----- Original Message -----
From: "Schichler, Alfred (GE Energy Services)"
<alfred.schich...@ge.com>
To: <drakelist@zerobeat.net>
Sent: Monday, October 25, 2010 8:02 AM
Subject: [Drakelist] Drake 2B paint problems
I recently acquired a 2B that was in fairly decent
condition, but the
cabinet needed a paint job to look good because it had
several little
scratches and blemishes.
Anyway, after sanding the whole cabinet down, priming it,
and spraying
it with Rustoleum Satin Black paint, It came out pretty nice
looking, I
let it sit for close to a week before putting the radio back
in the
cabinet.
The problem is, no matter how gently I put the radio back in
the
cabinet, the paint on the inside bottom of the cabinet gets
scratched
badly. Mostly in two places - bottom left and bottom right.
Just the
front 3/4" or so. I originally thought it was the chassis
scraping it,
but I found out it's mostly the bottom of the front panel.
(the edges
were kind of sharp, but I subsequently sanded them lightly).
If I try
touching up the scratched areas with a brush or Q-tip, those
spots are
still very noticeable, and don't look too good.
After re-sanding and re-spraying the inside bottom several
times, I
finally found out that if I put painter's tape along the
inside bottom
(front) of the cabinet, I can slide the radio back into the
cabinet
extremely carefully, and still have the paint intact. (I
managed to do
it once anyway). Now I'm afraid of ever taking the radio
back out of the
cabinet for fear of getting the paint scratched. I know the
original
paint was much more durable, but I believe they used a
powder-type
paint.
I'm not sure if the paint is ever going to harden to the
point that it
won't easily be scratched, or should I maybe consider using
an expensive
spray paint that is supposed to be real tough and actually
harden to the
point that it can take a slight bit of abuse. I don't have
the luxury of
having an oven, compressor, spray gun, or other professional
painting
equipment.
Thanks for any help,
Al, WA2AS
Have you tried baking the paint? This works for many
paints not just "stove enamel". Set the oven at around 150F,
not higher, and bake for a couple of hours allowing the case
to cool down slowly in the oven. This may harden up the
paint enough to have some resistance to scratching. But of
course you can scratch any paint if you scrape it hard
enough.
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
dickb...@ix.netcom.com
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