BTW, here is my progress on the solution to the "green cable" problem.
Below is a pair of KZ 8 core cables generously donated by
@Podster. It's hard to tell from the photos (poor lighting), but both cables were minty green with oxidation before I started. However, as you can see, 1 of the cables is now black.
In theory literally any color can be done - red, blue, green, yellow, purple, brown, pink, etc. It's even possible to do multi-colored, such as the section below the y-split in black and the section above the y-split in green. Or the R cable section above the y-split in red, and the L cable section above the y-split in blue! Picture how awesome a red cable would look with a red ZS6. Or a green cable with green ZSR. The possibilities are endless
The color is chemically bonded directly to the outside of the cable using a special industrial solvent dying process (it is NOT spray paint, fabric dye, food coloring, etc). The color is 100%
permanent, and will NOT peel, chip, or rub off in any way. The jacks and inner copper conductor are totally unaffected, and there is no change with impedance or sound in any way. The cable, including the insulation, is undamaged. This process has no negative effects.
I have a few more tests to run, but so far I am very happy with the results. This is going to be a great option for cables that have ugly green oxidation, but are otherwise perfectly functional. Since some people are throwing their cables away when they turn green, this option will save money (from having to buy new cables) and keep the oxidized cables out of the landfill
Unfortunately, not every cable can be colored in this manner. The KZ 4-core silver upgrade cable (which had also oxidized green) did not turn out as good as the above 8-core cable. This is because the 4-core KZ silver cable uses 2
totally different types of wire insulation (1 type of insulation below the y-split, and a different type of insulation above the y-split)! The section of cable below the y-split turned out perfectly, and looks exactly like the above black 8-core cable. However, the upper section (above the y-split) turned out with a similar color as the KZ 'iron grey' upgrade cable (a translucent brownish grey). Obviously the upper section of the wire (above the y-split) isn't fully compatible with my process. Despite the 4-core cable being kind of a 2-tone color scheme, the end result still looks better than the mint-green oxidized cable I started out with.
I don't yet know what other cables this method works on yet (ie the silver plated 4-core TRN cable, the new 8-core cables from KZ and TRN, etc). That's 1 of the things I hope to test in the coming days.
I also need to figure out how to scale it down so people can do 1-2 cables themselves. As it stands now, I had to buy enough material to do like 1,000 cables haha. It's like a woman who wants to paint her fingernails or toenails with red nail polish, but has to buy 5 gallons at a time!
Anyways, I'll keep everyone posted with the progress.
