making conductive paint??

[stratotak]

Conductive paint is pretty costly in large amounts..Has anybody made there own ??I was reading article on making conductive glue. By using graphite powder mixed in with liquid tape...
http://www.instructables.com/id/S55Z9FLF3KMNVQ8/
Wonder if it would work If use mixed it in with paint or primer. Maybe a little can of latex paint..then you could brush it in cavity with a brush..I believe you can get graphite powder at auto parts store..dont know how much it costs or how much you would need..

edit:Just found another thread about this subject in another forum
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=589012

Also what about Zinc Primer??You can get a can of Krylon zinc primer in the $6 range...Probably not as good as brass or aluminum but of you used enough coats??
Im assuming zinc is conductive..
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002U1IKOA

Or copper primer??
http://www.eastwood.com/specialty-co...z-aerosol.html

The copper enriched formula in 40783 provides superior conductive properties that minimize the heat zone, thereby reducing distortion and welding splatter

[WRGKMC]

**Krylon Magnetic paint for shielding guitar interiors. $7 isnt exactly expensive. A case is around 35$.
Way better that that foil you were dorking around with.

http://www.idealtruevalue.com/servlet/the-68812/Detail

[stratotak]

Will that stuff work for shielding??I thought it needed some sort of conductive metal in the paint..Like copper,nickle,etc...

[ConfessorT]

AFAIK for something to have enough ferrous content to be magnetic, it'll be conductive.

[customtele]

The Krylon mag paint has a high iron content, It's designed to make things magnetic so refrigerator magnets & the like will stick to it. I just ordered some from a local hardware dealer. One can should do a buttload of instruments.

[SoldierStape01]

I got a local guy getting me a can too... If it is good as sliced bread, me be getting a case, just to have around...

[ndog]

Originally Posted by ConfessorT

AFAIK for something to have enough ferrous content to be magnetic, it'll be conductive.

Well the particles will be conductive, but they will be surrounded by non-conductive media, the paint.

This is like sticking a piece of iron in a plastic bag, a magnet will still stick to it but unless you poke through the bag it won't be conductive.

I'd love to be wrong about this though, and hope somebody posts their results.

[syscrusher]

Originally Posted by ndog

Well the particles will be conductive, but they will be surrounded by non-conductive media, the paint.

This is like sticking a piece of iron in a plastic bag, a magnet will still stick to it but unless you poke through the bag it won't be conductive.

I'd love to be wrong about this though, and hope somebody posts their results.

I tried it and didn't work one bit. But it will hold a magnet pretty damn good.

[customtele]

WRG mentioned screwing into the cavity & wrapping a wire around the screw BEFORE putting on the paint Then I guess you'd run the other end to your ground source. Thie would give you the contact you need.

[ndog]

The problem might still exist, even if you could make a conductive contact point the particles are insulated from each other by being encapsulated in the paint. Statistically you might get a conductive path with millions of particles but I don't know for sure.

There are plenty of sources of conductive paint, ink and epoxy but they all seem a little pricey.

Now don't beat me up, I'm only just learning to play an acoustic, I'll eventually get an electric. But what do you need to shield against, magnetic fields, RF, HF or 60Hz or all of the above? Typically how bad is the problem?

[customtele]

Single coil pickups like in a strat or also p90's will hum at the B double flat of 60 cycles. The idea is to shield the cavity to prevent the humming. I still say someone must have shielded my girlfriend.

[stratotak]

Bummer If the magnetic paint wont work..$7 for a can versus $32 for a 1/2 pint at Stew macs..
Looks like the best choice for shielding is the copper tape with conductive sticky side..$10 at stew macs for a 2"x15' roll..
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electron...pper_Tape.html

[WRGKMC]

"The problem might still exist, even if you could make a conductive contact point the particles are insulated from each other by being encapsulated in the paint. Statistically you might get a conductive path with millions of particles but I don't know for sure".

This is the same for all conductive paints isnt it?

Anyway, Thats is what the manufactures told me they used. I have store bought guitars with that stuff on there and it works great. The pots are the through body type and they use star washers to bite into the layers of the paint.
My guess is with enough coats theres enough particle paths for the particles to connect. Capacitence does the rest.

I can see a problem with a thin coat not working but the way they apply it looks like thin bedliner. It does go on fairly thick so hopefully you shouldnt have to use too many coats. You could always test how many coats you need by spraying a wood strip and testing with an ohm meter after each coat dries.

[syscrusher]

Originally Posted by WRGKMC

"The problem might still exist, even if you could make a conductive contact point the particles are insulated from each other by being encapsulated in the paint. Statistically you might get a conductive path with millions of particles but I don't know for sure".

This is the same for all conductive paints isnt it?

Anyway, Thats is what the manufactures told me they used. I have store bought guitars with that stuff on there and it works great. The pots are the through body type and they use star washers to bite into the layers of the paint.
My guess is with enough coats theres enough particle paths for the particles to connect. Capacitence does the rest.

I can see a problem with a thin coat not working but the way they apply it looks like thin bedliner. It does go on fairly thick so hopefully you shouldnt have to use too many coats. You could always test how many coats you need by spraying a wood strip and testing with an ohm meter after each coat dries.

My ESP has the the shielding paint from the factory and it is dead quite in the noisiest of places too. I would like to hear other people's experience with the paint from stewmac. I tried the krylon stuff and it just didn't work for me and that was with 3 heavy coats. I like the paint idea as that allows you to get into those small through holes.

[Bob411]

I don't think it necessarily needs to conduct electricity. If you think of the window on a microwave, they all have those screens on them, or an old mesh satellite dish. As long as the screen is the right size to block the WAVE, it's the same as a solid piece of metal. And that's what we are dealing with here, a wave. I think with enough coats, it's probable it would block the wave, and stop hum. For the price I'm excited to try it.

[customtele]

Good point Bob. EMI is what we're fighting. It comes out as 60 cycle hum, but it is still EMI.

[Bob411]

News flash: Noob gets something right.

[customtele]

Originally Posted by Bob411

News flash: Noob gets something right.

And it only took 23 posts. For me the whole point of coming here is to learn. In about a year's time I've gone from someone struggling with guitar setup to someone on his 3rd guitar build with a guitar repair sideline. I only make enough to pay for my own projects, but that in itself is well worth the price of admission.

[Bob411]

I'm just happy to not embarrass myself.

[customtele]

Originally Posted by Bob411

I'm just happy to not embarrass myself.

That'll take about 50 posts total...........