The Armour Archive

All,

What is the best paint type for aluminum shields? What about other materials for shields (like wood, canvas covered, etc).

Please be specific (gloss/satin/matte), brand, etc. Best primer, if applicable?

I tried rustoleum painters pride gloss with very poor results. I did put down primer first. I'm happy to use acrylic artists paint (in the little tubes), but it doesn't cover areas very quickly, and is somewhat expensive, so I'd rather someone say that it works before I try it.

Thanks.

have you done a search for painting shields yet?

I would do that. There are a bunch of how to's already about painting shields.

Specifically for aluminum, you need to sand/scuff the surface before you paint. I am painting one now using rustoleum paint and didn't sand first and the paint came off with the tape. After removing all paint and sanding/scuffing the surface, the paint is sticking well. Wait at least 6 hours between layers.

very strongly consider gluing a canvas layer to the surface of the shield, and then priming and painting that instead of the aluminum directly.

For aluminum (if not layering with canvas) yes first scuff the entire surface
and lay down a good primer. I prefer Krylon but rustoleum is ok. Most importantly whatever brand you use be sure that all of the paints including the primer are the same brand.

Mixing paints is a good way to waste your time and frustrate yourself.

Unless you like krinkled textured flaky or gooey paint.

InsaneIrish wrote:have you done a search for painting shields yet?

I would do that. There are a bunch of how to's already about painting shields.

Yes, I did. There are some excellent articles, but with the exception of "hobby paint" (you mentioned this), there is little mention to the actual paint types used. Someone mentioned "One Shot" mentioned as a brand, but I have not found it locally.

You've done some amazing stuff -- what brand do you use?

I'll second the endorsement for One Shot paint - it's designed for outdoor signage, it's super durable and looks great. They have an excellent metallic gold. We have a hobby shop that carries it, but check your sign painting supply shops too.

Valerius

This will be slightly off topic, but I just have an irresistable urge to add my 2c after being away from AA for 3 days.

...so regarding wooden shields.

Brushing paint ( enamel ) directly on wood, might give you some trouble as it tends to run up and down the grain. I have not used such shield in combat, so I can't tell anything about how long it would stand to abuse.

If you cover the wood with fabric (over a thick layer of glue, so it permeates the fabric), than, spray painting with acrylics would make it tough to give it an even shade. Any spot not soaked with glue will not absorb the paint as well, as many of droplets will stick to fibers that are sticking out of the fabric. Brushed on enamel will be difficult to paint on without diffusing allover the fabric. Also, if the paint is not diluted enough, or too much, you will experience a lot of difficulties getting the shade right without sticking too much paint on to the shield. If the paint in the end is too thick, it will flake. Also, fabric tends to tear quite quickly where ever it was stuck over thin layer of glue, especially in steel combat. I can not say how well it would stand up to rattan. The battle damage on such shield faces is rather difficult to repair, if at all possible.

Then, there is the aforementioned method of sticking fabric over the shield blank, and priming it, and it is the best I've tried so far. What I do, is to cover the shield with fabric using generous amount of wood glue, and then, add layer after layer of glue on top of it until I'm satisfied with the thickness. The face is than sanded to get a smooth surface. You can paint with anything on that, including ink, indigo, acrylic (spray and brush) enamel, watercolors, tempera, oil based colors etc. Some of those should be waterproofed, but I've only tested shields with colors that are waterproof themselves. If the paint is applied in a layer thin enough, it will not flake. All blade damage is easily repairable (just clean & fill in the holes with more wood glue, and paint over it) and the fabric lives much longer. It is unbelievable how much cutting resistance is gained by folding and gluing face and backing over the edges. 4 layers of fabric are a tough thing to cut through. ...but i guess you don't need that for SCA.

Given that Al deforms much more than wood, that is elastic, I'd say, that painting directly on metal is a bad idea, as well as painting on a thick layer of primer (if the blank is deformed, the primer will crack and/or flake)... so... just fabric with a very thin layer of primer (wood glue, thin enough, not to cover the texture of the fabric, but enough to bind stay fibers) or no primer at all would be my choice.

Jestyr wrote:
Yes, I did. There are some excellent articles, but with the exception of "hobby paint" (you mentioned this), there is little mention to the actual paint types used. Someone mentioned "One Shot" mentioned as a brand, but I have not found it locally.

You've done some amazing stuff -- what brand do you use?

I used Krylon gloss enamel spray paint for the red/yellow/black fields on my shield. Then embelished them with acrylic hobby paint. After that I put a bunch of clear coat on it.





With the same prep work and process I used in my previous how to on it, you will get a shield that holds up really well to combat.

Thanks Irish.

I drove to Pearl Art Supply and they had One Shot. It was expensive, but I gave it a shot (pun intended).

It had nice coverage for the base coat. I'll keep this thread updated as I use it more.

Yeah, when I painted directly to shield, instead of the canvas route I now use, I always used One Shot, would not recommend any other type.

the best paint for shields is any paint as long as you cover the bare alum with six coats of contact cement.

the contact cement base will withstand everything except metal to metal scratching and even the its very scratch resistant.

paint it with any spray paint you want and its durable. a year later when its covered with duct tape just spray paint it again. lasts the life of the shield

Jestyr, something I don't understand is since you have an aluminum shield blank, why aren't you covering the shield face with fabric first, at the least? Fabric gets held down with 3M spray adhesive or household cement, underpaint and paint the fabric surface.

Konstantin the Red wrote:Jestyr, something I don't understand is since you have an aluminum shield blank, why aren't you covering the shield face with fabric first, at the least? Fabric gets held down with 3M spray adhesive or household cement, underpaint and paint the fabric surface.

An excellent question!

Because I got a blank from Thorfinn and he attached the boss already to it. I did not think of the ramifications of this when I asked him to do so. He did such a nice job on the boss and handle, I am NOT going to disturb it.

For my next shield, I will likely attach material to it in the D. Sebastian method.