Respraying gold controls

[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

[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

[tecnicoloco1]

You can use something like this https://www.enstechnology.com/specialty ... g/plastics

[cb4ever104]

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

Thanks Rich . I'll look into getting hold of those materials .

[cb4ever104]

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

[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!

[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.

[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

[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

[NightProwler]

Sammy is going to have the shiniest nobs ever.

[cb4ever104]

Thanks for all the replies and info guys !

[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.

[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

[14CS06]

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

@+
Claude

[cb4ever104]

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

@+
Claude

Saw that . He's got a mixture of 148 GTL (VOL and MIC) and 148 GTL-DX (CLAR) controls on that .