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Repainting/Customizing Pedals

KevInDaBassment

The cat's "meh..."
Jul 30, 2010
8,465
9,395
Gulf Coast
Already searched on this, didn't come up with much. Hopefully we can get some useful links and info in this thread for others trying to find some help on it.

I have tons of pedals that I like and will keep until they go kaput (crossing my fingers that they won't), but I've gotten the customization bug and would love to make this stuff my own and unique. I'm not really looking to do any electrical modifications to the pedals, just exterior stuff. So I'll be brief on what I need to know.

1) I know a few methods for painting a blank or bare metal case (scuff it up some, spraypaint it, or do other painting methods). What if the background finish on the pedal is fine but you want to remove lettering/graphics?

2) Any tips for putting a logo you've created on the PC onto the pedal? Is there a certain type of printer paper to look for or anything you guys have had luck with in the past?

3) Any particular products for hand-painting graphics that you guys have found useful or worked well in your past projects?


Links with this information are totally welcomed, I want this thread to be a help to those who couldn't find anything with a conventional search. Advice or recommendations in posts is also greatly appreciated.

Thanks! :bassist:
VT
 
T-shirt transfers work fine for computer graphics, or you could try etching (maybe a bit complicated though).
As for hand-painting, Hammerite seems to work well for spraying (haven't used it myself), and acrylics are perfect for hand-painting (you can try swirling [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] )

I'm not sure about your first question. What kind of finish does it have? Most commercial finishes are just about impossible to remove the text only.
 
T-shirt transfers work fine for computer graphics, or you could try etching (maybe a bit complicated though).
As for hand-painting, Hammerite seems to work well for spraying (haven't used it myself), and acrylics are perfect for hand-painting (you can try swirling [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] )

I'm not sure about your first question. What kind of finish does it have? Most commercial finishes are just about impossible to remove the text only.

Thank you for the tips and suggestions! I will definitely check them out, especially the t-shirt transfer method.

One of the pedals I want to mod is the Behringer noise gate pedal. I need a noisegate that has a solid white background and it has it already. It would be ideal if I could just take the lettering off the white part so I can put my own text and a graphic in that spot. The older Intelligate looks like it would do this better than the new one, but the Intelligate seems discontinued and the new one at about $30 is hard to pass up as a moddable pedal. would just painting over the lettering work? I'm very gentle with my pedals and the noise gate will always be on, so I doubt my foot would come into contact with it very much.

The original idea that sparked all this for me is when I was looking for pedal kits to get my soldering skills improved with. I saw a pedal kit for a 70's style distortion/fuzz called "The Rattler" and it comes in a blank casing, so it would need a custom job to make it look like a finished pedal. Everybody does tough looking stuff for all that so I figured I'd go with something ironic. I'm a Brony (male fan of the new My Little Pony:Friendship is Magic cartoon...don't judge, it's freakin awesome! :hiding:) so I figured it would make an interesting theme for something that is usually macho'd out. I originally wanted a Wren and Cuff Pickle Pie B, but couldn't afford it. One of the ponies is named Pinkie Pie, so I decided mine would be the "Pinkie Pie B:Fuzztortion is Magic" pedal. Pastel pink with a small graphic of her and the lettering on the pedal. All of the pedals I would be modding would have some kind of tie to the show's inside jokes.

Anyhow, that's what sparked the idea for me. If there's any other Bronies that find their way in here, I'll be glad to share the rest of my ideas for re-doing my pedals in case you want to try them too! :bassist:
 
I modded and rehoused a Behringer UV300 vibrato. I used waterslide decals. In the end the worked out really nice. I practiced once or twice applying one before my first attempt onto the actual pedal. After applied I shot two coats of clear lacquer to seal it. I designed the graphic using Serif Drawplus then printed to an inkjet printer onto the decal. Micromark has all you need for decal work. Shop Painting Supplies - Airbrushes & Model Paints at Micro Mark
See what you think...... Lapicide


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I'm a Brony (male fan of the new My Little Pony:Friendship is Magic cartoon...don't judge, it's freakin awesome! :hiding:) so I figured it would make an interesting theme for something that is usually macho'd out. I originally wanted a Wren and Cuff Pickle Pie B, but couldn't afford it. One of the ponies is named Pinkie Pie, so I decided mine would be the "Pinkie Pie B:Fuzztortion is Magic" pedal. Pastel pink with a small graphic of her and the lettering on the pedal. All of the pedals I would be modding would have some kind of tie to the show's inside jokes.

Anyhow, that's what sparked the idea for me. If there's any other Bronies that find their way in here, I'll be glad to share the rest of my ideas for re-doing my pedals in case you want to try them too! :bassist:
Ryan of Fuzzrocious agreed to do a custom Rainbow Dash-colored (six-color rainbow, like her mane and tail, on a blue background) Grey Stache. It's definitely 20% cooler than the standard version! I think Rainbow Dash's loud personality fits well with a loud fuzz.

The Pinkie Pie B sounds like an awesome idea too - why didn't I think of that?
 
Bumping this up...

I have an idea to repaint my Fender Sub-Lime from the horrid stock green color to a black/grey camo tiger stripe design. I know the process of painting requires taking the enclosure of the pedal off, but will this work with the wheel on the Sub-Lime? I've never tried to open it up, any painters here care to share some wisdom on if this can be done?
 
If you take the time to disconnect everything you can end up with just the housing of the sublime... Theres alot lil parts and the wheel is a little tough to get off but its just set in. the hardest thing is to get the power jack out.
 
If you take the time to disconnect everything you can end up with just the housing of the sublime... Theres alot lil parts and the wheel is a little tough to get off but its just set in. the hardest thing is to get the power jack out.

Alright, I've opened the pedal up and gotton the screws and bolts for the input jacks out, how do I get the wheel and power jack out?
 

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