Painting Fiberglass

[blusuzy24]

Hello tuba/sousaphone family,

I just purchased a great used selmer sousaphone, but of course with it being used,it needs to be cleaned and the paint touched up. I want to paint it myself but not sure what to use, some say spray paint with high gloss, or house paint with a good clear coat. I have lots of questions regarding the right way to paint my horn. I want it too look good, but how do I get that smooth shiny finish?
I even considered getting it hydro dipped, but most shops I talked to said it was too large and would cost more than the horn is worth.

[blusuzy24]

Bloke,

Thanks for all your help, I'll post some pics when I get it finished

[blusuzy24]

First congratulations blusuzy24, you've bought one of the best fiberglass sousies made.
Because I used to sell paint, it's my duty to keep you from messing up that excellent sousie !
First, you can’t hide much of anything with paint except color changes meaning that if there is
any roughness in the surface, you have to sand it to extreme smoothness before you spray.
I haven’t seen your horn, so I don't know if it's too rough to paint directly, but if it is
they make sand able spray primmer you can use if it has pitting. Pitting will show through.
Start with 100 grit if there are rough spots and then use 220 grit and finish with 400 grit. (Optionally 600)
Once it's washed, sanded and washed again, you get to play with the spray cans.
This is what I really want to tell you about.
"Rattle cans" are all just a little different so read the label, particularly about spray distance.
Most say a foot to 14 inches. Bloke has already mentioned the most important part: the "strokes" of
your spraying must overlap and blend because the paint thickness' evenness is what determines the
evenness of the gloss and a good glossy white sousaphone is a great thing to behold.
A lot of people don't know about shaking so I'll say it. ONCE IT STARTS TO RATTLE look at a clock !!
You must rattle the can for a MINIMUM of two minutes. I always shake them upside down to get
the "gunk" off the bottom. Then give a three second shake every few minuets as you paint.
If hard shaking won't make it rattle, take it back to the store and get one that will.
BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE..........you've gotta waste the first two seconds of spray because it isn't mixed.
This paint has bin in the pickup tube its entire life and can't be mixed. Through it away. I suggest painting
a cardboard box with it. You may want to paint a box as your practice piece anyway. Next, I'll tell you how to
preserve your partial paint can: spray it in the upside down position until it quits spraying and only gas hisses out.
This will clean the tip and keep it from clogging. I think a sousaphone will take two coats or more and that could
mean more then one can. It may be as many as three. I rarely use that brand, I mostly paint wood stoves.
I have painted hundreds of woodstoves. If you do get a "run" leave it and sand it after it's dried.
I want to warn you Sousies are a rather hard shape to paint, but it's only paint !
You can try it again if you need to once it drys.
Good luck, try not to breath too much !

PS White paint can kick *** on an upright tuba too.

Thanks for the advice, I kinda figured I was going to need multiple cans. I'm thinking about going with Rustoleoum paint, I have done some hand sanding for hard to reach areas but I'm waiting for a power sander that I ordered online to help with the big areas. You have great advice, I'm really taking my time with it because I want it too look good. I'll post pics when I get done, I play it everyday and work on it every weekend.

[Dean E]

. . . . Thanks for the advice, I kinda figured I was going to need multiple cans. I'm thinking about going with Rustoleoum paint, I have done some hand sanding for hard to reach areas but I'm waiting for a power sander that I ordered online to help with the big areas. You have great advice, I'm really taking my time with it because I want it too look good. I'll post pics when I get done, I play it everyday and work on it every weekend.

Remember to use some kind of respirator for the dust.

[ScottM]

Be really careful with the power sander or you will have a mess to deal with. I used to do the tubas at my high school and we just wet sanded the horns to make it so the paint would stick. We used cans one year. A couple years later we repainted them but got it done by a local body shop as his son was in band as I recall. The auto body finish held up better as he put a clear coat on them.
ScottM

[Uncle Markie]

Two part white epoxy paint rolled/brushed on the body of the horn should do nicely. Use a scuff pad on the front of the bell to ensure adhesion of the new paint and spray it. Be prepared to do several light coats - the inside of sousaphone bell is tough to paint without drips. The outside of the bell could use the same marine epoxy paint - roll first then brush smooth. West Marine has what you need.

As for the decal - my King fiberglass sousaphone (paid $100 for it!) - which was sold as Bach - had no decal, so I replaced it with the Yankees' interlocking "NY" in NY Yankees Navy Blue.

Looks great!

Mark Heter