Liquid Metal finish instructions
- SURFACE PREPARATION
⁃ prepare the surface to be clean and non-absorbent. You want the surface to sanded and surfaced perfectly as if you were going to spray high-gloss lacquer. We have an excellent Waterbased primer available that works for both WB and Solvent systems, but you should be able to use your preferred primer. Just test it. You will see every imperfection after the liquid metal has been applied, so be sure to do your preparation properly. Final sanding grit for your surface should be 240-400, then clean surface with mixture of Alcohol: Water - 1:3 ratio. You are ready to spray.
⁃ MIXING
⁃ The Binder and Metal powder are only considered to be useable up to one year from your purchase. We do not recommend storing the product for any longer than that. In some cases, the products can be good for many years. Always test your product before doing a project to ensure the products are working properly. Using a gram scale, you are going to measure and mix the components by WEIGHT. Mix 50g Part A binder + 50g part B binder together to make 100g. Mix together with a stir stick until the substance feels and looks like a thick, white glue. Then add between 150g - 280g of your chosen Metal powder (amount varies based on weight/density of the metal powder alloy- please see chart at bottom for appropriate ratio). Finally you will need to dilute the mixture with distilled/purified/filtered water in order to spray, brush or roll. Dilute with water 15% - 30% as needed to achieve your preferred consistency to spray. We spray everything at 25% dilution. For troweling/spatula applications, you may not need to dilute the product at all. Start with less water and add more as needed until the product flows properly. It should flow like paint. Your dilution percentage should be based on total amount of binder, NOT total amount of mixture. Next step is to strain the mixture through a white net/bag strainer to remove any clumps that may have been formed by the metal powder. You are ready to spray.
⁃ SPRAYING
⁃ Use a gravity-fed HVLP with 1.3 - 1.6mm tip. Use an either air assisted or turbine powered system. Other set ups will work, but you need to test them. The cup has to be gravity fed. Spray a light “tack/adhesion” coat first, followed by a full thicker coat in the opposite direction. First coat vertical, second coat horizontal. No need to wait any time between coats. Do not let that first coat completely dry. It needs to be sprayed wet on wet. This product is catalyzed, therefore it gets HARD IN 60 MINUTES. Do not premix a bunch of product, mix as you go. Be ready to clean your gun out with water as soon as you are done spraying. If product hardens inside of your spray equipment, you may be able to clean it out with acetone. Try to avoid this.
⁃ POLISHING
⁃ First thing you want to do is test the hardness of the surface you have sprayed previously. You need to wait at least 48 hours for the surface to cure hard, otherwise it will not work properly. If you simply cannot wait, you may have good results force-drying the product in the sun or under infrared lights. But this is absolutely not recommended if you can just wait another day or two.
⁃ Using the tip of your thumbnail, try to push straight down and leave a small dent or impression. If can leave a mark, it is not ready to polish. If you push as hard as you can and don’t leave a mark, it is ready.
⁃ IF USING SOLVENT BASED- wipe the whole surface one time, in one direction with Acetone and a folded VIVA BRAND (or similar- smooth, not ribbed) paper towel. Do not scrub, only wipe. Do not drip on the surface as it can stain the surface permanently. If you do get a drip on the surface, dab it up quickly with a dry paper towel. Let dry in the sun or under infrared lights for 15 minutes. If not possible, air dry at room temperature for at least 30-60 minutes. The sheen of the surface should change from glossy to mostly matte after wiping. You will see some streakiness too, but that is normal.
⁃ Start polishing with random orbital sander at 180 or 240 grit. Use 240 first, if that isn’t cutting well enough, go to 180 grit. The order for polishing: 180, 240, 360/400, 600, 800, 1000, 3000. For mirror polish, continue to 5000, 8000. I recommend using 3M trizact pads for this. You can also use Mirka Abranet or Festool abrasives.
⁃ Next is time to patina (if applicable) - patinas can be brushed, rolled, sprayed, wiped, pounced-on, etc. Practice this step before taking to the project. Patinas can be diluted with distilled/purified/filtered water as desired to achieve softer looks. The patinas are acids that basically eat-away at the top layers of metal at the micron level. This can cause scarring to your metal finish and you may need/want to polish again afterwards.
⁃ Sealing/clear coat- this is recommended in 2 ways- our metal lacquer or our metal wax. You can use anything you want that bonds to the surface, as long as you have tested it and it works. We cannot guarantee results with other products.
⁃ For spot polishing or to refresh previously finished surfaces, our Ceramic Spray wax sealer is recommended.
- DILUTION CHART FOR MIXING (based on 100g binder 0r 50g part A + 50g part B)
BRASS - 200g powder : 100g binder
PALE GOLD - 200g powder : 100g binder
24KT GOLD - 200g powder : 100g binder
BRONZE - 280g powder : 100g binder
COPPER - 150g powder : 100g binder
SILVER - 240g powder : 100g binder
DARK SILVER - 260g powder : 100g binder
GOLD-BRONZE - 240g powder : 100 g binder
CHAMPAGNE - 240g powder : 100g binder
NICKEL-SILVER - 240g powder : 100g binder
WHITE BRONZE - 260g powder : 100g binder