Graphite Powder - Mandalorian Armor

[@maxw3119]

I’ve been looking for a video like this one for the past week! So glad someone finally explains the whole process! Great vid!

[@Bmk87ca]

Excellent alternative to the expensive alumaluster paint.

[@tdubb1249]

Such a nice build! Thanks for sharing.

[@TheTiggytiger]

This was the best tutorial on youtube man, bang on.

[@andresfernandohernandez6070]

that looks really amazing

[@Warhawk76]

This is hands down the best graphite powder application I have ever seen! I agree with another commenter that a satin or matte top coat might have been better, but this looks amazing all the same. I will remember this technique when I finally get around to printing my Mando helmet. Liked and subbed!

[@ryleyameden]

Such a clean job! Well done man, thank you for this.

[@user-wo9fu7un3q]

Nice technique. The finished parts are spot on. Next time PLEASE close your garage door and protect the Merc. From over spray!

[@ZE308AC]

I wish Montana would make a graphite spray paint

[@dtaylo98]

Nice build! With those print lines before you paint anything you should follow Galactic Armories steps on how to sand the print lines Down

[@stevenrogersfineart4224]

Looks legit man. Nice work!

[@zeker8686]

Thx u sir, this is where im at on 2 mando helmets and its been a pain to get it right.

[@Schneebrunzer1983]

Hi, thank you for your great videos 👍👍 sorry about my English 🫣 where can I get this great file with magnet connection ❤️ best regards from Austria

[@coregeek]

Nice job Nick!

[@nickbraun7577]

No way! Your video is what inspired me to try all this out in the first place. Thank you so much!

[@coregeek]

No prob. KZbin recommended your vid to me, glad they did.

[@Vesalempinen]

Excellent work!

[@eitanpaster5692]

What paint did you use before using the graphite powder?

[@ericvanaken3310]

Usually it's a black gloss--I've seen Krylon and Rustoleum used frequently. Hope this helps.

[@mavemaggulle6677]

Awesome video, very helpful, thanks !

[@nickbraun7577]

I'm glad you're finding it useful!

[@alexislopez-sw7js]

This is so helpful

[@xatomicLink]

Great tutorial. Thank you!

[@davidmartinez4782]

Awesome video! Do you do any weathering at all? If so I’d like to see a tuturial of that as well! Thank you!!

[@dekopuma]

Is your final layer graphite or clear coat?

[@rasmusljungdahl3238]

My graphite powder doesn’t have good coverage at all on my part(same brand as you). It is wet sanded to 1200grit and has a really nice surface. Do you know why this could be happening? Type of spray paint perhaps? Great video!! Thanks

[@sonnyvandewetering699]

I have the same problem, had the base super smooth, and the graphite has a very hard time covering and leaves al swipe marks and stuff

[@theeightbitdad]

Same issue here

[@blackc1479]

Looks good. Have you tried wetsanding the clear coats? I've heard horror stories about putting clear on graphite, but looks like you have a workaround.

[@nickbraun7577]

I made a follow up video for this process, go check it out!

[@jonathanh652]

@@nickbraun7577 How good is the adhesion to the plastic? do you have problems after use?

[@TheWonderfulweirdoweeb]

This is really cool! Do know if it works on eva foam?

[@windfallotaku3343]

I don't understand why I don't have the same result as you, my armor is much darker even though I did a black base then graphite powder then varnish and then again Graphite powder, do you have anything to recommend to me? And also the problem is that I can't use the same product as you, I'm in France, we don't have the equivalents On the branded products you use😢

[@mattdamon2886]

Do you wait for the last coat to fully dry in between the finishing coat stage of powder and clear?

[@theghostdragon8970]

its same problem i se its clear coat destoy the metalic its be darker i dont like i have try.

[@did3d523]

is it possible to make clear coat or candy red on ? thx

[@theeightbitdad]

Mine makes no difference on it. I’m using a different graphite powder but looks like the same bottle. Any idea?

[@wwestevo07]

No matter how many times I've tested this I can't seem to get it to look as good as this. Yours seems to come out very bright and almost silver but mine seems a lot darker every time I try. I am using the exact same graphite powder too. Does it look the same in person or does it appear much lighter on camera?

