Grounding Paint

[big_teee]

Looking for an economical source for Grounding, or shielding paint.
StewMac gets a fortune for theres. What do you other guys use?
Later,

[Plucky]

Have you tried Super Shield aerosol? Should be available at any electronics store. About 30 bucks a can, and it doesn't dry out. It is much nastier when airborne, though, so use protection/ventilation.

EMI Shielding

[big_teee]

Have you tried Super Shield aerosol? Should be available at any electronics store. About 30 bucks a can, and it doesn't dry out. It is much nastier when airborne, though, so use protection/ventilation.

EMI Shielding

No I haven't tried that. It doesn't appear to be available any where close.
I was really looking for something I could dab in a guitar cavity, I think the spray would be a little hard to use on a existing guitar.
Thanks for the input!
Anyone else got any ideas?
Rock On!

[Tom Phillips]

The Super Shield spec sheet does say that it is available in liquid form and the distributor finder lists the popular mail order sources like Mouser, Digi-Key, Allied. All the good conductive paint products are expensive though and you end up with a lot left over if you are only doing one project.

[big_teee]

I found this.
Carbon Paint and Paste - SPI Supplies
Everything I've found is expensive.
You would think there would be a common paint that would be conductive.
I was looking for grounding paint, no luck.
When I changed my search to conductive paint, a whole bunch of possibilities came up.

[big_teee]

I just stumbled onto this.
It's how to make your own conductive paint, or glue.
It envolves mixing Graphite with other solutions.
A good Read.
Make Conductive Glue, Conductive Paint, and Conductive Ink

[tmenss]

I just stumbled onto this.
It's how to make your own conductive paint, or glue.
It envolves mixing Graphite with other solutions.
A good Read.
Make Conductive Glue, Conductive Paint, and Conductive Ink

I would think the carbon/graphite formulation, while it would conduct electricity, may not be suitable for EMF shielding. I've used supershield spray that was consistent over the 6 guitars and three years of the same spray can. If you get the brush on supershield you should plan on using it up fairly quick, I don't think it stores very well once exposed to air.

[big_teee]

I would think the carbon/graphite formulation, while it would conduct electricity, may not be suitable for EMF shielding. I've used supershield spray that was consistent over the 6 guitars and three years of the same spray can. If you get the brush on supershield you should plan on using it up fairly quick, I don't think it stores very well once exposed to air.

Your probably correct. I thought the article was interesting.
So that would make a real neat experiment if someone wanted to conduct one.
Do you need a real metal surrounding, or would a resistive carbon suffice?
I've glued different foils and stuff inside guitars, and always get frustrated when it comes off.
I recently glued on a layer of Alcoa Alum foil to a new deluxe pickguard.
The pots and pickup screws help keep it in place.
It only had a very small foil patch at the controls.
I paid enough for the full foil. lol
I took some spray adhesive and stuck it on, it worked great.
Most guitar cavities that I've seen treated has a carbon grey color.

[tmenss]

Carbon would probably work, it's more about effectiveness of the coating with respect to EMF. Not having any guitars that came with a coating I would not be able to comment on what formulation is used in the "coat shielded" cavities you refer to. It would not surprise me if it were graphite based. I've heard of many people having sucess with alum foil. Unlike many of the things I overanalyze about electric guitars, I have to admit shielding is one of the areas I haven't experimented with. The spray is so easy to apply to cavity and pickguard I just do it as routinely. But I'd like to get away from the spray. One idea I pose is that it is more important to shield the controls than it is the pickups. In fact the minimal shielding on most pickguard setups may be enough if the controls are properly grounded to it, floating grounds removed and the signal grounds arranged in a floating star ground.

[big_teee]

So after starting this thread, and all the looking at what's available out there.
I've decided that the Stewmac product is probably the best price after all ($32.82for a half-pint).
So I guess the next time I order any Pickup parts, or Pots or stuff I'm going to get a half pint and see how it works.
Later,

[Tom Phillips]

Sounds like a good decision. That conductive paint seems to work for people based on the posted reviews. It's actually not as expensive as I expected.
Cheers

[Bruce Johnson]

Tee;

I highly recommend the SuperShield spray shielding over any of the others. I've tried them all over the years. The SuperShield is faster, neater, and more durable. SuperShield contains fine nickel particles in a polyurethane paint carrier, rather than the powdered graphite in the Stew-Mac paint. The SuperShield is, I believe, lower resistance than the graphite, although I don't know if that really makes any practical difference in guitar shielding.

I gave up on the Stew-Mac paint a long time ago because I saw too many problems with it flaking off and leaving conductive chunks and powder floating around inside the control cavity. You have to brush it on fairly thick to get it to conduct reliably and, then it's not real stable mechanically. Rub a fingernail on it and you get a pile of graphite powder. Leave a little blob somewhere, and it may fracture loose from vibration later on. I'm not saying that the Stew-Mac paint doesn't work, but it's just extra labor and risk.

In comparison, the SuperShield dries hard and bonds very well. Scrape it with a fingernail and nothing comes off. You have to go at it with a chisel or a knife to peel any of it off. Two light coats, drying 15 minutes after each, is all it takes. It's a nice dull silver color. Yes, you do have to mask off the surrounding area. It will stick to the instrument's paint. Overspray can be removed, but it usually requires careful wet sanding and rebuffing. On my new instruments, I usually spray the SuperShield after the base coats. Then I mask off the chambers and spray the color coats and top coats. On older instruments, I'll wipe out the cavity with denatured alcohol if it's dirty, then mask and spray.

A can of SuperShield costs about $40, and I get 20-30 instruments per can. It lasts well too. I've had partially used cans sitting around for several years and they still spray down to the last drop. You do need to shake the can regularly while spraying. I spray for 3 seconds, shake for 3 seconds.

[big_teee]

Sounds like I need to reconsider and check out the SuperShield.
I still would like to find it in a liquid where I could brush and dab it on.
I won't to use on already existing guitars.
I am glad I posted the thread, it's been real informative.
If anyone knows where I can get the brush on kind please let us know.
Terry

[Tom Phillips]

Terry,

The Super Shield spec sheet does say that it is available in liquid form and the distributor finder lists the popular mail order sources like Mouser, Digi-Key, Allied. All the good conductive paint products are expensive though and you end up with a lot left over if you are only doing one project.

Use Google
There are several liquid versions of Super Shield at: Search results for ""Super Shield"" - Allied Electronics But other than the pen packaging there are no small packages so it is exensive.

Here is M.E. Taylor Engineering conductive silver paint that looks like it may be even better than Super Shield. It is available in smaller packages Silver Paint, 18% Silver, 15 gram brush-cap bottle You will see that it is available in various silver compositions from 18% to 50%. With good technique I have seen wires soldered to a line of this stuff. Not when it is applied to wood but when it is applied to ceramic, glass etc.

HTH,
Tom

[big_teee]

If you really want to spend some Large amounts of Jack, get into the Silver Paint, especially the 50% silver.
How about this one. MG Chemicals - 8420-1G - Allied Electronics
Did I mention I'm just a poor Hobbyist!
I'm going to learn how to use the Super Shield Spray, or the StewMac version, as poor as it may be!

Thanks for all the info!
Rock Steady.