[nkd]

Anyone who pays attention to my posts here (oh and profingersk8er

) might know that I'm currently building a MAD EAR+ Purist into a Wellbourne Labs wood case.

Unortunately, when I was drilling the aluminium top panel of the case, it got quite badly scratched in places. Now I'm trying to decide whether to spend hours with some sandpaper trying to get the finish back, or to paint it over in black. I want to keep it looking classy, and I'm afraid that black paint might ruin that.

This is the case

Incase it affects your opinion, one or both of these knobs will be mounted on the front of the case

Here is an artists impression of how it would look in black, courtesy of wo^tron of bit-tech

I really can't decide, so any input would be appreciated!

P.S. Yeah, that is a Black Gate WKZ capacitor at the back... I just couldn't resist once I saw how purdy they are... maybe I should concentrate more on the sound than the looks, but I guess I can't go wrong with that one

 

[Lil_JV]

I would sand(brush) some sort of designs in it. Maybe a circular pattern or just straight back and forth.

Let us know what you decide and be sure to post pics/impressions when you're done.

JV.

 

[KYTGuy]

How about "engine turning" the whole face? Are the scratches deep, or surface? If they are just surface scratches, this will take them out.

Do you know "engine turning"? (also sometimes called "jewelling")

Take a spare piece of aluminum, and find a reasonable sized piece of rubber padding - cut out a half inch or three-quarter inch circle - doesn't have to be too circular, just approximate. Get a piece of fine grit sandpaper. Get a wooden dowel, half inch or three-quarter inch. Mount in a drill press or a drill, and cement the padding on the end of the dowel. Cut a small piece of sandpaper to fit between the padding and the piece of aluminum.

Now, use the drill to rotate the sandpaper in one spot - makes a nice swirl.
move over, and do it again, overlapping a little. Keep going in an orderly pattern of your design, and VOILA you have a neat little "fishscale pattern" decorating the aluminum! Black paint will show/collect the dust, and get marks on it. You can always redo the bare aluminum. Besides, painting it will make it hotter - an enemy of electronics (except for cathodes).

This was a favorite finish back in the tube days, and on race cars. lightweight, and redoable. if you are artistic, you can make pictures with this technique.

If you are concerned about having to disassemble the unit, or do not want abrasive dust anywhere near the unit, you can do this technique with a typing eraser, and a vacuum cleaner without taking the thing apart.

 

[nkd]

I've just started sanding the panel to try to get rid of the scratches. I'll take some more photos when it's done with a bit more detail, and decide for sure then

 

[ProFingerSk8er]

wow...your Ear+ is coming togather very nicely... awsome job!

i personally wouldnt paint it black, that takes away the coolness of "metal texture" and black paint just looks boring.

or you can find a wirebrush, slowly take your time and brush the whole surface to create "brushed-aluminum" texture

 

[nkd]

I thought that the top panel was a bit bare at the back, so i tried placing two of the transformers there. The leads would all be tidied up if i decided to keep it this way. What do you think?

or

I could also get extra cases for these of course, but I'm not sure where i'd get something really suitable.

 

[ProFingerSk8er]

hammond's Diecast Aluminum series enclosure should fit perfectly. facing down, you can screw the enclosures from the bottom of the top panel

 

[Edwood]

Sand to 400 grit then start wet sanding, all the way to at least 2000 grit. (buy em from auto parts stores) Then use polishing compounds to get a mirror shine. Also, spray a clear coat to protect the finish, buff and polish the clear coat as well.

But it will be a fingerprint magnet.

-Ed

 

[nkd]

At the moment I'm trying hard to get rid of the scratches without losing the look of the brushed aluminium. 1200 grade sandpaper seems to be doing the job pretty well. It's totally smooth, but still looks brushed.

 

[Norbert]

First of all, you are an artist, so you gotta go with your eye on that one. I have never attempted what you are thinking (painting or sanding a sheet of aluminum). However, if you sand or sandblast the whole sheet, and if it was consistent it might look good. perhaps you could create a consistent grain of sanding which might look right. I might try sanding first because you can always paint over your mistake.

 

[drewd]

In this month's AudioXpress, one of the projects is a phono preamp. The author recycled an old DAC and used a belt sander to grind off the old black finish from the front plate. He ran the sander in one direction across the panel until the black was gone and ended up with a nice brushed-looking finish. The photo quality in the article isn't all that great, so it's hard to tell, but it seems reasonable. The only hitch in your situation, though, is that you would have to do several side-by-side passes with the belt sander, so it might be a little difficult to avoid a banded appearance.

-Drew

 

[nkd]

Yet another request for opinions

Instead of mounting the valve (tube) bases on top of the box, I can put them below, out of sight, so all you can see is the valve itself. Which do you think looks better? Bear in mind that there will be screws to hold them in place, and that i would probably 'sink' the capacitor too.

 

[nkd]

I've decided to go with matt black. The plain aluminium just scratches far too easily, and gloss would look awful as soon as it got any dust on it. I'm painting now, and happy with the results so far. Photos coming soon!

 

[Kenny12]

some prespex with leds would also look nice

 

[taylor]

I'd go for sinking the tubes, looks better IMHO.

Sorry about your wallet, all you wanted were decent cnalphones...