Matte Black

 I just realized that this sounds like a 'James Bond' type spy thriller. Actually it involves my attempts to produce a non-reflective finish for so many of my aluminum projects. Powder coating and anodizing are the typical processes to produce this finish but they are expensive or require car battery chargers and caustic chemicals for the DIYers. 

I've tried a flat black paint using etching preps etc. but they all resulted in the paint chipping off quickly when tossed around and hitting other things in an accessory case. Since I use a 2 part epoxy to connect the parts of the Nickster together with perfect results, I thought about using this as a bass coat for the paint (see my Nickster Commemorative post). This result had promise but the finish became glossy even though I used the matte black paint in the mixture. 

I came up with this idea from an accident. After the epoxy/paint mixture experiment I left some of the mixture out and some of the paint had dripped on the mixture. I noticed that after it had dried the paint retained it's matte finish but also had adhered to the epoxy during it's uncured state.

So here is the process:

1. Quickly mix the epoxy.
2. Add a small dot of acrylic paint and continue mixing.
3. Using a small foam paint brush, dab it into the mixture and apply it to the aluminum. This dries very fast, as soon as it becomes stringy it doesn't cover properly.
4. After a few minutes apply only paint to the coating of epoxy.

When it dries (about 36 hrs.) the surface is a very hard matte black finish that adheres to the aluminum.

L-epoxy w/paint.      R-paint over epoxy