Control Panel Glass Refinishing. Any Ideas?

[d-jones]

I've been continuing to work on the DG906 for my parents and I've run into a bit of a problem. When glass is painted and durability is required, a clear bonding layer of some sort is applied to the glass prior to painting to improve adhesion. I guess you could call it a primer of sorts. On this panel the primer had failed in a long strip that followed the chrome plated frame around the right end. I literally blew on it and the paint came off. Obviously the paint has to be reapplied, but in order for it to look right when it's back-lit by the fluorescent tube it will have to be a completely uniform and very thin coat. This is my first attempt and it's a failure. It looks good from the front though, doesn't it?

 

[d-jones]

Here's the back side. If you look at the area where the red arrows are pointing you can see what looks like darker shading. It's much more noticeable up close and in person, and it's where the paint went on too thick so less light is able to pass through it than the surrounding paint. The whole thing will have to be done over again, but before I do I've got to figure out a better  method.

 

This time I simply used flat white spray paint(hey, it was worth a try), but it was difficult to keep the paint even. Now I'm wondering how this might have been done at the factory. The original finish had to be removed completely before it could be repainted, and not wanting to risk damage to the glass I tried paint remover. It had no effect whatsoever on it, which makes me think the white coating wasn't your normal paint. So what was it, and how might it have been applied? Do you think it could have been silk screened into place? Any ideas?

 

[gansky1]

Just a recurring thought on colored glass..

Good first attempt!  The pictures don't really show the shading you're seeing, but I can understand what you're talking about.  My first ex-husband worked for a printer and was a master at all sorts of printing on all sorts of things.  If there is color on that glass, it may have been applied in a very thin, even coat by screening.  Most generally, this is not paint but an actual ink.  I would bet if you checked into a screen printer in your area, they could help you get the original finish off and apply a new, even coat of white onto the glass.

 

[d-jones]

Thanks for the information Ganski.

When the finish wouldn't come off with paint remover I began to wonder if it was even paint. That got me thinking about silk screening, so last night after I started this thread I looked it up. Since there are several silk screening operations nearby I think I'll pursue that a little further and see what comes of it.

 

I did manage to get all of the original finish off the glass, but I had to use a glass bead blaster to do it. Being fine glass beads they removed the finish but left the glass unharmed, so all of the white coating you see above is paint. The glass beads had a much harder time with the clear primer layer so I had to use Brillo pads on it instead. Interestingly, in the places where the original white finish had let go there was no trace of primer, which may explain why the finish failed there.

 

[kb0nes]

From the way you describe a clear under layer it almost strikes me that it could be a very thin film that was glued onto the glass with a clear adhesive.

Perhaps if you could find a translucent white Mylar film that would work. You'd just have to find something to adhere it with. Thin Mylar films typically have thickness uniformity around .00005" so I bet the light they would pass would be pretty even.

The silk screening would likely work pretty well too. I have a friend that I helped build a basement silk screening setup for. He has printed on all kinda of surfaces and the resulting film is flawless, at least from the surface. I should have him try screening on glass once to see what the uniformity is.

 

[d-jones]

Phil

That's another interesting idea. If a non yellowing glue could be found to hold the film in place it would probably work. If silk screening doesn't work out I may try that next.

 

[jetcone]

What about

 white contact paper? Its translucent and uniform and adheres to most anything. 

 

I would also think a light coat of semigloss laquer would be a good start with paint and then  a white paint.

 

I know my ABC' had silkscreened glass. A layer of gold points and then a layer of white.

 

 

 

[retropia]

When I was taking silk-screening classes back in the late 1970s, we used some serious chemicals to dilute and clean the ink. Highly volatile and nasty stuff. Probably you would need a special chemical to remove that type of ink. I never learned how to print on glass, so I'm unaware of a primer.

It wouldn't surprise me if now they use water-based inks and cleaners, which would have to be more user-friendly.

An art supply store might have some ideas for a new white finish for the back of the glass. They used to sell a product like an acetate sheeting in various colors, some of which was self-adhesive. It was easy to trim with an Xacto knife.

 

[beekeyknee]

The problem with the adhesive/film idea is when the light shines through from the back side you will most likely be able to see the adhesive sandwiched between the film and glass.

 

[philr]

I did try repainting the control panel of my 1965 Frigidaire washer that I got from Ben (I think it also used to be Greg's washer). At some point, it had been resprayed at the back and while it looked nice when the fluorescent wasn't lit, it had darker spots that were visible when lit. I sanded the paint off and tried to mix some turquoise and white paint and clear coat so it would be still clear enough. I wasn't able to reproduce the exact same shade as the dryer but I got closer. 

 

Here's how it looked before:



And after:

 

[kb0nes]

I was at Home Depot yesterday and I saw they had some privacy control window film. It was a translucent white product which looked about right but may have too much light transmission. It might be good to search out privacy window films.

I'm not sure if they are just a cling or if there is some adhesive to them. Even with a simple Mylar film I think the adhesive is pretty much a non issue. If you squeegee the film into the glass the glue layer would be so thin that I don't think yellowing or uneven light transmission would be a problem.