[itza2mer]

Please recommend a clear topcoat spray that I can use on my AT A900 cups. I've already found a couple of scratches on the ionized blue finish on the alumnium cups. I want to protect them from anymore damage. I would assume that the automotive clear coat you can buy at Autozone would do the job, but I figured I would ask anyway.

Thanks

 

[furiousgeorge]

sorry i cant give you an answer other then automotive clear coat would probably work but thats a really good idea. i will have to do that when i get mine.

 

[elliot]

If you are going to spray them, it might be a good idea to disassemble the headphones first, and spray only the part you want painted. This would be a better option than simply masking the surrounding parts that you don't intend on painting.

 

[itza2mer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elliot If you are going to spray them, it might be a good idea to disassemble the headphones first, and spray only the part you want painted. This would be a better option than simply masking the surrounding parts that you don't intend on painting.

That's just what I've done (taken them apart). I'll probably test things out by spraying the inside of the cups first.

 

[gsferrari]

Take this opportunity to experiment with damping material like glass fibre, cotton or something more resilient (stuff used inside speaker enclosures). A layer of this on the inside of the earcup can prevent unwanted reflection of sound and maybe enhance bass and midrange...

Now that you are so far into the process...might as well try a mod or two which dont involve destroying/altering anything significantly.

Cheers!

 

[Edwood]

Stay away from anything with enamels in it.

Try clear acrylic lacquers. Go to an auto parts store that sells automotive paint.

-Ed

 

[itza2mer]

Acrylic lacquer it is. I've already modded the cans to use a removable Zu Mobius XLR cable a few months ago (which helped reinforce the bass, fill out the mids, and tame the treble sybilance). I do feel that replacing the gray foam 'donut' with something a little bit more 'dence' in the earcups would help refine the sound even more.

 

[elliot]

So, itza2mer - did you ever do this? If so, how did it turn out? I'd be interested to see pics if you did it.

 

[itza2mer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elliot So, itza2mer - did you ever do this? If so, how did it turn out? I'd be interested to see pics if you did it.

Yes, I finished it up 2 days ago. I bought a can of blue auto paint that matched the color of the cups. I masked out the logo with some artist's acrylic paint (when dry, it lifts off real easy), and sprayed 1 very light coat of blue paint to help hide the scratches (you could see bare alumnium in places)

I must have put 10 coats of automobile clear coat lacquer on it. I used 1500 sandpaper to remove any "orange peel", then used rubbing compound a few times to remove any scratches, then I finally used polishing compound a few times to finish it off. I tried to keep the look of the original matte finish. The clear coat is very shiny, which I liked, however it contrasted too sharply with the other parts of the headphone. Using the rubbing compound helped reduce the shine.

I originally had some lifting problems when I first started. To solve the problem, I did what your probably not suppose to do: I used a heat gun to 'bake' on each coat for about a minute. After that, no more lifting problems.

I'm still in the process of putting the headphones back together. I'll post a photo soon.

 

[itza2mer]

It's the best I can do for now:

Masking out the logo before touching-up with spray paint. After the paint has dried, you simply rub the acrylic 'mask' to remove it.

Finished cup, 10 coats later. It has a sheen to it, but it's not too glossy. It's reflecting the 'ceiling' of my 'workshop'.

 

[elliot]

Looks really good!
I guess that, when you take the time and mask out the lettering, you could paint them any color you want? Like... silver or black? Or even obnoxious metallic lime green if you wanted? Does the lettering still look okay? What kind of acrylic paint did you use to mask before spray-painting? Does it matter what kind?
I know that lots of paints come in matte and glossy finishes. Do you know if the lacquer comes in a matte finish? If it does, or if there is some matte alternative to the acrylic lacquer, do you think it might have turned out more to your liking?

 

[itza2mer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elliot Looks really good! I guess that, when you take the time and mask out the lettering, you could paint them any color you want? Like... silver or black? Or even obnoxious metallic lime green if you wanted? Does the lettering still look okay? What kind of acrylic paint did you use to mask before spray-painting? Does it matter what kind? I know that lots of paints come in matte and glossy finishes. Do you know if the lacquer comes in a matte finish? If it does, or if there is some matte alternative to the acrylic lacquer, do you think it might have turned out more to your liking?

The lettering still looks perfect. It would be really hard to mask out the lettering perfectly to change the color of the cups. Best bet would be to paint them a solid color, then buy some decal sheets (the kind used for model airplanes) for your printer, and print out a new logo. I would use acrylic paint designed for canvas painting, since it is thicker that standard acrylic paint used for crafts, and it's easier to rub off. I wanted a matte lacquer, however I could only find clear top coat, which does have a glossy finish. I'm happy with the finished product.

One idea I toyed around with was to strip the paint off and clear coat the bare alumnium. Maybe next time.

 

[furiousgeorge]

so you only masked the logo for the spraypaint not the clearcoat right?

 

[itza2mer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by furiousgeorge so you only masked the logo for the spraypaint not the clearcoat right?

Correct. If I didn't have the scratches that revealed bare alumnium, I would have just used clear lacquer topcoating. I didn't want to chance covering any lettering with any blue paint overspray.

 

[furiousgeorge]

allright cool.

im going to lowes this weekend so i might as well pick up some clear coat while im there.


a question about disassembaly: how did you get the blue cups completely seperated from the rest? ive taken my a900's apart before and i couldnt get them out. also the cord is in the way.