Refinish of Yamaha P-32D
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Even the mouse ran from my house….
After some research into painting plastics, I decided to experiment with the shell of my defunct P-32D, using Krylon products. Krylon has a helpful video that pretty describes the simple process. I first thoroughly cleaned the case and end pieces with hot soapy water and, after completely drying, abraded the entire (outer) surface with medium grade steel wool and then washed and dried again. I then started out (constantly shaking my cans) with a misty layer of Krylon Fusion for Plastics Satin Black. I always hoped Yamaha would come out with a black P-32D, but they haven’t. I prefer a non-glossy color and coating. The satin is a bit zestier than flat black. This stuff takes only a minute or two of drying between layers. So, rather than the four or so distinct layers I had in mind, I continued misting with two minute breaks until I was satisfied that I had a good paint job. I then applied Krylon Colormaster acrylic crystal clear (non-yellowing) Covermax in the same kind of process. The alternative was Krylon Fusion Clear Gloss — couldn’t find the non-gloss clear locally. The painted pieces will now cure for seven days. When that’s completed, I’ll transplant my working P-32D into its new black casing and follow up with photos. Here are a few photos I took during the work I did this morning (about two hours).
it loks good for now! are you sure that the color won’t peel off latter?
and for spit realese button, leave it blue… 🙂
Unfortunately, the spit release mechanism doesn’t seem to be able to be disassembled. So my plan has been to dab the button with Testors model enamel, but I have also thought about leaving it blue.
I’m also thinking about two-tone possibilties.
Rustoleum has a chrome paint, Troy, which I think would probably work on top of Krylon primer. They also have a comparable gold. Then there are some other possibilities, including “stone” coatings, so you could have a concrete look — good for construction workers who play on the job.
The finish looks good. We’ll have to see how it stands up to being handled over time.
I chose Krylon because it’s commonly used on patio furniture, kids toys, and other stuff that gets abused, prodz — as opposed to finishes used in modelling. I figured I’d give Krylon Fusion a try since it’s inexpensive and gets favorable reviews. Durability is important, but I could live with it needing to be refinished after, say, a year. I believe the Fusion has a chemical reaction with the surface, so that it probably wouldn’t peel off. But we’ll see. What the heck, it’s just a melodica.
It unscrews!
I love what you’re doing – I think I may try doing a bit of reshaping/filling on the case, and try out your suggestion of chrome paint!
Thanks Troy, duh. That will help.
Krylon has a color that’s very similar to the finish on the P-37D. If this job works out, I may try that color on the yellow P-25F, maybe on the case as well as on the pianica.
OOPS! Didn’t quite get everything, most noticeably the blue strip above the keyboard, but also the outer rim that I didn’t think would show and the piece of the bottom of the spit button that’s visible through a hole in the bottom. Seven more days of curing now before it’s ready to be played.
Strip above the keyboard is a bit shiny from some angles since it has not cured yet. I forgot to mention that I used masking tape. I used it again over the cured part of the finish — no problem with that. Time will tell how this holds up, but these photos give a pretty good representation of the immediate results of refinishing.
Alan, I used to fly radio controlled helicopters 30 years ago and if I used an entire can of paint to paint the fuselage it would have trouble lifting due to the added weight, it does not look like you used a whole can of paint, do you feel any difference in weight. Example if you pick up the can of paint full and then pick up an empty one it’s pretty drastic. Just wondering, by the way nice work looks much better in black.
Melodica-MeMuch less than a full can, and I don’t notice any difference in weight. Many years ago I made balsa wood airplane models with paper stretched, wetted, dried, and then painted, but lightly. 1950s we’re talking about, and I have some old model kits from my father’s estate, but they’re very old and dried out, I think.
The P-32D looks good. How well the finish will stand up I have no idea. I’m neither optimistic nor pessimistic. If this doesn’t hold up, it won’t be because I didn’t take sufficient care, and it will indicate that a different process is required. If the finish holds up, I’d like to add a Yamaha tuning fork logo, which is familiar mainly from Yamaha motorcycles.
Because I’m “misting” over the object while painting, in a series of very light coats, a lot of the paint and clear-coat gets on the cardboard it’s sitting on and also wafts off in the breeze. Krylon Fusion paint is about $7 a can at Wallmart (USA) and the clear coat was a couple of bucks more.
Home Depot and Lowes have phased out Krylon in favor of Rustoleum and/or their own brand, but reading a lot of reviews convinced me that Krylon Fusion was the best bet. But I don’t plan to do this to any other melodicas until I see how durable the new finish is. I have my doubts about that.
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