Hey folks, Paint pealing, Ideas?

[Walt]

Ok, this is on the Lost Vape Triade DNA 250.  Love the mod.....  But.....  On the frame surface (not the control/vent surface and of course not the battery cover) the paint is pealing.  I really don't think it would be difficult to mask it off and paint it but I am not sure how to prepare the surface of the metal or what the best type of paint would be.  I have sent Lost Vape an inquiry as to the type of metal used but from past experience with China, I don't expect much.  Worst out case, I can polish it a little and call it good. 

Attached is a picture of the effected area. 

Thanks in advance for anything ya got!!!

 

 

[FXRich]

That is the main reason I have only bought unpainted mods in the last few years. In my opinion about the only paint that would hold up to the use that a mod gets is to get it powder coated, and that would require complete disassembly, powder coating is an expensive process, may be cheaper to buy a new mod. I learned to live with the mods I have that the paint came off.

[Walt]

3 hours ago, FXRich said:

That is the main reason I have only bought unpainted mods in the last few years. In my opinion about the only paint that would hold up to the use that a mod gets is to get it powder coated, and that would require complete disassembly, powder coating is an expensive process, may be cheaper to buy a new mod. I learned to live with the mods I have that the paint came off.

That makes good sense.  The thing about this mod is that the paint is not rubbing off or scratching off.  It's raising off the surface. I really don't think the paint ever adhered properly to the metal.  The mod strikes me has having a utilitarian esthetic so the loss of paint isn't a social crisis. 

Edited September 22, 2017 by Walt

[Earthling789]

I'm with @FXRich... I've only bought unpainted Aluminum, Stainless Steel, or chromed mods in the past couple of years.  I have three mods that are painted that haven't chipped, peeled, or faded their coating... One is a Kanger 50W (white) and the other two are Cloupor mini-plus (orange and royal blue).  The Cloupor are powder coated, so that is why they hold up so well.  These mods get almost daily use for the past two years, so it's not like they sit on the shelf and look pretty.

Most of the painted mods these days are Aluminum or an alloy with a lot of Zinc in them.  Some are painted Brass... Zinc and Brass don't adhere paint well.

One thing you can do is take the mod apart, sand the crap out of it, use a good "etching primer" to get something to stick to it, and then paint it well with an automotive-grade or marine-grade paint.  (Sand between coats!) Your basic, household Rustoleum or dollar-store paint won't hold up at all.   You can even top-coat it with clear-coat, but that will eventually yellow and peel from the acids in your sweat.  Prime, paint, car-wax... clean and wax often... that will work, but it is also a LOT OF WORK :( 

[Walt]

5 minutes ago, Earthling789 said:

that will work, but it is also a LOT OF WORK :( 

Ok,  I know what needs to be done.  Now to ponder if I want to do that much work or no for a while.  The bare metal is starting to look better all the time!  By the same token, I do have the compressor and the gun, so maybe?  Who knows.  

[Earthling789]

Yeah, I had an IPV mini that I stripped to bare metal and then put a coat of Turtle-wax on it... it actually didn't look bad, lol... I'd show a picture of it, but it is one of the ones I paid-forward to a new vaper  

[Walt]

7 minutes ago, Earthling789 said:

Yeah, I had an IPV mini that I stripped to bare metal and then put a coat of Turtle-wax on it... it actually didn't look bad, lol... I'd show a picture of it, but it is one of the ones I paid-forward to a new vaper  

Sounds better all the time.  I'm sure glad it isn't one of my Therions.  I would be bummed out.  This thing kinda looks like a brick anyway.  This is my weird thinking but it is my everyday carry so I don't expect it to look pristine.  I still may try painting it just to see what I can get out of the exercise.  

[FXRich]

4 hours ago, Earthling789 said:

I have three mods that are painted that haven't chipped, peeled, or faded their coating... One is a Kanger 50W (white) and the other two are Cloupor mini-plus (orange and royal blue).

