Respraying gold controls

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cb4ever104
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Respraying gold controls

Post by cb4ever104 »

Hi Guys .

I'm just asking the question , but I don't think it'll be easy . I have a set of gold controls from an old Jupiter . I don't have a picture of them , but they're worn and they've lost they're sparkle . Ideally I'd like to get them back to this state .
Gold.jpg
I presume that these are plated at the factory , just like the facia ? I'm also assuming that I can't just buy a can of spray paint and paint them ? :) As you can see , painting isn't high up on my list of talents . If anyone thinks that they can help me out with this (for a price obviously) then let me know and I can send them off to you .

Cheers

Sammy
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30TM060
Paul aka "Sammy". (108) PY60 Old Paisley DX Group (RIP Rab Markie)
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Handle "Fortune Hunter" back in "the day"
Radios ....? Anything that says "TAIWAN R.O.C" on the back.
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Re: Respraying gold controls

Post by NightProwler »

Spray them yourself Sammy. Give them a light rub down with wet and dry sandpaper then clean them with warm water and dry them well then use some plastic primer then another light rub down with wet and dry again, Two light coats of gold then spray them with lacquer to protect them and give them a nice shine :thumbup:
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Re: Respraying gold controls

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cb4ever104
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Re: Respraying gold controls

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NightProwler wrote: 20 May 2020, 19:38 Spray them yourself Sammy. Give them a light rub down with wet and dry sandpaper then clean them with warm water and dry them well then use some plastic primer then another light rub down with wet and dry again, Two light coats of gold then spray them with lacquer to protect them and give them a nice shine :thumbup:
Thanks Rich . I'll look into getting hold of those materials .
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Paul aka "Sammy". (108) PY60 Old Paisley DX Group (RIP Rab Markie)
Ex GM0 , now EA5 .
Handle "Fortune Hunter" back in "the day"
Radios ....? Anything that says "TAIWAN R.O.C" on the back.
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cb4ever104
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Re: Respraying gold controls

Post by cb4ever104 »

tecnicoloco1 wrote: 21 May 2020, 02:51 You can use something like this https://www.enstechnology.com/specialty ... g/plastics
Thanks , but maybe I should have added "cheaply" somewhere in my post . This pace is in the States . I was only looking to spend a few quid , as it's a one off project . Thanks anyway for replying .

Sammy
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Paul aka "Sammy". (108) PY60 Old Paisley DX Group (RIP Rab Markie)
Ex GM0 , now EA5 .
Handle "Fortune Hunter" back in "the day"
Radios ....? Anything that says "TAIWAN R.O.C" on the back.
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Re: Respraying gold controls

Post by The Collector »

Sammy - you can get "shiny" gold spray, but it's usually classed as decorative and not functional and as such, can be easily scratched or worn down...not good for control knobs. You can however go over it, just before it dries, with a coat of clear lacquer (do a test piece first as some paints will react and crinkle). This is what I did to the mesh on my white and gold Astatic mic'.

I stripped the chrome off my Cobra 148 GTL-DX's knobs and 3900 surround so it went down to the nickel coating underneath and then gold-plated the knobs and surround using a plating machine I'd bought. I gave them 3 ir 4 coats so it'll never wear off unless you've got sandpaper fingers :)
You can get cheap kits but if it's just for a one-off, it could be costly.
I resold my plater afterwards and made a couple of quid as a bonus.

You'll find my project using the search function if you want to read more mate. If I can do it, anyone can. Just be aware that the fumes can contain cyanide!
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Re: Respraying gold controls

Post by wa10 »

gold plating?,
either a kit or get a car tarterupper to plate them like they do car badges & trim, other colours are available if gold makes you think of nickoteeen.
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Re: Respraying gold controls

Post by The Collector »

You can get kits starting at about £50, but you may havevto buy more chemicals etc. The machine I bought, along with the chemicals originally cost £1200!!! I paid £100 for it and then about £25 for the gold solution.

The knobs must be in good condition to start with, no dinks or missing plating showing the plastic.

You then need, along with the plater and mulitple swabbing probes, goggles, mask, gloves (don't do it in an enclosed space):

Chrome stripper

Nickel activator

Alkaline cleaner

Distilled, de-ionised water

Gold solution 9/18/22/24 carat (the higher the carat, the golder the colour. Mine was 22k)

Gold cleaner cream which also seals and protects it.


It can get expensive! Luckily, I did my Cobra, my Astatic 575's cable spring and plug, some other mic' plugs, the chrome necks on a couple of Sadelta base-mic's and a few other bits before I resold it for a few quid more than I paid for it all.

I also stripped the chrome off my Renault Espace's front and rear badges before I painted them black :)
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Re: Respraying gold controls

Post by stanogs68 »

i know finally reallise you lot are nuts ,lol i love it ,you treat your radios like jewellery ,fantastic im proud to be part of a great hobby
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Re: Respraying gold controls

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Sammy is going to have the shiniest nobs ever.
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cb4ever104
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Re: Respraying gold controls

Post by cb4ever104 »

Thanks for all the replies and info guys ! :thumbup:
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Ex GM0 , now EA5 .
Handle "Fortune Hunter" back in "the day"
Radios ....? Anything that says "TAIWAN R.O.C" on the back.
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Re: Respraying gold controls

Post by The Collector »

I'm not sure what process they use to put that bright, shiny 'gilt' coating on. The Midland Powermax had a similar looking coating on its knobs and they soon wore down after after continual use.
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Re: Respraying gold controls

Post by The Collector »

Somebody else has had the same idea, but I did the little surround on the channel readout, switches and meter on mine:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224030236504
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Re: Respraying gold controls

Post by 14CS06 »

The Collector wrote: 31 May 2020, 21:00 Somebody else has had the same idea, but I did the little surround on the channel readout, switches and meter on mine:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224030236504
Hello

PCB is PB-10AA :thumbup:

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cb4ever104
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Re: Respraying gold controls

Post by cb4ever104 »

14CS06 wrote: 01 Jun 2020, 07:47
The Collector wrote: 31 May 2020, 21:00 Somebody else has had the same idea, but I did the little surround on the channel readout, switches and meter on mine:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224030236504
Hello

PCB is PB-10AA :thumbup:

@+
Claude
Saw that . He's got a mixture of 148 GTL (VOL and MIC) and 148 GTL-DX (CLAR) controls on that .
30TM060
Paul aka "Sammy". (108) PY60 Old Paisley DX Group (RIP Rab Markie)
Ex GM0 , now EA5 .
Handle "Fortune Hunter" back in "the day"
Radios ....? Anything that says "TAIWAN R.O.C" on the back.
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