I received the ASC capacitors for my upcoming build and I have a question: has anyone left them unfinished? Do they oxidize without a clear coat? How about a simple metal polish? Recs welcome.
Aluminum oxidizes immediately upon exposure to the atmosphere. It's quite lucky that this micro-layer of aluminum oxide is crystal clear.
Yes, they do. Best to sand them slightly and paint them with an aerosol paint of your choice. Easy to do and they look superb.
Cheers
Ale
Cheers
Ale
Here is the method I have used with great success:
JM
- Remove label and residual adhesive
- Hand sand with non-woven sanding pad - Maroon (00), then Gray (000), then White (0000)
- Spray paint from can. I use Rust-Oleum Mist Metallic Spray Paint, Carbon Mist 261413; Generally one coat is sufficient.
- After several days or a few weeks, use a light clear wax to protect (apply by hand and buff). I use Briwax for all wood or metal finishing.
JM
You could also polish them with some mag wheel polish, they will stay shiny for a long time and are easily repolished if they get dull.
If you want to use paint, clean thoroughly and apply a good, self etching, automotive primer, before the top coat(s) go on.
That's what I did (Gord's Aluminum Polish). It's possible to almost get it to a chrome-like shine. After six years it looks the same.
Just polish them mirror shiny, aluminum creates its own clear coat, like it or not, so no need to add anything else for protection.
It might be needed if they are subject to, say, saline spray mist (beachside home) but then steel parts (chassis) will rust alarmingly fast, way before the aluminum corrodes, so it's not the case.
This is the resident Bass amplifier at a seaside restaurant, after 6 years.
Mind you, it did not look that bad from the outside:
even so, visible aluminum surfaces were way better than an\y iron one ... even though iron was zinc plated.
What's my point? ... don't overworry about aluminum 🙂
It might be needed if they are subject to, say, saline spray mist (beachside home) but then steel parts (chassis) will rust alarmingly fast, way before the aluminum corrodes, so it's not the case.
This is the resident Bass amplifier at a seaside restaurant, after 6 years.
Mind you, it did not look that bad from the outside:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
even so, visible aluminum surfaces were way better than an\y iron one ... even though iron was zinc plated.
What's my point? ... don't overworry about aluminum 🙂
I've purchased a container of Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish, I'll post a before and after picture when I'm finished.
Here are the results. The two center capacitors are polished with Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish. The longitudinal scuff marks are still present but perhaps less obvious in person. The overall polish was underwhelming at first, even after two to three passes with a rotary buffing wheel and hand polish. That said, after ogling them for a while I think it's an improvement over the raw aluminum.
Don't worry about what you can't solve: those scuff marks are deep and inevitable, the result of deep drawing aluminum (which started as a disk) to make the can.
Brass can be deeply drawn as much as you wish with no marks or scratches, it's a very forgiving metal, just look at this beautiful 88mm antiaircraft cannon cartridge:
... aluminum? ... "not that much"... and that's the polite answer.
Brass can be deeply drawn as much as you wish with no marks or scratches, it's a very forgiving metal, just look at this beautiful 88mm antiaircraft cannon cartridge:
... aluminum? ... "not that much"... and that's the polite answer.
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