question on painting amps...

[lubetek 10+ year member]

Hey guys. I picked up a Directed 1500D from IKES. its in great shape other than some of the color worn off the top. Once I hook it up and test it and everything is ok, I'd like to paint it. will painting it hurt the heat transfer at all? I was planning on painting just the center area and not the fins at either end. BUT i'd paint the fins as well if I knew it wouldn't impede cooling.

(Oh I know painting it would kill the warranty...I don't care. If it dies I'll buy another amp. Hell I want another orion anyway so I plan on getting a 1200D or 2500D down the road.)

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[Bake 10+ year member]

Painting the center isn't going to hurt anything. You would probably be save painting the fins as well but if they are anodized it may be hard to get the paint to adhere.

 

[cazorp 10+ year member]

so wat kind of paint do u use?? auto paint??

Zach

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Personally, I would remove the cover that you want painted, take it down to a local custom shop that deals in motorcycle or engine work and see if you could get it powder coated. Powdercoating, unlike paint, won't chip or flake off...unless you bathe the amp in strong acid //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Bigrick31 10+ year member]

powder coat or anodized thats my opinion.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

There's a place locally here that I found on Google, that will powder coat anything from ashtrays to engine blocks.

I'm sure there's a shop close to you that will offer the same kind of services.

 

[revrider1 5,000+ posts]

You should be fine with painting it, but I would personally go with powdercoat. It will last longer that regular paint and will withstand more.

 

[OldOneEye 10+ year member]

I would beat on the amp for a few weeks first to make sure. The warranty is relatively short, so maybe wait until you know you aren't risking much.

Juan

 

[ddumb8 10+ year member]

If you are not wanting a custom paint job on your amp you should do it yourself. Its not going to be cheap to take it to a shop and get it done. Just go to your local automotive paint supply store. Get some fine grit scotch pads to sand it with, I use the grey stuff because it sands it pretty good without getting to deep of a scratch. Next get a can of Acid 8 self etching primer or what ever brand of self etching primer they sale, just tell them what you are doing and they will know what you need. After you sand it spray 2 very lite coats of the Acid 8 on it. The Acid 8 will adhere to anything, I have even used it on chrome before painting and have never had a problem. Next decide what color you want. You can get the paint supply store to mix just about any color you want and put it in a spray can for you or you can just pick out a color from Wal-Mart. The stuff from the supply store will be a higher quality paint therefore your job will turn out nicer but if you are going black, red or any other solid color then Krylon works well. When you are ready to spray the paint, spray as many lite coats on it as it takes to cover, dont spray to heavy because it does not come out as nice. Also, you dont have to sand the self etching before you spray it. Just take your time and you will probably end up with a job just as good, if not better than the factory.