I have had great luck using Scotch Brite Pads to give the brushed look on aluminum, I find that wire brushes can leave deep scratches. On one project I did, I used some Scotch Brite pads, and then used some flat clear spray paint to keep the look.
As for a soldering station, I would just get a good adjustable iron (Amazon or AliExpress) and a decent holder for the iron. I have been thinking of getting one of the Hakko brand systems, but I just don't work on enough electronics to make the investment worthwhile. I have set up a piece of scrap plywood to do my projects on. This way I can either do work at my workbench, or when the wife is not looking, on the dining room table. This way, should the iron fall, it won't burn its way through any furniture. Here is a fairly decent setup to get started. I like this one mostly because it comes in a small tool box to keep all your stuff in one place; https://tinyurl.com/y7bnnagl. Let us know if you have any other questions. Ron On Wednesday, August 16, 2017 at 9:36:50 PM UTC-4, Edward Van Belkom wrote: > > Thanks everyone for your comments and support on this project. > > I have my sister visiting this week so will get back on it next Wednesday . > > I do have a couple questions. > > What inexpensive soldering station will work well for this kit? I have > soldered before so I have the skills but not the equipment to use before > retiring. > > For the brushed aluminum I am looking what most manufactures of separate > audio components like Marantz use for their face plates? > > Do they use a wire wheel or sandpaper and what grit to get that look? I > will get to that stage before getting the pieces anodized so just wondering. > > As soon as I get the 4 plates back from the shop that are drilling all the > pilot holes in each one I will know if I did my math correctly. > > There still is a lot of work to do with the Unibit on the pre-drilled > plates before I know the build is going to work and look pleasing when > finished. > > I also have an idea for the colon tubes but have to wait for a reply from > some people to see if it will work. > > And a big thank you for Jeff Walton for getting me a NWTS that he > assembled and programmed for me! Thanks Jeff > > I think I have everything figured out except the color of anodized gold > for the two inner plates. I got some samples back but just not the right > shade I am looking for. > > That is it for now. I will post pictures when I get the plates back from > the shop and when I start on the clock kit. > > Edward > > >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to neonixie-l@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/8dbafc94-dc01-4a7b-a47b-47003f131f5c%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
