannot be controlled, the surface temperature should be checked with a radiation thermometer while drying. CARVEK's CV Junior is a dryer that allows you to set the temperature inside the chamber, so you can make the cozy pattern under ideal conditions.
By heating it for 20 minutes, a random shrinking pattern was completed. With this finish, no one will doubt that it was painted for custom purposes.
After curing the crystalline coating, another color can be painted over it to create a finish in a color other than the four canned spray colors. A meter case painted in black gives a sense of dignity and individuality, but if you want a glossy genuine chrome look, silver spray paint will create a new individuality with a coiled pattern and silver. However, be careful not to paint too thickly as it will destroy the crystal pattern.
I've explained several times that crystalline coatings need to be baked and dried. Baking and drying at 120°C for 20 minutes is necessary to produce a unique cozy pattern. Crystalline paint dries at room temperature. The coating dries at room temperature but does not shrink unless the temperature at which the resin shrinks is reached, which is a feature of crystalline coatings.
The key to a successful crystalline coating is to make the paint film a certain thickness. Although "some" is vague, it is better to apply a thick coating than a thin one. There is a unique characteristic of crystal coating.
Crystalline paints do not shrink at room temperature immediately after painting. The surface of the coating film is pulled up randomly in the process of the temperature rising to nearly 100°C, causing a shrinking pattern. Therefore, if the coating is too thin, there will not be enough coating to pull up during baking. Therefore, if the paint film is too thin, there will not be enough paint film to be pulled up during the baking process to create a sufficient cozy pattern. However, if you apply too thick a coating at one time, it will cause the paint to sag, so you can obtain the necessary thickness by applying three coats, with a medium drying period after each coat.
Another application technique is the crystal coating application method on resin. Basically, the baking and drying temperature is set at 120℃ because it is supposed to be used on metal parts, but in reality, the manufacturer's opinion is that the paint film starts to shrink gradually from around 90℃. Depending on the type of resin, crystal coating on resin parts is possible if this characteristic is used on the premise that the resin will not be deformed or altered if the temperature is below 100℃. By setting the baking time longer due to the lower baking temperature, it is possible to create a custom taste with a coarse pattern that cannot be produced by normal painting.
By applying the characteristic that the size of the cozy pattern changes depending on the thickness of the coating film, it is possible to create a large pattern by collecting the coating film or a fine cozy pattern by applying a thin coating film. If you want to know the relationship between the thickness of the paint film and the size of the pattern, you can try baking and drying a test piece.
- Point 1: If you don't bake and dry at 120℃ for 20 minutes, the resin will not shrink and the pattern will not be formed.
- Point 2: If it doesn't shrink well, the coating film is often too thin.
