Spraying Small Pieces

[Gill]

I tried to spray paint some small pieces of MDF with a can of aerosol paint yesterday. The really small sections were held securely in this home-made jig:

The slightly larger pieces got blown away with the power of the aerosol.

What's the best way to hold small pieces securely when spraying? In the past I've tried blu-tack, but that's a bit hit-and-miss. I've also tried hot glue and then microwaved it later to melt the glue, but the moisture in the microwave damages the MDF.

Gill

 

[Nick W]

Have you tried double sided sticky tape, or if you need access to both sides, how about Bulldog clips, which will grip tighter than the pieces of plastic in your photo - screw them to a piece of wood through the holes in the handles.

 

[RobertMP]

Back in the days when i had a business with a paint shop we used to make metal 'trees' for small parts. They had lots of hanging points for the small components. Things with no holes to hang from were held with spring clips.

I'd guess you could make something with a softwood stick and some sharp pins for small parts that could be impaled at a least visible place. Being on a 'tree' you can move it about and paint it all over in one go.

 

[jasonB]

When I spray prime parts for model figures I often drill a small 1/16" blind hole in the back and push a 3" length of metal rod into the hole, I then stand all the rods in a scrap of MDF with a series of holes in it.

If the part is too thin to drill, cut off the end of a cocktail stick and butt join to the back of the work with a dab of superglue, just snap the joint when painting is done.

Double sided tape can also work but if using celulose based spray it can make the glue go all sticky.

Jason