CIGAR LOVER’S STORAGE By Dean Schimmenti


I was approached recently to do a somewhat unique proj- ect. A cigar lover had an anodized aluminum case which he bought, complete with humidity controls, to carry his cigars around with him when he was out and about. His problem was that his case looked just like all the other ones out there. He decided to do something about it. He


wanted to have his case painted to look like a cigar box, with the seals and labels that are found on his favorite brand of cigars. For this project, I will be using Bulldog Adhesion Pro- moter, AutoAir paint by Createx, my Paasche VL-ST Pro airbrush and some small paintbrushes.


Make sure the case has been thoroughly cleaned with soap and water and/or a wax and grease remover. I went ahead and re- moved any piece that could be removed, and taped over all other emblems and pieces. Since this cigar case is anodized aluminum, in order to make the paint stick I will use Bulldog Adhesion Pro- moter. Start by spraying one very light tack coat and let dry. The next couple coats can go on a little heavier, but not too much, or else it will run. If this happens, you will have to strip it off and start over. See the instructions on the can.


After the adhesion promoter is dry, spray on 2 or 3 coats of an automotive clear coat. This will be the surface that gets the paint while protecting the anodized finish of the case. Once the clear coat has dried, wet sand the case with some 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper until there are no shiny spots


in the paint. After this, tape off the design as required for the layout. I am using some stencils that I cut out with my vinyl plotter as can be seen here. The vinyl plotter saves a great deal of time when doing lettering and small details.


With the case masked off, spray several light coats of Base Coat Seal- er White over the open areas, being sure to let each coat dry before applying the next. To speed up the drying time, you can use a heat gun or even a hair dryer.


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