Painting over rubber..

[joeqsmith]

I picked up a used Fluke handheld meter.   The case is in rough condition.   I was going to attempt to paint it.  I thought the Plasti DIP may work but it does not appear to stick to the rubber.    I tried some other paint but it appears to react with the rubber and will not harden, even after a week.   

I am also interested in knowing if there are products that could be used as a filler for areas where the rubber is damaged. 

I should mention, what I saw happen with the Plasti DIP is as it would dry, it would tear.  I areas where the surface was flat, it seemed to adhere alright.  Areas where there where curves, it would leave gaps in the paint.   Even after several coats, it was impossible for me to get even a poor finish.   

https://plastidip.com/

[SeanB]

How about upholstery repair kits? They are designed ( in the loosest sense of the word) to be used to repair cracked and torn plastic upholstery, which is generally some sort of flexible plastic on a backing.

[Hydron]

Along the lines of the above comment, maybe vinyl dye could work? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_dye
My experience with it agrees with the wikipedia article - behaves quite different to paint. May only work to go from a light to dark shade though, and I don't have a clue how compatible it is with the rubber you're working with.

[Cerebus]

In a similar vein, there are additives for auto paints designed to make them flexible enough to spray body colours over flexible bumpers and the other plastic body parts that turn up on cars nowadays. You would almost certainly need a specialized primer paint to guarantee base coat adhesion but I suspect that the auto refinishing industry has a solution for that too. This is a purely theoretic solution as I only know about them, I don't have any practical experience as a respiratory sensitivity to isocyanates means that working with modern car paint would most probably kill me - learned that the hard way many years ago with some two part polyurethane foam.

[joeqsmith]

Searching the net and came across this post.  Seems like it's possible. 

https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/27403-another-boot-thread-but-with-spray-paint/

[coromonadalix]

tried this on my girlfriend shoes, it was like adding an plastic surface paint on the surface of the shoes, it did not resist friction and scratches from day to day use, even with an very good surface preparation, it was peeling of after 2 weeks

[helius]

The rubber boot is probably made of chloroprene, and chloroprene-base paints will adhere to it. They are getting hard to find because the formula contains high VOC levels which are banned in some states.

[joeqsmith]

I've been playing around with the automotive primer.    It seems to adhere well.   The Plasti DIP seems to adhere well to the primer.   

The rubber seems to turn to a liquid state at fairly low temperatures.   I am playing with melting some additional rubber from another case, heating the two and using that to fill the voids. 

Poor old meter...

There is a 187 on eBay that the case looks in good condition.  Much nicer than what I am working with. 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Fluke-187-True-RMS-Multimeter/253848211662?hash=item3b1a8850ce:g:GpkAAOSwTWZbjTQy

[ebastler]

I would be reluctant to apply anything that coats the surface, unless you aim for temporary cosmetics only. It may look good initially, but over time is bound to wrinkle, crack, peel off, get scratched etc.

Dyes or plastics refreshers like "Armor All", which seep into the matrix (somewhat), are the better approach in my view. They may evaporate or wear off over time, but can be easily refreshed. They may not cover up all stains or scratches, but at least they don't add further blemishes of their own in the long run...

[joeqsmith]

The meter is in rough condition at best and I don't mind experimenting on it.  The goal is not to make it a show queen. 

I don't see a lot of cracked paint on rubber and plastic bumpers of cars.  They get a lot of UV.   I have no experience with the Plasti Dip products but they claim it will not harden. 

One thing this meter has going for it is the rubber is on top of a plastic substrate.  The case can't bend too much.  It's not a rubber boot that will come off.   

[ebastler]

The meter is in rough condition at best and I don't mind experimenting on it.  The goal is not to make it a show queen. 

I don't see a lot of cracked paint on rubber and plastic bumpers of cars.  They get a lot of UV.   I have no experience with the Plasti Dip products but they claim it will not harden. 

One thing this meter has going for it is the rubber is on top of a plastic substrate.  The case can't bend too much.  It's not a rubber boot that will come off.

These are all valid points. Worth a try then, I think -- please let us know how it turns out. How about some "before and after" photos? 

[joeqsmith]

Sorry but the before photos are out.  I did not take any before starting to play with it.  I also didn't take any of my first attempts using the Plasti Dip with no primer.  That was a big mess.

I did take some of the before and after of the lens.  The lens had a few large cracks in it.  My advice is don't use a punch, hammer and wooden blocks as I did to break it out.  This is a job for a Dremel.   I have since gone back and recut the lip on my lens that allows for a better fit.  It looks closer to the original now.

