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Painting plastic white moulded accessories?

whjohnson
Applying paint to white moulded accessories? Sockets, switches and the like.

Been asked by an interior designer (cushion-thrower) if it would be safe to paint electrical accessories a different colour.

I said I didn't know and would guess that it depended upon the type of paint.

Oil-based enamel? Lacquer solvent-based? Water-based acrylics?

I mentioned that any solvent-based paints may damage the plastic and even undermine any flame-retardant ingredients within.


Comments welcome.
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    Personally I would assume that left in their natural state those copper accessories would develop a patina and verdigris.


    Some years ago there were complaints after the front of a local house was clad with copper with people saying it dazzled them when the sun shone on it and it was a danger to drivers. The council planning department said “don’t worry, it will soon loose its shine “, now it’s green.



    I think it needs some kind of acid to turn copper green - e.g. rainwater (or plumber's flux) - left to its own devices it's pretty stable (thankfully, or we'd be scraping oxide off every time we re-terminated a cable) - or gently oxidies to a slightly black-ish colour. Hopefully any polished metal accessories would have a laquer of some sort covering them anyway - so if undamged should retain their original looks for a decent length of time.


       - Andy.
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  • 0

    Personally I would assume that left in their natural state those copper accessories would develop a patina and verdigris.


    Some years ago there were complaints after the front of a local house was clad with copper with people saying it dazzled them when the sun shone on it and it was a danger to drivers. The council planning department said “don’t worry, it will soon loose its shine “, now it’s green.



    I think it needs some kind of acid to turn copper green - e.g. rainwater (or plumber's flux) - left to its own devices it's pretty stable (thankfully, or we'd be scraping oxide off every time we re-terminated a cable) - or gently oxidies to a slightly black-ish colour. Hopefully any polished metal accessories would have a laquer of some sort covering them anyway - so if undamged should retain their original looks for a decent length of time.


       - Andy.
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