Painting the transformers in a ST120 kit. Why pull two screws and not all? Just curious. thanks.

And, can you repaint without pulling any of the screws?

I have noticed high temp paints that require curing at 200 degree F for 20 minutes. If used on the tranformers in your kits it seems to me that as the transformers get pretty hot during operation this curing process wouldn't be a problem. Bob what are your thoughts?

"you don't have to worry about baking the transformers and the possibility of any damage that could be done."

Good point Bob ! I'll be starting on my kit in another week or so. I guess I'll leave the baking for food items.

Take your time with the build. Sand the transformers well and use a final 220 grit sandpaper... Use rubbing alcohol to clean them off to get the dust off.. Use the paint that Bob mentioned. You can get this in Lowes, Menards, Home Depot.. Semigloss.

Have fun and do this in a few chunks time wise. You do too much and you get some potential mistakes.

Take photos and report on the build. I built my ST120 in Oct and I wish I had to build all over again. A fun "project" and a rewarding one. Take your time is my advice... Read the step... Do the step... Re-read the step to make sure you did it right... put a check mark by the step.

I miss the smell of a fresh build ST120.

Have fun!

Ahhh yes, the Zen of kit building. I too relish in the moment that is seeing the solder melt then harden. Each step taken with care and intent. I'll take some pictures and post later.

mantha3 wrote:Take your time with the build. Sand the transformers well and use a final 220 grit sandpaper... Use rubbing alcohol to clean them off to get the dust off.. Use the paint that Bob mentioned. You can get this in Lowes, Menards, Home Depot.. Semigloss.

Just a thought. Since rubbing alcohol contains lanolin it might leave behind a slight residue. To avoid that, I would use 90% isopropyl alcohol which should be readily available at most pharmacies.

Best Regards,
Charlie

Lacquer Thinner and Xylene do not leave any residual at all. 90% isopropyl has 10% water.

Xylene, like all the aromatic hydrocarbons, is a potential carcinogen.
Avoid if possible or use appropriate protection.
Good ventilation and nitrile (blue), not latex (tan) gloves would be the minimum.

Ahhhh, remember the olden days (when we didn't know any of this stuff) and your Chem Prof would pass around the solvents to smell? "Note the 'bite' of the hydroxyl substitution on this aromatic. This scent is charactristic of the phenols."

We're all going to die of something I guess....

Tom

Good safety point. When I whip out the aromatic solvents, which I do most every week for one reason or another, I use nitrile gloves and a carbon respirator. Can't wait for the day when we find out nitrile gloves will make our hands fall off.

I did end up finishing the transformers with Rustoleum (SP?) high temp semi gloss black paint. Used a belt sander with a silicon carbide belt to make the laminations smoother and get the crud off, then cleaned the stamped covers and laminations with lacquer thinner. Taped off the wires then sprayed away. Once reassembled they look pretty nice.

I can't imagine painting the transformers "in place". I wire brush the laminations to clean them and then use a very thin coat of flat black to achieve the look that is most original to my eye. I have a factory assembled ST-70 with the "dipped" transformers... not good looking in my opinion. They have "Dynaco" and the part number in white on top of the ugly runs in the coating, I am thinking that I should leave them this way.