Paining the micro Stage?

[clipi]

I would like to paint the stage of my Laborlux 12 micro. Did anyone was sucesfull doing it?
I read that i problably need to use metal enamel and bake it.
Thanks for the advice.

[wporter]

I've had great results redoing old stage-tops by painting with an auto engine enamel, specifically Dupli-Color's Engine Enamel with Ceramic, in semi-gloss black #DE1635 (although the color is obviously a matter of taste). I'm in the U.S., and it's about $8.00 a spray can. It dries fast, and is slick to the touch in less than an hour (dependent on humidity); after baking in the sun all day it hardens up nicely.

I also tried Rust-O-Leum's engine enamel, but didn't like the way it dried, still tacky or 'grabby' after several days. Plus it doesn't claim to have the 'ceramic' in it, whatever that does for the Dupli-Color enamels (hopefully adds some wear resistance).

The advantage of using an 'engine enamel' is for some additional heat and solvent resistance, as compared to regular enamel.

Surface prep is important here, too, since on the stage surface, every little old scratch will show through the new paint, so it has to be stripped or at least fine-sanded well.

[PeteM]

You might also consider carefully sanding the stage and filling in any defects and then covering it with a thin sheet of adhesive-backed Teflon ("PTFE" in generic form). Just carefully place a somewhat larger piece on the stage (registered at the top), press it down, and then use a sharp blade (X-acto #11 etc.) to cut all around and through the opening. You'll also need a small piece of Teflon under the slide holder to even things up. This has the advantage of lasting longer than a painted surface.

If painting, you need to get the old surface smooth -- down to something like 320 grit silicon carbide "sandpaper." Carefully mask everything but the top part of the stage, including the graduations (you want to mask those from Teflon adhesive sheets as well). I've found that matte or satin black spray paint meant for automotive wheels or trim adheres and holds up a bit better than most regular spray enamels..

[MicroBob]

I had a use for a scratch resistant paint: With my boys I made 50 leaves and a multi part tree trunk from copper sheet metal and we glass enamelled them (900 °C or so). They were to be placed on a piece of steel sheet metal with magnets and the paint on the steel sheet metal had to withstand scratches well, because the tree can be re-arranged. I found out that you can order two component paint spray cans in any coulour you can name. Before spraying you have to turn a wheel at the bottom of the spray can, shake some more and spray. The paint can be used for a day or so after activation. It was easy to spray and is really hard. The can was expensive at 24€ so I prepared several other things that needed a coat of paint and showered them too. Now I have three boxes of microscope bits and pieces in uniform coulour and I never can remember which is which!

I have an old Zeiss Standard table form about 1970, the big rectangular one with rounded front. It is hollow and washed out by 0,2mm or so. This makes the edges of slides dig in and the table is more or less useless. Here I thought about using "Moglice" to create an new even surface, but have no tried it yet.

Bob

[PeteM]

Bob -- pretty sure Moglice is lubricant-filled epoxy. I've used regular epoxy to fill depressions in a stage -- then sanded things back flat -- then added a thin sheet of Teflon on top. Given the price of Moglice, might be an alternative for your stage.

Powder coating with some ceramic particles might be what some modern stages use -- and there are also cheap powder coating kits available. Might be a bit hard to convince our spouses that the this should cure in the kitchen oven, though (I long ago learned to get an industrial oven for the shop).

[MichaelG.]

... Here I thought about using "Moglice" to create an new even surface, but have no tried it yet.

Moglice product information is available here:
http://www.moglice.com

Description of the several grades is on page A1 of the downloadable 'Way Rebuilding Handbook'

I haven't used it myself, but have heard good reports.

MichaelG.
.
Edit: upon further investigation; this appears to be the manufacturer's site:
https://www.diamant-polymer.de/en/products/moglice/

[MicroBob]

Hi Pete and Michael,

the problem with my much used Zeiss table is, that the edges of the slides have abraded the thin black surface of the table from frequent inserting and removing in routine use. So my idea for a good table surface would be a hard and slippery material. Moglice has to be applied in a certain minimum thickness and there has to be an underground where it can really lock into. This would build up some height giving problems again. At the moment I have postponed the repair and have a look whether a good table shows up for little money.
Pete, how well does your teflon table surface handle the contact of the sharp slide edges? Do you use teflon that is already coated with adhesive?

Bob

[MichaelG.]

Hi Pete and Michael,

the problem with my much used Zeiss table is, that the edges of the slides have abraded the thin black surface of the table from frequent inserting and removing in routine use. So my idea for a good table surface would be a hard and slippery material. ...

You have my sympathy, and my interest
I have exactly the same issue on my black Leitz Laborlux

... and my Wife has even worn through the paint on her modern Janome sewing machine

MichaelG.

[clipi]

Thanks guys for all the suggestion. I will try some of them to see what if I get good results.

[PeteM]

. . . Pete, how well does your teflon table surface handle the contact of the sharp slide edges? Do you use teflon that is already coated with adhesive?

Bob

Bob, I use an adhesive-backed Teflon -- peel off and stick. And these sheets need careful positioning, because they're very sticky once set down.

First thing I do is repair the divots -- typically with something like JB Weld (epoxy) if they're deep. This adheres well and provides (once sanded level) a decent substrate.

