Spray Painting Bottle Caps (Safe?)

[Dizza]

Hi there, I'm new to the forum, but not new to homebrewing.
I've recently started creating some real quality beers, so I'm starting to put the effort into designing labels for my beers and I have a question about bottle caps.. As you know you can by them for the cheap for 144 count, but what do you do when you want a certain color cap for a 5 gallon batch? I've seen packs of 50 online for $4.00, the same price as 144 of them.

My question is: Is there any food safety concerns with spray painting the tops of the blank (silver, gold) un-crimped caps. The crown spreads pretty flat on a surface and I doubt any paint would get under the caps, which obviously would probably send you to the hospital. I know it's only money, but I could turn cheap gold caps into 3 different colors for 3 different brews. Also, would I need to spray them with primer first and/or a clear sealer after? I'm a graphic designer, so forgive me for being extremely detail-oriented. I get sick of looking at the same color caps. I think it'd be next level to bring out a color in the label and reflect it on the cap for a professional look. Cheers!

 

[TX_Brewing]

Not super neat but what is wrong with a permanent sharpie? FWIW look at msds for spray paints, I know at least for some blacks the pigment is non toxic, only the propellant and solvents.

 

[MaxStout]

Why not use stick-on 3/4" colored dots from an office supply store? I write the style and botlling date on them and slap 'em on the caps after bottling.

 

[Hobanon]

Ehh...I wouldn't do it. To me, a few more dollars is worth knowing no spray paint got in my beer. I bought a bunch of colored caps a while back and for what its worth I really enjoy having them.

 

[1977Brewer]

My lhbs carries like seven colors. I use orange exclusively, but he has black, white, green, blue, pink, and red also.

All of those colors are available at most online retailers too.

 

[slym2none]

My LHBS carries ten different colours, plus stuff like "summertime" (a white cap with the sun on it), one with a hop-cone on it, the American flag, one with snowflakes, and one for cider (it has an apple on it).

Personally, I'd go with the coloured sticker option before spray-painting anything coming that near to my beer.

 

[Termonfeckin]

I'd say give it a try with the paint, and take a look under the cap when it's dried. If there's none visible to your eye I'd say you're good. The tiny amount that may be there won't do a thing to you. If you're particularly worried about your beer being affected, maybe try a few bottles on your next batch and see if they take any change. But if you're careful, I see no issue.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

As the last post-er stated, I think you would be good.

To answer some of your other questions: If the cap you wish to paint is already "shiny" , it will need to be "primed", of sorts, before you paint, if you wish it to stick.

That said, you can use an "adhesion promoter" to do this "prime".

It's a mild acid, ( think StarSan), and it will etch the existing coating enough for it to hold the new paint.

This is part of the process to "cut in" a clear coat repair job on a clear coated automobile.

 

[Iseneye]

I don't see any issue if there is no paint on the inside of the cap.