My KT120 / M-125's

Ok.
Build threads are always fun so here goes. Started of with some paint job, primer first that went fairly well.
Put a layer of copper paint on as well that will need some additional work before I'm satisfyed. I actually
thought of dropping the paint job all together last night, it looked like total crap but this morning it sort of
had settled a bit and didn't look that bad. Well a few more layers and it will look nice (i hope).

I have recived all parts and everything has gone smothly. Ebay global shipping (the amps) was a bit frustrating
at first but it all worked out very well.

I was asked over PM if I was going to paint the chassies as well and if so, how? No I will
not. But if, I would either start of with an acid-primer (used mainly for painting aluminum)
and after that applying the top coat. Next alternative would be to go for powder coating.

Spray painting isn't something I like to do and next time I will just leave it to someone else for powder coating.

So for the last time then, I went for gold instead of copper.

Some bad lighting and my mobile created this.    Well it gives a feel for the colours at least.

Should look really nice when done. Looking forward to more updates.

Coming up

Are you baking the enamel to harden it beyond what air-drying can do?

No I haven't done that. Could you please give me some hints if you have them ?
Dont forget that we use the owen for cooking as well

Edit: Baking in progress, 100C° for 1 hour. Doesn't smell to bad
Wonder if the Mrs agrees

The principle is that enamel paints first dry by evaporation of solvents, and then cure and harden slowly by oxidation. At room temperatures the process is never complete but heat accelerates it and results in a harder finish, though not as hard or durable as powder coating.

It doesn't work on lacquer or catalyzed two-part paints and how well it works on enamel can vary with paint formulation and paint thickness.

In general, 350F for about a half hour is what it takes. Test it out first on a scrap piece with your particular paint, if you try it.

GP49 wrote:The principle is that enamel paints first dry by evaporation of solvents, and then cure and harden slowly by oxidation.  At room temperatures the process is never complete but heat accelerates it and results in a harder finish, though not as hard or durable as powder coating.

It doesn't work on lacquer or catalyzed two-part paints and how well it works on enamel can vary with paint formulation and paint thickness.

In general, 350F for about a half hour is what it takes.  Test it out first on a scrap piece with your particular paint, if you try it.

They have been in for 45minutes so I'm rising the temp to 150C° for the last 15 minutes.

Edit: Done

It seems to have gone well, thanks for the tip
Looking at them now I belive I will by another can of paint and go
over them once again being a bit more thorough and also make sure
not to touch anything before "baking".

And now the fun begins  

Dahlberg wrote:It seems to have gone well, thanks for the tip
Looking at them now I belive I will by another can of paint and go
over them once again being a bit more thorough and also make sure
not to touch anything before "baking".

Looking at them up close you probably can see how the paint thickness has reduced compared to pre-baking, as the paint film cured. The technique is used a lot by car hobbyists and restorers on small metal parts. I've noticed that the baked enamel holds up a lot better under the hood in the heat of the engine.

They look great! Be sure to thoroughly clean and re-prep the parts before respraying, but I'm sure you are doing that already.

I will go over them with some additional care before the last (?) layer of paint,
and yes, I belive that you are right about the thickness of the paint.
I was thinking of an additional layer of clear coat on top of the gold finish but
it doesn't  seem that necessary. Also a risk of spoiling the hole thing so....

And another picture  

I'm putting all painted parts in the oven tomorrow Put on a clear coat as well
and if I'm reading it right that will also stand up to the baking process.

Didn't work It was probably to hot or something, but now there are some
bubbles inside the paint. I don't have the time for this so I'm going for
powdercoating instead.

A lid over the pcb's    Will be painted the same colour, candy gold  

Amazing build! Keep the pics coming!

About the paintjob Everything looked great untill I turned
it up to 150C°. At 100C° /45min it looked ok and if I would
have stopped there I would have been  

Well maybe I will spraypaint some other time, but not on this project

I had an idea to buy something like this to put on the front as an ac-switch.



Or do something like this, probably with a sligthly smaller hole. I'm leaning in this
direction, just have to figure out how to get the finnish done in the bottom of the hole.

Another idea would be to put the ac switch where the speaker connectors
are placed. Make a hole between the ac switch and the ac inlet for the
fuseholder and make room for the speaker connectors between the
ac-inlet and the rca connector. It would require some metalwork though.
Everything moves backwards due to the wooden frame so it seems to be
enough space.

Nothing from the paintshop yet so, a little side project



Not sure if I will ever use them but if I do they will look nice enough

Not done but close enough to get the idea.

Look forward to seeing more! Anticipation....

I got the GZ37 rectifiers yesterday  Mullards this time I'm still waiting for
the transformer parts, maybe I should give the paint guys all call tomorrow.

Stainless steel is a real pain to modify    

I'm hoping to post some pictures of a more finished project before the weekend. Lets see how that pans out