DIY PVD process

[mastergod]

Hi all.

Building on ideas spawned by the Tantalium/OxyClean project here on RWG: What about DIY PVD? This company sells four blackening coats for iron and steel (oxyclean only works on titanium and doesn't give very many options). Just thought I'd pass this on in case somebody's feeling adventurous. The "Mikrolok" finish might look like old pvd unless its too silvery. Price about USD 100/gallon. Some coatings need high temperatures. Others don't. Could it be the "TruTemp" coating is the shiny cartel pvd? Just a thought. Hope somebody out there gets some ideas If anybody have any experience with this, please show your experiments.

cheers,

http://www.birchwoodcasey.com/metal/iron.html

Edited March 22, 2008 by mastergod

[Guest avitt]

If you want to find out everything you've ever wanted to know about dark coatings, head over to the gun forums. You'll find that there are many "spray and bake" coatings, but nothing that can be compared with the finish and durability of PVD or DLC.

[owdeguy]

Very interesting... I might look into some of this.

[jockl1978]

Description of True Temp states: applicable on all "non stainless steel" - what are the rep cases made of?

[mastergod]

Description of True Temp states: applicable on all "non stainless steel" - what are the rep cases made of?

I believe they are stainless steel.

[sssurfer]

Sorry for chiming in here so late, I missed this thread until now.

Caswell Inc is selling a product that they claim able to blacken stainless steel:

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/black.htm#stainless

In reality, I tried it and it did not work on rep cases other than on quite unusfeul parts like the bezel's inside.

[mastergod]

Sorry for chiming in here so late, I missed this thread until now.

Caswell Inc is selling a product that they claim able to blacken stainless steel:

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/black.htm#stainless

In reality, I tried it and it did not work on rep cases other than on quite unusfeul parts like the bezel's inside.

Interesting. How about some pics anyway? Unless its a hassle:)

[sssurfer]

Interesting. How about some pics anyway? Unless its a hassle:)

ASAP, and as long as I manage to find back those parts I tried... I might have thrown them away, in consideration of how bad they had come out.

[archibald]

ASAP, and as long as I manage to find back those parts I tried... I might have thrown them away, in consideration of how bad they had come out.

Even if we find a product that blackens like PVD only half the battle is over--we'd still be left w/ the bead balsting which provides at least half the look of the final PVD.

[FxrAndy]

Come on bead blasting places are not hard to find, i know of 3 with in 5 miles of my home. for less then 500 euros you can buy a cabinate, compresser ect and do it your self.

[rolli]

you cannot do it by yourself.

first , you need the right granulate and the right glass ceramic bead.

and you need the right experience.

in the dental technic, they use the right blasting machine.

but you need another bead material.

and another very important point is..., you may not blasting few ranges on the pam case.

my goldsmith in my local pvd company, who makes the blasting, knows exactly what is to do.

it's always better to use an expert. otherwise it will be a bad job and dilettantism.

rolli

Come on bead blasting places are not hard to find, i know of 3 with in 5 miles of my home. for less then 500 euros you can buy a cabinate, compresser ect and do it your self.

[Watchmeister]

I have to agree with Rolli on this one. This requires someone with a lot of experience and the appropriate equipment if you are trying to match up PVD's. I would not spend a lot of money on DIY pvd.

[archibald]

I have to agree with Rolli on this one. This requires someone with a lot of experience and the appropriate equipment if you are trying to match up PVD's. I would not spend a lot of money on DIY pvd.

Plus, let's face it: aside from Jack, PVD isn't that expensive. Even if you figure your time @ minimum wage, by the time you learn how to do it, you won't save much and probably won't like the result. I'll be outsourcing the PVD on my new 28 and spending my time on projects that have a reasonable chance of success.

[mastergod]

Plus, let's face it: aside from Jack, PVD isn't that expensive. Even if you figure your time @ minimum wage, by the time you learn how to do it, you won't save much and probably won't like the result. I'll be outsourcing the PVD on my new 28 and spending my time on projects that have a reasonable chance of success.

Yeah. Leave the risk-taking to the risk-willing. Totally agree with you regarding reasonable chance of success, however learning by doing terrible mistakes can be a good thing too

Edited April 29, 2008 by mastergod

[sssurfer]

Agree.

My tryings with the SS blackener were intended not to blacken a whole case (what I tried for the sake of experimenting, though), but rather small bits like screws, lever, lever pin, crown (it was a time when PVD crowns were not easy to find), and minor scratches on the PVD surface.

Also, hard to find a PVD company in my country.

[rolli]

unfortunately, best pvd companies in germany and swizzerland.

rolli

Agree.

My tryings with the SS blackener were intended not to blacken a whole case (what I tried for the sake of experimenting, though), but rather small bits like screws, lever, lever pin, crown (it was a time when PVD crowns were not easy to find), and minor scratches on the PVD surface.

Also, hard to find a PVD company in my country.