To paint brushed aluminum

[Duo]

I'm finally around to finishing what has been a prototype amplifier for the last three years.

Part of my job is to get the faceplate painted a nice matte black or even slightly glossy.

It's made of brushed aluminum.

I would like other's suggestions and experiences with doing such a paint job. It's important to me that it coats evenly, looks even, and is very durable.

I tried an initial attempt with black rust paint to see what I'd get and this obviously doesn't work. It crackles off and doesn't coat evenly. It's terrible.

I must find a good primer and quality paint to use.

Any help, as always, is greatly appreciated.

 

[Conrad Hoffman]

Go to the auto paint and finishing store and get a bottle of the special etch they use for this purpose. Without the proper metal treatment, it's near impossible to get good adhesion and durability.

 

[Duo]

Thank you.

So this must make the aluminum absolutely clean and ready for painting?

 

[Conrad Hoffman]

I think it also give the surface a slight tooth, so the paint will adhere. I had some alloy headlight covers on a Triumph that the factory paint refused to adhere to, but after treating with the right flavor of stuff, the paint is still going strong after 20 years.

 

[planet10]

Duo,

(1st -- are you in Victoria yet?)

You can get this thing powder coated for about the price of a 1st class spray bomb...

Chris knows where.

dave

 

[Conrad Hoffman]

Yes, yes, powder coat is a wonderful thing!

 

[Duo]

Ohhhh really?

Dave: Is this some place in victoria you're speaking of?

I'll certainly wait if there's a nice place there to get it done professionally.

 

[planet10]

Dave: Is this some place in victoria you're speaking of?

Yes.

 

[Duo]

Cool.

I'll leave a preliminary plate on there for now and when I get to Victoria, I'll make a new one and have it painted nicely.

 

[AMV8]

Duo

If your amplifier is aluminium you could also think about anodising.

I have diy anodised my last amplifiers and they look great. I choose diy anodising as I did not want to paint the heat sinks. There are two threads on diy anodising on diyaudio also some sites on Google. If you are interested and can not locate the diyaudio threads please e mail me.

Don

 

[ashok]

You can clean an aluminum surface with sodium hydroxide solution. You will need to do it in an open environment as it produces noxious fumes . But to paint it you probably need to use a special aluminum primer which is yellowish green I think. That sticks to aluminum very well . The paint will go over that .
I guess sanding down the primer layer(s) etc might be required to ensure that no scratches are visible. Glossy paint will show up even the smallest flaws.

 

[KP11520]

Hi Duo,

Powder Coating is worth the wait and effort! It has all the positives (durable, even, right sheen for a faceplate, etc.). If you make a mistake when you apply text like Volume, Off/On, etc., and you need to remove it and do it again, the Powder Coat will be the best and not show any impact. Paint most likely won't fare as well.

I can't think of one negative except for having to wait and also you can't do it yourself unless you are setup for it!

Now Conrad, what about the Triumph? Which one and have you done any restoring? I would love to get my hands on a Sunbeam Tiger but there are a few Triumphs I wouldn't mind having!

Regards//Keith

 

[Duo]

mmmmm Brit cars. I'm a jaguar boy myself. But those Jensens and Triumphs are sure darn nice.

 

[KP11520]

Check out the Sunbeam Tiger. It is a small two seater like a TR6 in size with a Ford V8 and Rack and Pinion steering. This thing is an animal (Tiger is just about right).

Regards//Keith

 

[Duo]

Yes I've read about the Tiger in my reading of the British cars.

The only thing that really bothers me is seeing things like Chevy 350s in XJ6 or such.

 

[KP11520]

Yes that kind of ruins the allure when it is violated to that extreme. I can understand why sometimes and it is done for muscle, simplicity and reliability. But that is why I like the Tiger. It has the Ford V8 right from the factory with one carb so no tempermental carb tuning issues. The carb setups from those days were not a lot of fun!

Tiger is the best of both sides of the big pond (for its day anyway (64 to 67).

But those XKEs were SEXY... We can say SEXY here, right?

Regards//Keith

 

[Duo]

Yes, XKE is the sexyiest thing going. I run a 83 XJ6 but I plan to get an E-type soon.

I would never replace the straight six though. Who needs more power than that? And with such refinement.

 

[planet10]

Check out the Sunbeam Tiger.

Is that the one that tends to burn up when crashed?

I drove an XJ6 for 6 months (ie until the front end fell out) -- even as a beater this was a REALLY nice car.

dave

 

[Duo]

I don't know if XJ6s tend to burn up when crashed, but I know all the fuel injected jags love to have engine fires for those drivers that don't check on the fuel hoses.

And yes, no matter what shape they're in, they're a hell of a nice car. Mine's in really good shape, just I have to rebuild the transmission.

 

[KP11520]

Dave, I never heard that about them. I hope not! Maybe that's why they are hard to find!

Duo, I agree, but I hope you intend to get the convertible. IN that maroon metalflake paint color with nice authentic spoke rims!

I believe they had three to six carbs for six cylinders. That is hard to keep just right. Maybe they make an adapter that mounts an intake manifold over the area where the 3 to 6 carbs were and lets you use one four barrel carb instead. Not too much modification for a nice smmoth, reliable performance.

You get yours and I will get mine and we can meet at Niagra Falls to compare and find a little drag strip. I'll tell my wife, we are just going to Niagra Falls for a romantic weekend! Who knew I was going to run into this guy with a sports car that wanted to race!

Regards//Keith