Inspired by Southpaw's paint job.....

Mr. Blond

Mr. Blond

Professional
I have been considering doing a paintjob on one of my older racquets for a while now, but was scared. After seeing the great result posted by southpaw, I have decided to take the leap.

First off, was a trip to the hardware store to get paints, stripper, sand paper and a roll of masking tape. 35.00 dollars later, I am stripping the paint of my liquid metal fire racquet.

It was a bit harder to get the paint off then I imagined, but with a little elbow grease and 120 grit sand paper I got most of the paint and primer off. I then applied the first coat of primer. It is drying now, so I will snap a few pictures of the frame with just a primer coat on it. As the steps flow, I will snap some pictures of the progress and upload them accordingly.
 
i think southpaw has inspired many other people to do the same as well
what colors are you making yours?
 
just going to be a basic flat black frame with the inner hoop a glossy white.
I didn't want to get to challenging with the paints.
 
Primer coats

here is the first primer coats, before sanding.

primercoat.JPG

primercoat (2).JPG

primercoat (1).JPG
 
TennisProPaul said:
would spray painting it grey , then black not work?
Click to expand...


well, I did not want to just paint over the factory paint because it was chipping badly. I wanted a professional type job.
 
I think it would be cool if someone could put together a nice tutorial for painting rackets (better than the FAQ ones). It'd be nice to know exactly how to go about stripping off the paint, etc.

Did either you or southpaw try this on a old junker racket first just to get the feel of it? Also, do you have pics of the racket w/ the paint stripped off? I think it'd be cool to see the differences between a PS 6.0 w/o the paint and the new LM rackets.
 
that is just the first coat of primer, gonna sand it with 300 grit sand paper and then add another coat of primer before the actual finish paint. I don't think I am gonna clear the entire frame because I want the black to have a matte finish, but the hoop will have a gloss finish. I really like the flat black look, so no final clear coat.
 
All these cool paint job threads are tempting me to go the hardware store now. Expect I just want to do it my cheap $35 racquet I got from Sports Authority ;) It looks like such a fun project though. Keep us up to date.
 
Yeah I hope this turns into a good step-by-step quide. People keep asking if people paint their racquets and then the HOF-ers tell them to do a search, but there really aren't any good threads for this kind of thing.

I'm watching with interest as I'm sure I'll have to repaint Flexpoint some day since the paint is going already. I'm not sure if I'd do black, white, or maybe neon yellow like Jimmy Connors.
 
Ok folks sorry for the delay in posting, I ended up re-stripping the primer off of the racquet because I didn't like the way that coat looked. I just finished re-spraying the first coat, and will be applying paint in the morning. Pictures should follow.
 
wow... that looks pretty legit to begin with...
want to see the finished product!!
... btw...
i actually like how the n6.1 looks so i dont think i'll be doing it to my $200 racquet lol
 
I second the notion for a in-depth FAQ on how to strip the paint and then re-paint it because I know nothing about it!
 
once I complete the frame I will post a more indepth type of article describing what was done. It is definatley a learning experience.
 
Seriously read the "How To Paint A Racquet" tips in the FAQ section. Those computer geeks really know how to paint things!!! Simply amazing work and it is fairly easy if you read the instructions.
 
IMO, the best way to a perfect job is in the prep work and the sanding. If you're using low, low grit sand paper like you are, your results may not be as attractive (or smooth) as you hope. I sanded down the primer with 400 grit minimum, anything lower and you're asking for a bumpy/rough job...

I think the FAQ guide is actually pretty good, it lacks pictures at the moment, and has links to other sites.
 
I agree that the info in the FAQ is quite good. My only complaint is that the computer how-to's aren't tennis racket how-to's, so things that may come up with repainting a racket aren't in the FAQ. Plus, if there were a tennis racket how-to guide, we'd pick up alot of little tips and tricks that other members are doing with their efforts. We could also have a gallery of different members own paintjobs with their own little summary on what they did.

When I look into painting a racket, what crosses my mind is what I think alot of people are concerned with, that is, what is THE BEST (and proven) way to paint a racket?
 
Completed frame Minus the String

Sorry for the delay, I had a buisness trip to go on, so I was out of town for almost a week. Another reason for the delay is that I wanted to paint the hoop white and the frame black, but that did not look as I planned, so I stripped and painted it again with the yellow and black which matches my school colors. This will be my coaching racquet since it has been so much work.

finishednostring.JPG

finishednostring (2).JPG

finishednostring (3).JPG


I will post a more detailed how to later when I have time, for now I am going string it up.
 
That looks really good. I am not sure what type of paint you used, but be careful when you mount the racquet for stringing. I painted a racquet a year ago and the store paint could not match the hardness of the factory cured paints. When I mounted the racquet to string, the paint always got indented. Please let me know how yours turned out.
 
blabit said:
that is just the first coat of primer, gonna sand it with 300 grit sand paper and then add another coat of primer before the actual finish paint. I don't think I am gonna clear the entire frame because I want the black to have a matte finish, but the hoop will have a gloss finish. I really like the flat black look, so no final clear coat.
Click to expand...
Sorry for my stupidity, but why do you have to sand it down after painting the primer?
 
Duzza said:
Sorry for my stupidity, but why do you have to sand it down after painting the primer?
Click to expand...

It's in the FAQ, also ;)

Primer can be inconsistent, and can pick up particles like dust, dirt, and sometimes, surprisingly, bugs.

You sand it down with a high grit sand paper to smooth out the finish/texture, to give an even, smooth base for color.
 
diredesire said:
It's in the FAQ, also ;)

Primer can be inconsistent, and can pick up particles like dust, dirt, and sometimes, surprisingly, bugs.

You sand it down with a high grit sand paper to smooth out the finish/texture, to give an even, smooth base for color.
Click to expand...
Oh ok, Thanks diredesire. Primer just means a base coat right? Do you spray or paint this on?
 
Duzza said:
Oh ok, Thanks diredesire. Primer just means a base coat right? Do you spray or paint this on?
Click to expand...


primer is a very thick type of paint base. It is not paint, its a pre-paint application that preps the surface for paint.
 
How long do you have to wait before being able to play with it? Really curious to see if it plays differently...I hope not!
 
emcee said:
How long do you have to wait before being able to play with it? Really curious to see if it plays differently...I hope not!
Click to expand...


i am gonna hit with it this afternoon, and will update you all on the performance.
 
i have 2 questions on this:

1) is there a way to get this paint hard and shiny like the factory or on cars? on cars and motorcycles they have to heat it to seal it which could cause problems on a tennis racket. how does the factory paint these things, what process? i want to have my dunlop MFILS 200 painted like my MW 200g, they best painjob ever in my opinion.

2) does this type of paint weigh a lot more than factory paint? it seems like it would with primer especially, how much did it change the swingweight?

thanks, the racket looks great by the way, why cant these manufacturers take some advice on paintjobs from US?!
 
mileslong said:
i have 2 questions on this:

1) is there a way to get this paint hard an shiney like the factory or on cars? on cars and motorcycles they have to heat it to seal it which could cause problems on a tennis racket. how does the factory paint these things, what process? i want to have my dunlop MFILS 200 painted like my MW 200g, they best painjob ever in my opinion.

2) does this type of paint weigh a lot more than factory paint? it seems like it would with primer especially, how much did it change the swingweight?

thanks, the racket looks great by the way, why cant these manufacturers take some advice on paintjobs from US?!
Click to expand...

the factory paint has a primer coat and all. As for the hardness of the paint, that can be achieved with an accrylic clearcoat like auto painters use. I don't think the swingweight is greatly affected by what I have done, at least it does not feel so.
 
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