How to re-create this cover look?

[ArtieToo]

I have a pair of scratched up covers that fit my Duncan Designed JB/Jazz set perfectly. If you've seen my "for sale" ad, you know how micro-cracked the bobbins are. How hard would it be to give them this look? It looks like something more complex than just wrinkle paint.

[ArtieToo]

Powder coating, maybe?

[GuitarDoc]

It sure looks like powder coat. But that's an expensive mod. Krinkle paint is a heck of a lot cheaper (and quicker if you have to send them out to get powder coated) and I don't think you'd be able to tell the difference from 5 feet away.

[Mincer]

Yeah, my Seth Lovers have that coating, and it is powder coated. It looks great, but is pretty fragile, so you have to be careful with it.

[ArtieToo]

Thanks guys. I don't want it to be fragile, so maybe just good ol' flat black.

[v8stang289]

I was going to suggest Brownells alumahyde II.
It's an epoxy based coating that is very durable once cured. I've had it on a well used 870 shotgun for ~13 years and it's held up great.
The matte black looks very similar to the op's picture.
I sprayed it in several light coats, flashing with a hairdryer in between, then left it alone for a few days to cure. It does look like Brownells is out of stock currently though.

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/metal-prep-coloring/paint-finishes/air-cure-aerosol-paints/aluma-hyde-ii-prod1117.aspx

[ArtieToo]

I was going to suggest Brownells alumahyde II.

Sweet! Thanks for that link. That might be the way to go. I love, (in that video), what he's doing with the paper plate. Cool, easy affect.

Thanks 'stang.

[eclecticsynergy]

Epoxy aircraft propeller paint could be a good option too, if the Brownell's remains unavailable.
Likely a more durable formula than regular flat black spray.

Not exactly like the surface in the OP pic, but if you want a textured finish there are rattlecan options.
Some interesting possibilities, even stonelike and hammered-looking types.

I used bronze hammertone spray on a mic body once and the effect is almost like semigloss because of the texture.

[ArtieToo]

The hammered look could be cool too. Like the old Bell & Howell home movie projectors had.

[ICTGoober]

Yeah, my Seth Lovers have that coating, and it is powder coated. It looks great, but is pretty fragile, so you have to be careful with it.

If it's actual powder coating, you don't have to baby it. You can take a hammer to metal that is powder coated and it won't flake off.

[ArtieToo]

If it's actual powder coating, you don't have to baby it. You can take a hammer to metal that is powder coated and it won't flake off.

I was wondering that myself. I thought powder coating was used quite a bit in auto part applications where ruggedness was a must.

[Mincer]

If it's actual powder coating, you don't have to baby it. You can take a hammer to metal that is powder coated and it won't flake off.

That isn't the case with this stuff, but they do call it 'powder coating'.

[ICTGoober]

That isn't the case with this stuff, but they do call it 'powder coating'.

So it's a marketing lie.

[Mincer]

So it's a marketing lie.

Could be, I am not an expert on the process. When I wanted to order mine, that's what they called it.

[eclecticsynergy]

So it's a marketing lie.

I believe some powdercoat is actually anodized, and some is just a spray-on treatment.
It might also be that nickel silver simply doesn't have the surface strength for the finish to be as durable as it is on steel.
My son used to work in an industrial powdercoating plant; I'll ask him next time we talk if I think of it.