Is it possible to cost/airbrush/spray/repaint the metal parts of the frame into another color ? Obviously the paint must not fall out easily - i.e. as good as buying a metal frame from the shop.
I had quite some customers ask me about this. For example if they had this silver frame can the silver metal parts be recoated into matt black ?
any idea which company can do this ? I tried asking this company Oko Clips which people said they used to do this, but they no longer do.
Think outside the optical box. Try your local auto body shop, an art or design school, industrial manufacturer of metal products or a commercial sign painting company.
Contact a fellow member, okoart.
http://www.opticalstore.com/
Last edited by Fezz; 06-11-2009 at 07:10 AM.
Harbour Freight and other similar companies have miniature powder coating systems to do the job. Otherwise a good quality spray-on laquer or enamel may do the job. To tint zyl check with BPI, they have tints for this.
But remember, as Coco said, THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX.
How about nail varnish?
Nail polish doesn't last as long as a paint designed to adhere to metal. Personally, I use auto body touch up paint when I refinish a frame.Originally Posted by apaul
Ophthalmic Optician
Society to Advance Opticianry
yes I have built spray rooms for optical frame custom color in the late eighties. It is not terrible difficult but does require equipment to do it properly.
A sandblaster (which can be used to blast plastic frames for matte finish also but dramatically reduces zyl life due to body oil absorption drying out frames)
airbrush
and a metal cabinet with heat lamps and wires running through it ill have to research but i think ours was at 140 degrees.
Mask parts of metal frame you dont want painted
sandblast to help paint adhesion
airbrush
put in cabinet for 6-8 hours
once you get experienced and experiment a little you can do some cool textures also. We used a pratt lambert aircraft pain we also had paints from lambourghini porsche and mercedes.
This was in the 80s when we did Cartier vendome and Porsche 5120 painted custom to match peoples cars?
has about 6 months of durability with evetyday use and needs to be touched up
A few years ago I purchased a small desk-top oven and powder coat unit from a local industrial supply house to finish some metal parts for an old aircraft that I was rebuilding. It was wonderful and the parts which were powder coated are still in pristine condition despite being in high wear environments. I gave the unit to my son and he has used it for refinishing motorcycle parts and fitting and he too is very happy with both the quality and durability of the powder coating process. I have seen a number of aircraft engine mounts and tube steel fuselages that were powder coated in, of course, much larger units and they are superior to anything else.
So, I see no problem with powder coating metal frames. In fact, it might be a nice little sideline for someone with a little talent, spare time and ambition.
A few are doing it :D
See Harbor Frieght for :
Air Eraser (an air brush sized sand blaster, perfect for use on frames.
Powder coating Kit.
Powder coat paints (yes, they are special)
Don't expect the help to know much about the products, but instructions are in in the kit.
Also needed a small oven that can control temps to 500 degrees. A good toaster oven will do.
The good news, all of the above is rather inexpensive.
Chip
thanks everyone for all the information and advice.
however, I think, after reading all the posts here and my own personal research, I have come to the conclusion that there is no sure-fire way to recoat the frame to another color and yet be able to provide a length of usage to the user that is equivalent to a frame that was supplied by the manufacturer. I talked to someone in the auto industry but was told that powder coating is possible, but durability of the coating was in question (6 months-12 months ballpark)
I have on occasion had some friends of mine in the auto body repair business re-color some frames for me. Durability was no problem. But I don't think they did it with powder coat.
Chip
I powder coated a set of rudder pedals for a Cessna 188 AG Wagon five years ago and they were still looking like new last year. I would personally guarantee any metal frame that I powder coated for eternity.
I would agree. There is a small powder coating plant in a neighbouring town that does large parts for trucks, aircraft, construction equipment, etc, they guarantee thier work for 5 years and say 10 is closer to normal. If you want a finish that is equal to the factory colouring then use spray-on laquer or enamel as I suggested earlier.
I wish Jerry Huang or OKOART would chime in on this, that's where I go when I need help.
Hope you dont mind me bringing this thread back to life as I would love to try powder coating one or two frames to see how it turns out I can get the equipment pretty cheap however I am worried about thickness of the coat which will be 75 microns how does that compare with normal paint?
Thanks!
Alan
What is "normal paint?" There are tens of thousands of paint mixtures and types, but none known as normal.
You got you enamel, baked enamel, water color, tempra paint, Oil paint, Water based paint, acrylic paint, face paint, hair paint, automotive paint, etc. All can vary in thickness depending on how thick, how applied, how many coats used.
Chip
Hi, this is what I see from factory when they have to re-do the color:
1. strip the coating (remove nose pads, ear pieces screws and spring hinges off and soak the whole frame in aceton and then), and then use electral chemical to strip off silver plating).
2. sand blast the entire frame evenly on one direction.
3. apply black rhodium chemical plating.
4. Either sray high temperature cure PU base paint or apply matt black powder coating.
Good luck on your project
Jerry
Needed "Good adhesion"...............................
In my humble opinion the best guide to paint metal surfaces would be the standards of the airplane industry. I you read and respect their ways of adhesion standards and thickness of layers you might just do the right thing on an optical frame.
Note: The maximum allowed paint thickness after repair is 200 μ
(Fokker standard). If the paint layer is being sanded and afterwards repainted
the maximum allowed paint thickness is also 200 μ (Fokker standard).
Go on :
editor.stork.com/downloads/.../2307024_INTERSET_PDF_FOLDER.pdf
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
ted the maximum allowed paint thickness is also 200 ต (Fokker standard). If the layer thickness is more than 200 ต, possible effects can be: A.De-adhesion ...
It makes fascinating reading.............and you could become a master at eyeglass repainting with a little expirience.
Lets not forget that the optical industry is not very innovative and continously looks for solutions in other industries.......................
Last edited by Chris Ryser; 07-11-2011 at 03:03 AM.
I know this is an old thread... but today my husband has taken over the kitchen (and my almost new oven) to powder coat Walleye jig heads (don't ask...it's a long story). Anyhow, I was wondering if, after removing temple tips, nose pads, screws etc., I could refresh a few of my frames using the powder coating. The whole process seemed to be fairly simple. I have read the previous posts, but I want to know if any of YOU have done it?
Lost and confused in an optical wonderland!
I've done a few of them, it isn't hard IF you follow the directions above. The biggest secret is in the polish, the better the polish the better the paint will hold. Be careful because even finger prints will ruin the paint job. Let us see your results, it's always interesting to see what others are doing with little used projects like this.
Arnold D'Burdo at Custom Eyes (formerly OKO) does a lot of this, sometimes you can pick his brain a bit.
Thanx!
I have a couple zyl "White Nightmares" of frames that I cannot seem to sell. I have been daydreaming of trying to tea-dye them. anyone think it could work?
Zyl's pretty easy to dye in your lens dye pots. I've done it several times over the years.
Our lab does it. They sandblast it and repaint. Nothing as intensive as replating but they have a huge colour palette. I posted a pic of their work on our facebook page and even offered to paint someone's frame for free but nobody took me up on it. :P
Reduce the temp to about 140 -150 and try it. Darker colours work the best.
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