[joeqsmith]

Shot it in dark blue first but ended up going with black.   Happy with the lens fit now.  The paint/primer seems to stick well.  You can see some of the chemical damage to the face.  People have asked why I would apply chemicals to the meters as part of my testing, well here you go.   

[ebastler]

 

[drumbum]

Shot it in dark blue first but ended up going with black.   Happy with the lens fit now.  The paint/primer seems to stick well.  You can see some of the chemical damage to the face.  People have asked why I would apply chemicals to the meters as part of my testing, well here you go.

Finally found it! The "black" 189.

Joe I would like very much to see more detailed pics of this meter.  What does the battery compartment look like?


Hello everyone.

[joeqsmith]

Shot it in dark blue first but ended up going with black.   Happy with the lens fit now.  The paint/primer seems to stick well.  You can see some of the chemical damage to the face.  People have asked why I would apply chemicals to the meters as part of my testing, well here you go.

Finally found it! The "black" 189.

Joe I would like very much to see more detailed pics of this meter.  What does the battery compartment look like?


Hello everyone.

Welcome to the EEVBLOG.  I had all the plastic parts separate when I painted them but I masked off the graphics in the front and the battery box.    So, on the inside it is still yellow except for the over spray.   

The meter's case is in very rough condition along with my cobbled switch contact and battery contact.  I looked for another donor 196 but never turned one up.

[drumbum]

Thanks for the reply Joe.
How's the finish holding up?

I bet my 187 was in worse shape,...previous owner attempted cleaning with a dremel

[drumbum]

Shot it in dark blue first but ended up going with black.   Happy with the lens fit now.  The paint/primer seems to stick well.  You can see some of the chemical damage to the face.  People have asked why I would apply chemicals to the meters as part of my testing, well here you go.

Finally found it! The "black" 189.

Joe I would like very much to see more detailed pics of this meter.  What does the battery compartment look like?


Hello everyone.

Welcome to the EEVBLOG.  I had all the plastic parts separate when I painted them but I masked off the graphics in the front and the battery box.    So, on the inside it is still yellow except for the over spray.   

The meter's case is in very rough condition along with my cobbled switch contact and battery contact.  I looked for another donor 196 but never turned one up.

Forgot to quote above.

[joeqsmith]

Thanks for the reply Joe.
How's the finish holding up?

I bet my 187 was in worse shape,...previous owner attempted cleaning with a dremel

There were sections of rubber torn out of the case, right down to the plastic.   The fact someone managed to bust the lens tells me that this meter had a really rough life.  Not to mention what sort of idiot would lose the switch contacts.   

The meter is actually seeing some use and the paint is still holding up alright, for what it is.   

How bad is the damage on yours.   I have this vision of some idiot putting a wire brush on their Dremel, which I bet would do some major damage to it.   Hopefully this is not what happened to yours.   
 

[drumbum]

Thanks for the reply Joe.
How's the finish holding up?

I bet my 187 was in worse shape,...previous owner attempted cleaning with a dremel

There were sections of rubber torn out of the case, right down to the plastic.   The fact someone managed to bust the lens tells me that this meter had a really rough life.  Not to mention what sort of idiot would lose the switch contacts.   

The meter is actually seeing some use and the paint is still holding up alright, for what it is.   

How bad is the damage on yours.   I have this vision of some idiot putting a wire brush on their Dremel, which I bet would do some major damage to it.   Hopefully this is not what happened to yours.

No wire wheel,...sanding drum I presume.

This 187 had a lot of field use...corn, wheat, hay or oil, I'm not sure .

Female screw post had to be rebuilt with epoxy.  I contended with corrosion on battery terminals.

10a fuse holders had to be re-soldered, and the input jacks for good measure.  Other stuff needed attention also.

Complete unit with bail and rubber probe holder for 40 bones, so can't complain too much.

Looking forward to your next vids.  Hope you are well.

[joeqsmith]

The wire wheel would have been bad enough but sanding takes it to a whole new level.    $40 is cheap enough for a working 187.   I had no plans to keep that 189, assuming it would have been destroyed from my abuse.   Once again, it shows that they made some pretty decent products.

Someone had sent me a link to a meter they bought that looked interesting enough to try and track down.  It turned out it was no longer made and it wasn't sold in the USA.  I don't come across too many handheld meters that interest me enough to want to run them.