Help with a Chi Chi build.

[plastictree]

I have a chi chi with a griffin on top and it looks good. But I don't like any bare metal look TBH. I want to paint my chi chi. Now here are my steps that I'm thinking of taking,

Sand down the outside finish using steps of grit of sand paper, hand sanding with small sheets
tape the threads, all the contacts, and basically anything I don't want painted
clean the finish of the chi chi with some sort of alcohol wipes and dry
paint with primer, maybe 2 coats
paint with matte white
some sort of protecting finish


My questions are,

What grits of sand paper should I use?

How do I sand stuff like the threads and the ridges without ruining them. I like the grippy strip on the chi chi and the griffin, but any sanding with ruin it. And I want to keep the sharp slant on the chi chi

What kind of primer and paint and protection maybe idk. I want to spray paint because that is what I am used to, I used spray paint on a computer case and it came out pretty good.

I do want to fix the contacts. How do I get the switch apart and I want to do something with this switch, what to do what to do



Any help would be awesome. I've tried researching metal painting and it all comes down to painting furniture and furniture and a mod are different.

 

[elmattias]

to fix the contacts, pull the switch out by carefully using some needle nose pliers and unscrewing it, sand the switch contact point until you see bare brass, you'll also notice this will fix any "hot button" issues you may have.

as far as sanding, i wouldn't even begin to sand the threads, or paint them for that matter, any paint on your threading is going to kill your electrical connection. for the bare metal areas though, your best bet is an ultra fine sandpaper, something upwards of 2000 grit, just to put a good scuffing on it....after that, clean it with plain white toothpaste, rinse, and dry before painting.

as far as what kind of paint to use, since you're dealing with bare metal, perhaps auto paint would be the best route, if not, make sure you're using some good spraypaint (spend the extra couple of bucks on krylon) that's formulated for metal applications....a primer/sealer combo would be AWESOME if you can find it...two wet coats of primer, two wet coats of color.

depending on if you want a fancy layered effect, you have two options as far as protectants, you have gloss urethane clear, or satin urethane clear.

if you're doing matte white you will get a nice layered "flake" effect if you use the gloss/high gloss urethane, however it will attract fingerprints like CRAZY. if you're using matte and was intending for it to look very dull toned like a matte finish normally would, use the satin.....also be sure to follow any directions on the can, especially when it comes to dry times, i'd double the dry times if you live in a real humid area, especially on the urethane