Refinishing Gold Crown

cleary

cleary

Honestly, I'm a liar.
Silver Member
**Disclaimer** This is probably going to sound stupid:

I'm planning on refinishing a gold crown, just as a hobby to see how it comes out. I have minor wood working experience but figured it would be fun. My plan is to sand everything down and finish with a black, somewhat matte finish paint.

I'm wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of what type of paint I should choose? Possibly going to finish the metal parts in a gold paint and the wood in black. Also, should mask the diamonds before painting or cut them out and refill after black paint?
 
You are not going to pain the micarta top rail, are you ?
Bad idea .
I painted my uprights and skirts with oil based paint.
Powder coated the corner metals and feet.
Did not touch the formica parts.
 
JoeyInCali said:
You are not going to pain the micarta top rail, are you ?
Bad idea .
I painted my uprights and skirts with oil based paint.
Powder coated the corner metals and feet.
Did not touch the formica parts.
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Is there a reason not to paint formica? I've read with a bonding primer, you could paint a surface like formica. The table is old and needs a face lift, what would you recommend?
 
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cleary said:
**Disclaimer** This is probably going to sound stupid:

I'm planning on refinishing a gold crown, just as a hobby to see how it comes out. I have minor wood working experience but figured it would be fun. My plan is to sand everything down and finish with a black, somewhat matte finish paint.

I'm wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of what type of paint I should choose? Possibly going to finish the metal parts in a gold paint and the wood in black. Also, should mask the diamonds before painting or cut them out and refill after black paint?
Click to expand...


For the wood pieces, I've had success with Krylon spray cans. Just make sure that you use a decent primer. I have not had much success with the paint-and-primer in one Krylon.. Still have to prime first.

If you intend to paint the aluminum pieces, you'll want to sand, clean, and prime using a self-etching primer, before painting. For durability sake, you may want to use a paint that is intended for use on aluminum wheels, though 'hammered' paint looks very nice, and seems to hold up well. The durability of the paint is mostly determined by the prep work that you do.

If you decide to paint the rails (formica), you'll want to really take your time, and do some research. It can be difficult to get paint to adhere to plastic. However, there are some nice bonding agents available, that can really make the task easier. However, most require being sprayed with a paint sprayer. To avoid this, you can try using paint that is intended specifically for plastic. Keep in mind, the durability will never be the same as the original formica, but painting is a lot easier than replacing the formica. Just make sure that you clean, sand, and clean the formica again, before painting. I have a friend, who is an auto body repairman. He painted the rails on his Gold Crown, about 10 years ago. They still look beautiful.

I am currently prepping to paint a set of Gold Crown rails. I'll be using Rustoleum 'Plastic' paint, just to test the durability of it. I'll let you know in a few weeks, how it's holding up.
 
bradsh98 said:
For the wood pieces, I've had success with Krylon spray cans. Just make sure that you use a decent primer. I have not had much success with the paint-and-primer in one Krylon.. Still have to prime first.

If you intend to paint the aluminum pieces, you'll want to sand, clean, and prime using a self-etching primer, before painting. For durability sake, you may want to use a paint that is intended for use on aluminum wheels, though 'hammered' paint looks very nice, and seems to hold up well. The durability of the paint is mostly determined by the prep work that you do.

If you decide to paint the rails (formica), you'll want to really take your time, and do some research. It can be difficult to get paint to adhere to plastic. However, there are some nice bonding agents available, that can really make the task easier. However, most require being sprayed with a paint sprayer. To avoid this, you can try using paint that is intended specifically for plastic. Keep in mind, the durability will never be the same as the original formica, but painting is a lot easier than replacing the formica. Just make sure that you clean, sand, and clean the formica again, before painting. I have a friend, who is an auto body repairman. He painted the rails on his Gold Crown, about 10 years ago. They still look beautiful.

I am currently prepping to paint a set of Gold Crown rails. I'll be using Rustoleum 'Plastic' paint, just to test the durability of it. I'll let you know in a few weeks, how it's holding up.
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Thanks for your reply. I'm buying a spray painter for other projects, so that should make things easier. I won't be super upset if I mess up, it's not a very expensive table, so I figure it's worth a shot.
 
cleary said:
Thanks for your reply. I'm buying a spray painter for other projects, so that should make things easier. I won't be super upset if I mess up, it's not a very expensive table, so I figure it's worth a shot.
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Go for it! What's the worst that could happen? You'll have to start over?