My experience is that once a slide holder has been set to glide above the stage (many dig in) that the slides themselves slip pretty well along the Teflon. However, I've been fixing up scopes for use in a kids' program and it's not the same as, say, a clinician examining hundreds of slides a day. We're also using new old stock slides of decent quality, not really super sharp edges. What I can say is that the Teflon holds up better than paint -- even a tough paint applied in three or so coats. There are also PTFE sheet materials, like Rulon and Turcite, that have been filled to achieve better hardness and mechanical properties. But these are also in Moglice $$$ territory. I just use plain PTFE sheet. Thin is cheaper. Thicker (say, just under 1mm) is less likely to telegraph dings below and also longer lasting. Just have to make sure the condenser can still focus to the top of the stage -- so far, so good.

I've never powder coated a stage, but that would be another option and likely long lasting. At least here in the US, there are cheap Chinese powder coating kits available under $80 or so. Your idea of Moglice is a good one, but as you say it requires a minimum thickness, might not look especially great (if you cared), and would cost $$$. Too pricey for the scopes I've been fixing up and probably a lot more work to get it to properly adhere all over and then to get it flat.

One nice thing about the sheet-type application is that it should be reasonably easy to lift a worn one, whenever that happens, with a bit of heat and solvent and replace it fairly quickly.

[MicroBob]

I think with moglice you would use a precision surface plate as a mold and get a nice surface this way. It should have nice properties as it is used for machine way reconditioning. It might be posible to mix something up from exoxy and particles. With a flat ground sample of some 10µ thickness a look through a pol microscope could tell a knowledgable person something about the particles they use for moglice.

I have seen these power coating kits and have read that they work once you learn how to use them and have a good setup. I can barely stand the look of most microscopes in beige colour, my little luxury problem. The problem is that some nice components are only available in beige colour. For my Zeiss jena NF I have a very nice table with low knobs in an especially terrible hue of beige. Powder coating might be the rescue here! Right now I'm learning 3d-CAD and 3D-printing, but powder coating is definately an attractive method to learn.

I'm working on a design for a blade holder to cut with the hand microtome - here I wan't to use adhesive teflon for the foot, so I can gain experience with his material.

[lunacyworks]

has anyone heard of using cerakote?
I have a Nikon stage I need to refinished and believe the original was a Durable flat black powder-coated. I noticed that many 3rd party stages are black anodised ones,

[EYE C U]

EPOXY APPLIANCE PAINT IS HARD...OR YOU CAN WAX IT WITH 'TREEWAX'

[ebenbildmicroscopy]

I have 2 suggestions for "building up" the stage defect where the slides have gouged the stage: Either try "Lab Metal" applied in thin layers or "J.B. Weld". I worked for 4 years as the microscope repair technician for Carolina Biological Supply Company and we routinely used J.B. Weld as the replacement "capture" epoxy to hold the upper yoke assembly in place on AO series 10 focus mechanisms. It is almost the exact same material that American Optical originally installed for the same purpose and I think it may contain aluminum dust within one of the halves.

If you are far enough along in your dissassembly of the stage to contemplate rebuidling and re-painting the surface, you are also to the point of dissassembling the bearings. IF YOU DISSASSEMBLE THE BEARINGS OF A MICROSCOPE STAGE... make sure you measure (using calipers or, ideally, a large micrometer) the distance the adjustable "gib" is from the permanent or "fixed" portion of the stage. That way, when you re-assemble everything, you get closer to matching how it was assembled in the factory.

If you build up the stage surface, only apply enough material to fill the void. If you have a drill press, wood jointer, or table saw handy, use their table surfaces as a "flat" or surface plate reference for re-sanding the overall microscope stage surface. Most automotive stores sell 300, 400, and 600 grit wet sanding papers that can be "adhered" to the table saw table with a little tap water and then slowly re-surface the microscope stage by sanding figure 8s.

I'm more worried about your re-assembly of the bearing than I am your re-finishing the stage surface. As an additional point, AND AS OTHERS IN PREVIOUS POSTS HAVE MENTIONED, I would bake on the final enamel paint to harden it.

[ebenbildmicroscopy]

Most over-the-counter enamels "bake on" beautifully in an oven at around 200 degrees F. You're gonna have some nasty fumes so BE CAREFUL! Your home oven or a toaster oven are NOT paint ovens and therefore NOT "explosion proof"!!!!

[lunacyworks]

Thanks for the advice on the Lab-Metal. I decided to do a cleaning run of the stage first to make sure there were no other issues with it before repainting. I used some buffing compound to remove most of the stains and it looks in good condition now. It seems it had not had a thorough cleaning in some time. I am at the point of reassembling and just noticed I am missing a bearing. If I recall these bearings sit in the V grove and you alternate the direction of every other bearing?

In the first 2 pictures, it shows what I assumed was old grease, but after opening the unit the raceways looked fairly clean. So I am assuming it was some liquid that wasn't cleaned up.

The last picture shows the bearing raceway. In this picture, I have all 8 bearings, but the other side was missing one. I filmed the process and looking at the replay it shows there were only three there. I am now under the impression the stage had been worked on before and the bearing was lost, as I have never heard of a bearing disloging in normal use.