Painting a Checkerboard Pattern

[sking1973]

This one is for you guys that do a lot of painting. I want to paint a checkerboard pattern on an old mirror that I have, but I'm not sure what the best method would be. Tape the whole thing then cut the blocks to be painted out? Cut individual tape blocks and stick them on? I thought some of you more experienced painters might have an idea.

 

[Von Stans]

its better to mask off everything first then draw out the desighn and cut........make sure when cutting you use a brand new blade cause if you don't you have to apply to much pressure and you will end up marking your surface up....... and what kinda surface you painting on the actual mirrior or the cover i know it sounds like a silly question but i am just curiose what kinda surface it is ???????

 

[chimichanga]

when i did the checker patter for butterscotch i taped it first horizontal then went over that with with tape going down. then used a ruler and an exacto knife and made the cuts. Then removed every other square. The only thing its takes a long time and patience to do.I took me two hours to tape and remove squares.

 

[sking1973]

and what kinda surface you painting on the actual mirrior or the cover i know it sounds like a silly question but i am just curiose what kinda surface it is ???????

The mirror has a chrome finish now. I plan on sanding that to give it some tooth before paint. Then prime and paint with my white base coat. I know chrome can be tricky to paint on and I've had mixed results, but I thought I would give it a shot. I really want a checkerboard mirror for one of my Sting-Rays, but I'm not willing or able to pay the prices that originals go for. If you've got any tips for sprying chrome let 'em fly!

 

[CCR]

i used krylon fusion for this fender, no sanding, held pretty dang good too, you could grab a paint edge and chip it if you really tried on the test part i did, but the fender in the pic lasted a year with no problems whatsoever, then i removed the paint after i wanted all chrome again :roll:

 

[sking1973]

Good tip! I hadn't thought about using Krylon Fusion before. I would be worried about the tape pulling the paint off when I creating the board pattern. Maybe I'll do a test piece first.

 

[CCR]

tape pulling paint wasnt a problem for me, even over new paint. just get painters tape to mask with, its got less adhesive on the back. but honestly i would do what chimi did by cutting the over lapped sections outand then make sure the taped squares that were left dont have any raised edges. so the pain doesnt wander under the edges.

 

[Von Stans]

when you get the base paint down go out and buy some good automotive clearcoat and give the base a couple good thick cout of clear..... b4 you put ne tape down.......