New Paint

I am a stickler for accuracy when it comes to props and will often try to use screen used materials, techniques and construction methods if I can and it doesn't compromise the final product. In fact, I often try and improve upon the original provided the changes are invisible and genuinely add value whilst compromising nothing of the original product. A case in point has been my sonic screwdrivers.

One issue that has bugged me since the beginning has been the paint on the sonics. The screen used sonics used commercially available (in the UK, at least) Crackle Touch paint from Plasti-Kote. The two colours used are unique and cannot be approximated using other paints of this nature. To my mind, there was simply no getting away from it, I had to use it on my replicas. So, through various means, I obtained some.

The only problem is that, durability wise, it was shit. Actually, it wasn't as bad as I had expected but it could be improved but still fell some way short of the durability levels I demanded.

By adding a quality primer and several layers of automotive clearcoat lacquer, you can achieve something that approaches an everyday durable finish. But I wanted more.

To my mind the only way I could get what I wanted was to develop it myself. So after consulting with an industrial paint maker, we set about creating a two stage baked crackle powdercoat that achieves a level of hardness and durability that is comparable to a car finish. I shit you not, I have rumbled the test pieces with coins, keys and various bits of crap one finds in the average pocket, to negiligible damage. Colours have been Pantone matched to the original samples and only deviate one or two shades and the crackle is slightly more pronounced. (It is worth noting that the original Crackle Touch has inconsistant colour and crackling that varies depending on thickness of base coat, thickness of top coat and the clearcoat tends to dull the colour too, rendering the colony cream colour grey).

Here's the results:

All sonics ordered in the past month have been stripped of the old paint and the new powder coat has been implemented, hence the delay in getting orders out this month but all pending orders are shipping out today and tomorrow. Enjoy the new paint job!