[@ethanc5758]

ive noticed the same thing, i tried recently not adding the black first layer and instead just using the grey of my sanded filler primer, looks almost exactly like what is in the video

[@nickn271]

@@ethanc5758 So you used the filler primer and put the graphite powder directly on top of that and didn’t use the black coat and clear coat?

[@ethanc5758]

@@nickn271 yea I put filler primer, sand it down with some 1500, then start the graphite process like in the video

[@nickn271]

@@ethanc5758 That worked for the most part! I actually did the filler primer, wet sanded it to 3000, sprayed a very light gloss coat, let it dry for about 25-30 minutes. Then I applied the graphite and buffed it pretty hard.

[@sancayakbulut3215]

Do U know why it sometimes happens that I get cracks after applying clear coat to the graphite? I am using 1k clear, is it necessary to use 2k and why? Thank you

[@thadiuspennington6574]

So once the Graphite is applied does it stay on the parts it won’t come off ?

[@ajvctrindade]

Hi, clear coat is a glossy varnish?

[@matthewwain9958]

How does the graphite coat hold up to water/weather please?

[@did3d523]

hello somebodi here

[@junheekim7065]

Would it work the same if I clear coat the gloss black, buff & polish it(making it smooth & shinier) and then graphite powder it?

[@thadiuspennington6574]

Can I apply The Graphite powder to the bare plastic 3-D printed parts ? Or what type of Undercoat paint do you recommend?

[@vanilla12gorilla]

I have the same graphite power as you but my finish comes out slot darker and almost a blueish gray. Instead of having a yellow tint. Do u know y this could be happening??

[@douglasmckay5968]

The only problem not every one has a 3 d printer

[@jeremymason1492]

Are you letting the paint dry before applying the powder?

[@joeydaugherty2965]

So let's see if I got this haha...Graphite clear Graphite clear Graphite clear? I'm using a duplicolor clear.

[@catsrneat4432]

Do you think the clear coat/this method in general work for EVA foam painting too? This is super helpful thank you

[@nickbraun7577]

I don't think this clear coat will work with a flexible surface, as it hardens when dry

[@AquilaTheThunderer]

Did you put anything on it prior to graphite powder? Primer or seal?

[@phulpo]

hi, sorry...what kind of protection do you give to the glossy finish with graphite so that it stays fixed?...thank you!!

[@603VIL]

Due to your comment about laying on the clear coat in a thick fashion, do you experience runs in the clear coat? I would assume the more aggressive the part is with angles the apt this is to happen. Did you experience runs and how did you overcome them? Thanks.

[@odeltarkhan3033]

What would you advise me to use to bond graphite for a high temperature mold?

[@rodrigomarin4747]

If you don't put the transparent paint and the piece gets wet, does the graphite fall off?

[@LanceAndCarina]

I think so.

[@voldy3565]

Do I NEED a clear coat?

[@sethgoyal5206]

This is so cool! Do you have a link to your page on the forum that you mentioned? I am looking to make this myself.

[@nickbraun7577]

I was mostly referring to the costuming pages on Facebook. The mandalorian mercs costume club building page is the most popular one.

[@joeespinosa2030]

What black base did you use? I tried this and it’s really black. Even before clear. I’m using the 1k clear.

[@fico-z2y]

could this same method work on EVA foam?

[@Baid88style]

if you wanted to add a wash or an acrylic/wash mix to color the chrome, when in the process would you recommend doing it?

[@nickbraun7577]

If you're referring to an acrylic wash to weather the piece, I would say wait until the clear coat has hardened. I wait 24 hours before doing so. After that, add your acrylic weathering wash.

[@Baid88style]

@@nickbraun7577 I had been told that using a brown acrylic/wash mix on top of the graphite would produce a brass or bronze appearance. I didn't know if that would work with the thicker sealant you are using here though. Your final pieces look great man, outstanding work! Thanks for the tutorial!

[@LawsonJames808]

May I ask how you got your parts to the point before this video started. The black gloss. Was that just a 3d print and a black gloss spray can?

[@nickbraun7577]

Its a 3d print, yes. There was a lot of bondo spot putty, filler primer and sanding involved to get then perfectly smooth before I hit them with the gloss black spray paint.

[@mattwestrick6088]

@@nickbraun7577 If you haven't tried it, I recommend using UV resin to smooth fdm prints. It doesn't clog up sandpaper the way bondo and filler primer do, and it gets into the low areas nicely. I've been using that technique on my mando armor, and I'm pretty happy with the results so far.