I also have a 50w Kanger that hasn't lost any paint except on the bottom (it is black) the newer kanger 75w and 120w have both lost paint, the rest are SS or polished metal of some kind, and still look like I just took them out of the box.

Edited September 22, 2017 by FXRich

[Walt]

20 minutes ago, FXRich said:

I also have a 50w Kanger that hasn't lost any paint except on the bottom (it is black) the newer kanger 75w and 120w have both lost paint, the rest are SS or polished metal of some kind, and still look like I just took them out of the box.

So far, I have two mods that have had paint peal.  A Smok Alien and this Triade.  I have an IPV8 with some scratches but I understand how that happened.  This Triade has to be a prep issue.  There are areas where a light rub with my fingernail takes off the paint and other areas that are stuck solid.  

[gadget]

Take it apart, sand all the paint off, and polish the hell out of it. [emoji41]

Both of these were painted.

[Walt]

39 minutes ago, gadget said:

Take it apart, sand all the paint off, and polish the hell out of it.

Both of these were painted.

Those look really sharp.  What did you use to polish it with?

[gadget]

Those look really sharp.  What did you use to polish it with?

I have an old Grizzly Grinder that refuses to die. LOL
It's the equivalent to a Dremel tool.

I just put a buffing wheel on it and use some polishing clay on the pad.

You can get just about as good of results if you finish sand it with some really fine sandpaper and then get soon Neverdull to polish it.

[Walt]

1 minute ago, gadget said:

I have an old Grizzly Grinder that refuses to die. LOL
It's the equivalent to a Dremel tool.

I just put a buffing wheel on it and use some polishing clay on the pad.

You can get just about as good of results if you finish sand it with some really fine sandpaper and then get soon Neverdull to polish it.

Groove!  I've got some neverdull from cleaning up parts on the motorcycle.  I'm going to try this first.  I would rather have the polished metal finish if I can get it anywhere near the sheen you achieved. 

[Tam]

Do a search for "Lost Vape Triade DNA 250 wraps" and take a look at all the choices that come up. If you like gel wraps, go here:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/ModShield-for-Lost-Vape-Triade-DNA200-DNA250-Silicone-Case-Sleeve-ByJojo-/272358566649?var=&epid=1282493345&hash=item3f69d5eaf9:m:mhC_4AApIGE_wq1Jvy7i8mg

[Walt]

14 minutes ago, Tam said:

Do a search for "Lost Vape Triade DNA 250 wraps" and take a look at all the choices that come up. If you like gel wraps, go here:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/ModShield-for-Lost-Vape-Triade-DNA200-DNA250-Silicone-Case-Sleeve-ByJojo-/272358566649?var=&epid=1282493345&hash=item3f69d5eaf9:m:mhC_4AApIGE_wq1Jvy7i8mg

Tam, You are amazing!  Thanks as always!  Holy molly, look at the colors......

Edited September 23, 2017 by Walt

[Tam]

Glad to be of help. I love wraps and use them all the time on my iPower 80W.   

[Darksyde72]

I'm experiencing the same issue with my Smok G-priv. I'm sure we all get some juice on our mods, and nicotine is the culprit. Nicotine has some sort of paint removal quality, and it's almost impossible to avoid having a minor spill every now and then. It does beg the question that if nicotine does this to paint, what's it doing to my lungs? Anyway, a great deal of manufacturers unfortunately aren't producing finishes that can stand up to this. Unless you have a pure copper or brass mod, you're likely to experience this problem. Luckily, it's a purely aesthetic issue and will not affect the functionality of your device.

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[gadget]

I realize this is an old post but for anyone else having the same issue (and in sure there are)

A good share of these mods are zinc alloy and if you remove the paint, do a little sanding if necessary, and polish it up it's like getting a new mod.

 

As an example, here it's a pic of my SMOK Alien.

 

 

[jwill27]

I am really liking the results you got with the polishing.  I noticed that my Alien has a few scuffs on the edges where the black paint has come off, and I have a dremel.  I tried using a sharpie, but that just came off after a few days.  Hmmm...the possibilities.