Painting aluminum: I just wet-sand the entire surface with 220 grit sandpaper, wipe it all down with denatured alcohol or lacquer thinner, dry it throughly in the spot where it will be painted (I use a heat lamp), and then hit it with a light coat of any decent primer. Giving the primer that extra bite is the trick to keeping it from chipping easily.
I'll second Tom's comment about painting aluminum - my "secret" is sandblasting (or bead blasting, depending on which media I happen to have in the blast cabinet at the time) instead of anodizing (which is a pain as Miles mentioned). I've heard of others etching it in a sodium hydroxide solution (lye) which also works well but is messy - the blasting accomplishes pretty much the same thing. No primer - finish coat goes directly over the blasted surface and sticks well. I use a lot of Rust-Oleum "hammered" finish on my chassis', the vast majority of which have been aluminum. I only use steel for giant power supplies with very heavy transformers and chokes - for big ham transmitters...
Bud
Bud
k9swc said:
Yep. I've done the sandblasting as well. It creates a nice uniform gray look.
I usually use a clear spray enamel/lacquer on aluminum. I've noticed issues if I buff the aluminum to a shine, but I haven't had issues with paint peel when I've sanded with 220 grit or 400 grit. I think the key is to leave enough surface area for the paint to bond and do a thorough job of cleaning it. Acetone works well - in a well-ventilated area!!
~Tom
bereanbill said:
Here you go:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
bereanbill said:Could anyone direct me to a link about this "dead bug" methodology? Looks a bit Rube Goldberg-ian...which I like.
There are a LOT of interesting hits on Google but this one was the best for showing the idea in pure principle. Significantly under uglificated when compared to most of the others. (I mean the other ones on Google NOT the ones shown above - all of which are really pretty)
Hearinspace said:
There are a LOT of interesting hits on Google but this one was the best for showing the idea in pure principle. Significantly under uglificated when compared to most of the others. (I mean the other ones on Google NOT the ones shown above - all of which are really pretty)
Shrinking epoxy can damage wires.
It isn't a Forstner bit. What he's referring to is a twist drill bit with an integral bit of smaller diameter in front of the main body of the bit. Rather annoying if you grind your bits to sharpen them, but useful in this instance, I suppose.bereanbill said:Ok...I see you are using Forstner bits, but I don't understand hoe they make an insulating ring in copper..
Let me see if I can get a high-res pic.
EDIT: Hmm. Perhaps Wavebourn is referring to
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
, which is a guide-point wood bit. I was thinking of these:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.