Painting old Congas - advices

[Charangaman]

Greetings,


I'm thinking about painting an old set of tubs, I was at art college and want to put some unique design on there.. Maybe Callejon Hamil - Clave y guaguanco style

I would be most privalleged if any brother with experiance in this could show me the way:

What type of paint is best?
Will it effect sounds?
Preparing the drums?
Finish?..

Many thnks and maximum respect in advance..

[Charangaman]

Not letting go that easy, come on help a brother out!

[bongosnotbombs]

I don't think there is a "best " paint for congas.
I would recommend an oil base paint, they dry very hard.
Thin it down with thinner so it will go on smoother.
Use several thin coats (2-3).
You may want to put a clear coat on after that,
there are several, acrylic and polyurethane, get some advice.

Preparing the tubs involves lots of sanding or rubbing as they say in England. If you use a paint remover/ solvent, apply it a couple of times, each time removing a layer of paint. Scrape then sand.
If it is wood you should probably put a coat of primer on the drums, before the paint.

My experience is as a painter, I was even a decorator in england too! I don't see how wood drums are that much different than furniture and such.

Take your time, follow the steps. The only thing I have heard to watch out for is very strong removers and the glue. If you use it don't use anything too strong, don't apply too much, don't leav it on longer than the directions.



Edited By bongosnotbombs on 1182268929

[Charangaman]

Many thanks bongosnotbombs, this is very helpful!
I'll post some pix when I'm finished.

[bongosnotbombs]

Hey, anytime! One last pice of advice,
don't skimp on the brush you use, get a nice high quality
one, and make sure it is meant for the type of
paint you eventually use.

[LDP]

Hi Charangaman,

Let me just pipe in with my 2 cents here. Mostly I'll just be repeating what bongosnotbombs has already mentioned, but I just finished stripping and painting my second drum about a month ago, and I made a lot of mistakes that I can hopefully spare you

1 - I tried cutting corners on the "stripping" part. Big mistake. Make sure you get every last chunk of the old paint off. It's a lot of hard work, but I didn't want to use any chemicals because I was worried that they might change the properties of the wood, or worse - weaken the glue. I have no idea as to whether my concerns were justified or not, but at any rate, I stripped them both without solvent. For the first drum, I used a sanding disk attached to an electric drill, and for about a week afterwards I woke up with my hands cramped and numb. So for the second one I said screw it, and rented a sandblaster from Home Depot for a day. You have to be careful to not blast off too much wood, but it worked like a charm.

2 - Make sure you have a ready supply of face masks, or better yet, invest in a good quality respirator with replaceable filter cartridges. If you're doing your work indoors, your lungs will thank you.

3 - Before you start stripping and painting, find a way to secure the barrel tightly so you can concentrate on what you're doing, and not on keeping the drum from tipping over. I ended up driving a 4x4 into the ground, wrapping it in towels, and sliding the drum over it, but I'm sure there are better ways.

4 - Once you get all the old finish off, prime and seal the wood as soon as possible, preferably right away. As soon as you're down to bare wood, it will start picking up moisture from the air right away. Since the interior of the drum is still finished, the staves will absorb moisture unevenly, and if this moisture is sealed in, the stress could eventually cause the shell to crack.

5 - Make sure your primer matches your paint, or use a primer that's good with either acrylic or oil paint. Mismatches will cause the outer layer to chip and peel, probably before you're even done painting. Also, take into consideration your primer's base color with respect to your paints. Black paint on a white primer or vice-versa will cause streaking. The paint you buy should tell you what kind of primer to use.

6 - I ended up using acrylic paint because it's easier to clean up, less toxic, and has fewer fumes, but you have to be careful because if it hasn't bound well with its underlying surface, it'll peel right off in strips. I agree with bongosnotbombs in that oil should give you a harder and shinier finish, but I find it harder to work with, and less forgiving of mistakes.

7 - If you're going to layer your paint (i.e. paint a base color, and then paint a design on top of it), remember to scuff your surface well with 120 or 150 grade sandpaper, or your outer layers will have nothing to grab onto.

8 - I experimented with a lot of different finishing coats, and my favorites ended up being Minwax Polyurethane and Minwax Spar Urethane coating. The spar urethane is a bit heavier and resists UV light, but it also tends to have a very slight yellowish tinge. I ended up layering 8 coats of urethane on my drums - coat, then sand with 220 grade sandpaper, and on the final coat I used steel wool and then rubbed it down with mineral spirits. Good stuff.

9 - Take bongosnotbombs' advice on the paintbrush. In fact, get a few; you'll want to use different brushes for your clear coat and for your acrylic, but if you're a painter you know all this already anyway.

So, good luck to you. And bongos, please comment if you have any suggestions or corrections for my tips... I'll probably be doing this again soon...

[bongosnotbombs]

Hey LDP,
Nope looks like you covered everything good. A sandblaster is good if you got the space to deal with the mess.
If your using sandpaper of course go through different grits roughest 60 or 80 to maybe 120 or 180.
Some paints and thinners arent all that good for you, but their not that toxic, I've used several of the stronger ones plenty of times, but of course it's a matter of choice.
If your not spraying anything open windows should be enough ventilation, respirators are kind of pricey.
Solvents won't change the proerty of wood, but strongs ones could potentially affect the glue. Really though with the scraping and stuff the mess is usually too much hassle, and theres always stuff to sand after.
If using a palm or disc sander just be aware and not press to hard or linger in a spot too long, don't want any flat spots in your tubs!