If you decide that you don't want to take a chance on painting the formica, you can sand it, and polish it to a high luster.
 
bradsh98 said:
Go for it! What's the worst that could happen? You'll have to start over?

If you decide that you don't want to take a chance on painting the formica, you can sand it, and polish it to a high luster.
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Thanks for the tips. I'm sure it will end up being a pile of painted junk but will be fun learning experience lol
 
bradsh98 said:
Go for it! What's the worst that could happen? You'll have to start over?

If you decide that you don't want to take a chance on painting the formica, you can sand it, and polish it to a high luster.
Click to expand...

Are you sure you can sand and polish the Formica? That does not sound like a chance I would be willing to take on my table. It seems when on worn tables the Formica is white under the wood grain coating, which seems very thin.
 
cleary said:
Thanks for your reply. I'm buying a spray painter for other projects, so that should make things easier. I won't be super upset if I mess up, it's not a very expensive table, so I figure it's worth a shot.
Click to expand...

I would use automotive paint, it can be very durable. You can also use some automotive primers like a filler for minor imperfections, we do that all the time on fiberglass body parts to get rid of the fiberglass mat pattern when the gel-coat is thin on our race cars.
On my GC I stained the rail blinds and rounded parts of legs (table in my avatar). On the stretcher, center of legs, and gulley blinds I used Krylon, but none of those areas would be considered high wear areas.
 
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fastone371 said:
Are you sure you can sand and polish the Formica? That does not sound like a chance I would be willing to take on my table. It seems when on worn tables the Formica is white under the wood grain coating, which seems very thin.
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Positive. Just did a set of rails Wednesday. You can't sand out deep scratches, but you can get rid of the majority.
 
Not doubting that you just did it but then what is going on with all those Gold Crowns with the wood grain on the rails obviously worn through so they show white?
If you sand the rails won't they turn white the same way?

Robin Snyder
 
carguy said:
Not doubting that you just did it but then what is going on with all those Gold Crowns with the wood grain on the rails obviously worn through so they show white?
If you sand the rails won't they turn white the same way?

Robin Snyder
Click to expand...

Absolutely. You can't work miracles, when attempting to polish the formica. And, if the rails are badly worn, you won't have any material left to sand, before you are through the wood grain print. I should have mentioned, polishing will only remove light scratches. I wish that I had taken some before-and-after photos of the rails that I just completed, to demonstrate. I may snap a few, the next time I have a set that require it.
 
So I ended up not buying the Gold Crown and instead ended up getting an old Diamond Professional. Apparently, it's the first one made. Pretty cool.

ldCjbNV.png


I'm not a fan of the two tone, multiple woods for top and bottom of the rails, so I decided to sand down and try to match. It's also a very old table and needed a little love.

otxLjfm.png


8waxDuY.png


Took a lot of years off these feet.

0YfPXLg.png


Still a lot of work but thought I would share. I've never done anything like this but it's a fun project.
 
Table

Can you show a pic of the bottom side of the rail where the rail inserts are?




Thx

Rob.M
 
cleary said:
So I ended up not buying the Gold Crown and instead ended up getting an old Diamond Professional. Apparently, it's the first one made. Pretty cool.

Very cool!! Do you have any idea what year your table was built?? I like the look of the radius-ed corners like you have compared to the mitered corners.
Click to expand...
 
cleary said:
So I ended up not buying the Gold Crown and instead ended up getting an old Diamond Professional. Apparently, it's the first one made. Pretty cool.

ldCjbNV.png


I'm not a fan of the two tone, multiple woods for top and bottom of the rails, so I decided to sand down and try to match. It's also a very old table and needed a little love.

otxLjfm.png


8waxDuY.png


Took a lot of years off these feet.

0YfPXLg.png


Still a lot of work but thought I would share. I've never done anything like this but it's a fun project.
Click to expand...
About 9,000 off from being the first one made...LOL
 
Table

cleary said:
My bad, Diamond told the previous owner it was the first.
Click to expand...

-

You'd vomit if you seen the underside of the rail on the old-old diamond...they used to use a round nut plate that would scare off a ugly witch.

You have the updated version, the inserts in the rails that hold the rails to the slate is a big improvement over the round nut plate they used in the beginning.

Diamond billiards is always improving their tables for the better.





Rob.M
 
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