[@pabmoya]

Pleease man, need some help! I sprayed acrylic glossy black paint as base but the powder doesn't set on the surface, it looks like dust! I really appreciate your help! Extremely nice job btw!

[@corporalquesadilla835]

How much sanding did you do before powder coating?

[@nickbraun7577]

There was a few hours of sanding and filling before this stage. I used a combination of self filling primer and bondo spot putty.

[@grafikat]

Have you tried using a different base coat, such as dark blue or purple? Would the color show through?

[@nickbraun7577]

I tried out different shades of grey and white, but they all ended up giving me patchy looks. Black is best.

[@NewYears1978]

I can never find the steps before appying the graphite. If I'm using foam or 3d print what do I do before the graphite step? Primer + Black Gloss and that's it or?

[@nickbraun7577]

You want to get the surface as smooth as possible. Sand with a low grit, use filler primer, use a slightly higher grit, filler primer, etc. Eventually you want to get up to around a 3000 grit and that will be a wet sand. Then you apply the gloss black once its as smooth as you can get it. Apply the powder over the gloss black.

[@dtaylo98]

I like using a black gloss coat before the graphite

[@0waffel0]

People always say that if you clear over graphite it just dulls. Is that the reason that you , graphite, clear, graphite, clear?

[@nickbraun7577]

Yes, it helps with that. Its inevitable that you lose some of the luster, but with the two part clear coat you still maintain a high gloss. A regular clear coat will just ruin it.

[@0waffel0]

@@nickbraun7577 alright so it's just gloss black, graphite, clear, graphite, clear?

[@nickbraun7577]

Yes, thats correct!

[@narisiel]

For the final clear coat, I would've gone with a matte finish. The clear coat you used makes it WAY to shiny and glossy - taking away from the "metal" finish, if that's what you were going for...

[@codylane1797]

did you put primer on before you sprayed them black?

[@nickbraun7577]

Yes

[@codylane1797]

@@nickbraun7577 what primer was it?

[@alexhetherington8028]

Is there anyway to make it darker like a gun metal grey ?

[@nickbraun7577]

Not that I'm aware of, you're at the mercy of the graphite's natural coloring

[@alexhetherington8028]

@@nickbraun7577 I know that you can get different types of shading by adding different types of paint underneath like gloss and satin black. I'm trying to make a 3d printed lightsaber but I want the emitter to be a gun metal grey. I'm just trying to figure things out. What's the benefit to using this technique vs just using a spraypaint?

[@diggydumbo9294]

Is there a specific graphite powder that you used? Is there a graphite powder that won't work? And is the process completely dry? Or do you need to ad anything to the sponge or to the powder?

[@nickbraun7577]

The powder I used is linked in the description. The key is to get the finest powder available. Its rated in microns. The higher the number the finer the powder, kinda like sandpaper. And yes, its entirely dry.

[@ryanneville3777]

when i did mine it was alot darker than yours

[@nickbraun7577]

Did you use the same graphite I did? Different brands can have slightly different finishes.

[@maxsentmanat3745]

@@nickbraun7577 I did your same exact thing but it just came out way darker but in camera it looks fine but when you look at it it’s very dark do you know what the problem could be

[@nickbraun7577]

@@maxsentmanat3745 if you used a different base coat or powder than me it could have a slightly different result

[@GAR_DRAGO]

@@maxsentmanat3745 mine did the same thing, it's pretty dark in person but on camera it looks fine. I used all of the same materials too and same technique as well.

[@brandonoliver2818]

I followed this full tutorial and my helmet has a bunch of cracks and webbing. Anyone else run into that? I think maybe i put the clear coat on to think or the can didn’t last overnight

[@ckjhill67]

i ordered this from Amazon and all 3 times they sent me charcoal powder instead of graphite powder...smh

[@darthchococrispi7989]

I tried using the graphite method but for some reason the chrome effect is a bit too dark, what could I do?

[@LanceAndCarina]

Same

[@topaxx101]

Use grey base color instead of black

[@darthchococrispi7989]

@@topaxx101 thanks man, gonna give it a try

[@maxmustermann7534]

The work is not done properly, paint cannot compensate for bad sanding. What a shame for all the work for such a result.