Techflex - How to use to protect, color code, and add a unique look to your install

mklett33
10+ year member

Senior VIP Member
423
1
MI
Tech Flex is something that I have always loved using in my installs. It not only helps to protect the wire I find that it has a number of other uses as follows:

  • Color Code Wire
  • Bundle Similar Wires
  • Link the Wire to the theme of your iinstall
  • Refresh otherwise "bad" looking wire


In this thread I would like to share my process for covering a wire in techflex as well as some of the techniques I have learned for working with it. In this example I am going to be bundling two RCA cables together to make a 4 channel run that is tied together at one end and seperate at the other.

It looks like this when complete:



Lets begin:

To start I prepare my wire and tech flex. The wire I am using is KnuKonceptz:



I find that I have to use .75" Tech Flex for anything RCA's. For other size wiring follow the following chart:

8 Gauge - 1/8"

4 Gauge - 3/8"

0 Gauge - 1/2"

If you are bundling multiple wires you can measure the diameter and determine the size needed by knowing that techflex expands to 1.5x its original diameter. So 1.00" Techflex could be used for up to 1.50" size wire or bundles of wire.

Here is a spool of the 3/4"



In order to begin sliding the RCA's through I hold them like this. It may help to actually tape them together like this. Also if you are running multiple separate wires through you will want to tape them together temporarily.







To begin passing the wire through I bunch up the techflex and then allow it to pass over the wire. Like this:



This is shown better in the video link that I will post below, but you get the idea. As you work down the length of the wire with the swollen section the techflex will move down the wire. You will have to do this multiple times to cover the length of wire you want to cover.



Once I got to this point I stopped because i wanted to have the RCA's be able to separate based on the locations of the amps. I did not cut the length of techflex before starting because with the expansion of the techflex itself the length can change. Its best to apply it then cut.



Now its time to cut the techflex. I have a nice heat knife I use from WireCare.com :: Your Cable Management SuperStore! but you can also heat up an exacto knife and use it. This is shown in the video. You must use one of these methods or the techflex will fray, the ends must be melted to each other.



 
With the techflex cut I am now going to terminate the end where the RCA's are close to one another.



I cut a 1.5" length of 1.5" heat shrink, and shrink it to size:





Now we have this end to clean up:



I put two more lengths of techflex over the separate wires like this:



And once again cover with a 1.5" length of techflex:



Now all that is left to do is terminate the seperated ends:



And here is our finished product!



Now there are some added touches we can add to the wire to finalize. Watch the following video to see!


 
Way ahead of ya bro //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif





But great tutorial! Love your use of the heat knife, this stuff loves to fray and can be real tricky if you don't stop it in time. It's also not very heat resistant, be careful with any heat sources. I burned part of it when I got careless with the torch putting the heatshrink on.

 
Way ahead of ya bro //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif




But great tutorial! Love your use of the heat knife, this stuff loves to fray and can be real tricky if you don't stop it in time. It's also not very heat resistant, be careful with any heat sources. I burned part of it when I got careless with the torch putting the heatshrink on.
Who makes the terminal on your battery?

 
Does it come in faux leopard skin?
There's a seller on eBay who has a ton of different varieties and thicknesses. Just check to see what he has in stock. I'm not so sure about the leopard, but there's a good enough selection for this.

Great tutorial, Mark. I'll be doing this to color code my wire runs on the next build for sure and looks like that heat knife definitely simplifies the process.

 
Activity
No one is currently typing a reply...
Old Thread: Please note, there have been no replies in this thread for over 3 years!
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.

Similar threads

As title. Once i get to about 4/5 max volume my JL HD600/4 amp goes into protection mode on 2 channels, powering my mids. The other 2 channels...
0
314
Not sure If I can Help you fix the issue without being present.. But the first thing i would do is remove all RCAs and All speaker wires from the...
2
1K
maybe bad amps. I would purchase a decent amp off of Amazon. They usually arrive in 2 days if you have "Prime." If the problem persists, you can...
11
1K
You don't understand understand brazilian amps and how finicky they can be about voltage...everything you just said nonsense
13
2K

About this thread

mklett33

10+ year member
Senior VIP Member
Thread starter
mklett33
Joined
Location
MI
Start date
Participants
Who Replied
Replies
15
Views
7,796
Last reply date
Last reply from
dragon123443
audio3.jpg

pfft

    May 1, 2024
  • 0
  • 0
audio2.jpg

pfft

    May 1, 2024
  • 0
  • 0

Latest topics

Top