Gave the primed aluminium panel 2 coats of Rover Java Green the other day. I'm sticking with Halfords paints for this one to test them out. So far so good. Not much left out of a 300ml can though.



I like spraying outdoors as the fumes dissipate quickly. However, you have to deal with airborne dust and stuff. When it was dry I put the panel against the shed in the sunlight and instantly it was covered with hundreds of little black flies! When I put the panel in the shade they disappeared. What's that all about?

Managed to get some time at the weekend to prep the aluminium sheet. To make sure the primer really sticks to the aluminium I sanded down the surface with an abrasive pad. Gives it a bit of a 'tooth'.


I then degreased it with a warm water/detergent mix and rinsed it off with cold water using a watering can. Areas like this (below) where the water was quickly repelled, indicated grease spots and required repeat degreasing.


When dry, I sprayed 2 coats of Halfords grey primer following the instructions on the can and allowed it to dry/harden for 24hrs.


Using 800 grit wet & dry paper I sanded the primer layer smooth. A good tip is to soak the wet & dry in a bowl of warm soapy water for 10 minutes before sanding. The detergent acts like a lubricant and stops the primer clogging too much. A good wash down with water and the aluminium panel is now primed and ready for action!

I have a tin toy jeep (Japanese, 'Modern Toys' make, late 60's I think) that has the usual 'bump-and-go' feature (until I broke the 'mystery action' - hidden spinny wheel thing). It also has a curved screen on the back onto which is projected a 'battle scene' - some trippy sequence of poorly drawn cartoon tanks. Great fun, but the best bit, for me, is the printed artwork. I love the bold colours, odd use of text and, of course, the miniature instrument panel details. Thought it would be interesting to take certain elements of the design and scale them up to life-size and paint them on a panel.


The main part of the toy was made from tin plate, litho printed in four colours. So to replicate that style (not having access to a large litho press) I aim to paint onto sheet metal (aluminium) using stencil techniques. I'll also be using spray paint to give a gloss, flat colour in keeping with the original colour process - sort of. It's more like an opportunity to play with some wacky spray paint colours. Aaah...I can smell that xylene now!