Worklog/Guide: Painting Technics SL-1200

I bought two SL1200s that were in pretty rough condition, but I couldn't pass up the deal I got.

Shout out to DjLiquitATL for giving me tips on how to repaint the Technics and everyone else who has helped me in fixing problems here and there. This community is amazing.

The table
A picture is worth a 1000 words right?


Pretty bad condition.

What do you need?
Spray Paint

• Sandable Primer
• Spray paint, color of your choice
• Clear Coat

You can use any brand you'd like. People on my motorcycle community repaint their bikes all the time and swear by Duplicolor which is what I use.

Sandpaper

• 80 grit - to remove paint
• 220 grit - to remove paint and sand down the primer
• 400 grit - to remove paint, sand down primer, and work on top coat
• 800 grit - to sand down primer and work on top coat
• 1000 grit - to sand down primer, work on top coat, and polish clear coat
• 2000 grit - to work on top coat and polish clear coat
• 3000 grit - to work on clear coat

I don't know if you can buy the 80 grit in a wet version, but buy wet sandpaper if possible! It is a MUST for cleaning up heavy spots and other blemishes. I highly recommend buying a sanding block. It will make your life much easier, and you will sand more evenly.



I have 2000 and 3000 grit sand paper on the way. 3000 grit sand paper is pretty pricey, 6 bucks per 3 2/3" x 9" strip. I don't believe it's required but based on my readings, I recommend getting it. You can be the judge once I get to that point!

The process
Prepwork
REMOVE THE BEZEL FOR THE TARGET LIGHT.
Remove the paint using the 80 grit sandpaper. You do not need to apply a ton of force. If you are using a sanding block, this will be a breeze. Let it lightly run over the plinth (the thing you are repainting) and the block will do the work. If you are using your hands, make sure you are sanding evenly.

The edges of the plinth are beveled. Remember to sand this bevel, and try to match the angle.


While you are sanding, blow off the paint particles every now and then.

Once you are done, it is time to wetsand.
Follow up with 220 grit sandpaper. Get a dish of water and wet your sandpaper. Sand the plinth again like the previous step. The only difference this time: wet the sandpaper in frequently instead of blowing the water off. If possible, get a hose or something to wash off the plinth.

Repeat the last step except with 400 grit sandpaper.



Time for Primer
More to come tomorrow, it is getting dark here, and I want it to be hot out when I am spraying paint.

I messed up here. Learn from my mistakes!!

Lesson 1: Don't be afraid to spray up close with the primer. You're going to be sanding it anyways. I wasted about half a can because I was too worried about drips. That said, DO follow the instructions on the paint can, 8-10 inches and parallel.

Lesson 2: 220 grit is too harsh for primer. It takes off way too much material. Use the 400. I actually went out and bought some 600 grit because that was what the can recommended.

I started off with the typical box as a painting booth. Here it is after the first layer of primer (way too light).



I changed my setup to hanging on a string. I fed the string between the ports in the back and used two chairs to hold the string up.



This was after I sanded with the 220 grit. You can see my primer coat was not thick enough to withstand the 220 grit sandpaper.



If you have any pitting, I would recommend getting something to fill it in such as bondo or something. I had this tiny pit that I thought the primer would fill in, but it was too deep. Also, if you see these little specks, you NEED to sand.



This was day 2 of primer since I had to go out and buy a second can. This is the completed primer layer though. I finished up with 600 grit sanding.



Painting!
Use the same setup! Again, follow the instructions on the can. All was going well until I got too impatient and created a run. This cannot be emphasized enough.

Be patient.

I further messed up by attempting to use a razor to remove the run but failed causing some paint to peel. Consequently, I'm low on paint, and I need to buy a second can of paint. If you do this right the first time, you should only need 1 can of paint.

First layer of paint, your coat does not have to cover it entirely!


Here's my crappy photography skills, but my automatic setting takes horrible pictures, and I'm too lazy to fiddle with the settings in manual. This is the finished product after day 1 of painting. I will continue again tomorrow with more painting.


Skip a week of repeated sanding and painting (this is where OCD kicks in). I've given up on trying to perfect everything on this table. I believe next time I will just paint the whole plinth and just plug the threaded areas.

This is where I'm really not sure how it'll turn out. I bought these stickers from eBay and the seller told me that the stickers may shrink when getting cleared. I tested it by sticking some spares on the cardboard box and spraying them with clear after 24 hours, and it didn't seem to shrink. I only did one light coat though. I really didn't like how sharp the edges were on the clear coat. I'm going to try to hopefully sand it down so the edges don't show. I'll be making this up as I go along since the guides out there tend to use high quality clearcoats for cars and whatnot.