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Swede pride, The Waterfall paint project

19K views 56 replies 18 participants last post by  DevolvR 
#1 ·
Well first off thanks to MyNameIdeasWereTaken, for the how-to video's,So as I was browsing DIY videos on youtube an idea struck,seeing as I havent saw anyone do it I decided to paint the waterfall console,At first I thought plasti dip would work and well, lets just say it looked like trash,and then my wife suggested we paint it in Acrylic,and well here are the results of both plasti-dip and the Acrylic.

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Gutted
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The Aftermath of Plastidip
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Part 2
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The Acrylic Waterfall
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Pic 1
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I really like the rough look of the paint and I am in the process in painting the face cover
 
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#2 ·
Bit late mate... My waterfall is in Java Brown and has been that for a while :D



But to you :D The black looks "cheap". The blue and yellow flag looks good, but it is a very rough job. If I were you, I would get myself another waterfall (plastic version) and then spray it blue and yellow, but in that case then a metallic and seal it off with a nice solid hard varnish to get a nice sparkle...
 
#3 · (Edited)
Yeah, not the first. Sanatarium was one of the firsts with his red interior, Kalvin22 with his blue, SewInThePast with her custom pin striping (C30), and a few other member have done painting and vinyl work..

I was silver almost a year ago, and now I'm FGM





All in an attempt to cover up the messed up brushed aluminum.

I like the Swedish flag idea! A little too bold for my taste, but it looks good. I agree that it needs to be cleaned up a bit though (the roughness is unique, but the lines don't appear perfectly straight); I would highly recommend Duplicolor paint, as it will withstand heat better, and use a Duplicolor clear on top of that (3-5 coats). If you have a large keychain, you'll also want to put a small piece of tape along the top left edge of the waterfall, to avoid it being scratched during hard left turns.

+1 for another unique idea though :thumbup:
 
#6 ·
Wow!!! I don't know this is much recoverable without much work!

Some of the easiest technique to get a clean work these days is to use some good quality vinyl. But the surface must be really smooth or it will show every little imperfection.

High quality car spray paint and clear coat is good to but it's hard to get a clean job if you don't have means to control dust as it dries

Fabric/Leather isn't a bad idea . . . that said you'll have to find something that's not too cheesy.

Lol, at least I applaud you for not hesitating... :p

 
#12 ·
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I really like the rough look of the paint and I am in the process in painting the face cover
Really?
Sorry man - That is; is - um, Damn~

The Idea is Good - the execution is off - I can see like brush strokes or something.
Sorry again
 
#13 ·
I still like it :) But maybe that's because I was a physics major focusing on engineering, and switched to New Media Arts. I understand and appreciate the rugged look with the smooth design of the waterfall. All very well balanced and blah blah blah, I won't bore you with the semi-useless terminology I've been forced to learn :p
 
#16 ·
Actually, you are right on the spot. The brush marks actually do add a bit of natural and artistic styles to the work. If the brush strokes were always from top to bottom, you could recognize a "wood pattern" and therefore bring in the natural effect of Swedish wood under a Swedish flag. The combination of man made and nature made designs. But again, it would have to be all in one direction and no left right or "touch up" brush strokes...

I still like the idea and just the roughness is a little on the downside. But otherwise it is a great thing!
 
#14 ·
I like it!

but maybe you should re do and use a straight edge for the lines. :D
did you use a tape? is this free hand? maybe a gloss coat over will make it sweet.
but five stars for your creativity!:thumbup:
 
#17 ·
First off, TMNT is bad ass, good taste there.

I'm not feeling the waterfall though, I personally am likely to copy Xenobe with the carbon to cover up the imperfections.
 
#18 ·
the plasti-dip application looked really "rough". did you sand it down after plasti-dip and before acrylic? i think this is where you may have erred. a good 1000 grit sanding would've made all the difference.
as stated by others, the idea is boss.
 
#19 ·
question - do the radio / climate control knobs come off without having to remove the whole waterfall? i would like to be able to give those a good cleaning and possibly spraybomb.....
 
#23 ·
Seriously, I dont want to sound mean but that looks bad. There are brush strokes and wavy edges. I get the whole idea but honestly its a Volvo not an art project or some hippie sidewalk art contest. Either make it look clean and professional or paint it somewhere else. On a laoptop might look cool and the door to your bathroom lol. HAving a nice interior and then bam some shotty ahnd painting on the waterfall is a disgrace.

Thats my rant. Its my opinion. To be honest I suck at painting too, so I dont even try.
 
#26 ·
its a Volvo not an art project

Thats my rant. Its my opinion. To be honest I suck at painting too, so I dont even try.
Everyone is welcome to their own opinion and idea of what looks cool, but I have to say, our Volvos sort of are art projects. Just not in the traditional sense.

Well it turns out I will be sanding this down and going back to a silver,slighty dinged waterfall,so much for being different haha
Be CAREFUL when sanding it down, you don't want to mess up the finish beneath it. Also know, that there is a finishing coat over the brushed aluminum. If you use paint thinner, or even sanding too deep, and it'll eat through the finishing coat resulting in easily scratched bare metal. Good luck!
 
#29 ·
Sounds good! And good luck with vinyl, it's tricky to learn if you've never used it before, but once you get the hang of it (and the proper tools) it's fun!.
 
#31 ·
you'll want a larger rubber squeegee like tool
a smaller rubber squeegee (like 2 inches long)
a high temp hair dryer or a heat gun (using a heat gun, you'll have to be fast because you can really distort the vinyl if you hold it on there for too long)
and lots of extra vinyl in case you mess up.

Do your research on vinyl types. Flexibility properties and thickness matter a lot based on different projects.

I would recommend watching some application videos on youtube to get a rough idea of what to do too, especially with the quick corners on the waterfall.

You may also want to decided between going about a wet application or a dry application.
 
#32 ·
What I used and it was ver usefull was this http://www.4office.be/images2/237630.JPG. I dont know the name in english :p and also a swiss army knife to pop bubbles or touching up. I applied my vinyl with a hair dryer. Just heat it, you will see the vinyl will change form. If so, it will be much easier to apply. One tip: Don't be afraid to tear the vinyl in pieces. Its quite strong. But make sure you have alot of backup vinyl. But i mean alot! Mine was carbon fibre (real pain in the ... to apply because of 3d structure). And one more very important thing: before you apply the vinyl, clean your waterfall with a towel and cleaning product. You dont want any mess under your vinyl that ruins it.

If you want a vid: http://www.youtube.com/results?sear...4.0.120.886.10j1.11.0...0.0...1ac.4fPue-NbJ_8
 
#33 ·
And make sure it's dry or it will peal off....
 
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