Polishing PAS2 faceplate

Mine was severely worn by fingers on the volume control; the clearcoat was worn through and there was some scratching of the brushed brass finish. I used steel wool to polish out the scratches and restore the brushed brass appearance, then sealed it with clearcoat spray. It has since been in service for more than fifteen years, through several circuit and power supply upgrades.

The brown panel at the bottom did not need refinishing; I masked it off while working on the brass.

Great tip...Thanks Bob!

Thanks for your help. Have started cleaning faceplate with steel wool and will seal with clearcoat when finished.A friend gave me the PAS2 with a FM3 and a ST70 instead of putting them in landfill.Will restore all 3 and may have to repaint the ST70 cage. Will use Krylon 4292 and clearcoat.Now have my winter projects.Thanks again for the great info.

Curt

Nice mention on the Krylon #4292 match.
Most blems can be worked out with 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper but use is wet, or if you want more shine 1500 2000 or 3000 grit is available from your local autobody supply house. 3M makes the best abrasives. Clear it quickly for it will pick finger prints and tarnish rather fast.

Steel wool has worked wonders but I still have a couple of stuborn blemishes on the faceplate.Will try wet/dry sandpaper for final polish before clearcoat.

dixierat-i took my down with 400 wet dry and then finished with 800 it gets a nice shine this way--you can repaint the brown strip at bottom also just mask it off spray lightly -i think i used krylon kona brown fairly close match-then very gently sand the lettered area with 400 or higher and then clear coat

Thanks Howard--- Have just about finished polishing with 600 wet and it looks much much better. Will finish with 800 or higher if I can find it. Maybe auto supply store. Will have to give the brown attention and then will clearcoat. Doing this while waiting on caps from Canada.

Curt

Those who have used the Krylon brown... does it hide the texture that was part of the original paint? My Mark III cages have a sort of "spattered" look that is most visible on the non perforated sides. I have a pea-sized chip that goes down to bare metal on the top of one cage. That needs to get patched before I re-spray. Anyone have a tip for chip repairs? Did you prime before spraying the Krylon?
...j

j beede--a few ways to texture -hold the paint cans far away from your object and don't shake them that well-they spatter when not shaken well-this takes several coats-sort of a overspray technique--or same thing with hammertone paint-then paint over that using distance overspray--if you sand a smooth spot or have a chip --tape that section off from the rest of the piece and texture it first- this will take a little creativity and patience-the last project a dynaco case i think - i used hammertone grey krylon brown and rustoleum dark grey one in flat and one in semigloss -one right after the other several times from a distance---then a satin clear coat a day later-

Use a quick-drying paint such as lacquer, and spray it at a distance, to closely duplicate the kind of texture that was used by various manufacturers over the years. For me the semi-gloss spray cans work well.

A coarser texture may be had by using "splatter paint" from the craft store as an undercoat, and then thinly color-coating it.

Anyone around here old enough to know what a PAS faceplate looked like new from Dyna? I have seen a restored PAS that had been highly polished and then clear coated. Frankly, that wasn't my cup of tea. I am thinking about using Bon Ami or rottenstone to get a uniform, but not mirror polished finish, then clear coating.

It was a brass finish, with a light, horizontal "brushed" grained texture. I refinished mine by rubbing with steel wool (I forget the coarse/fine grade) in straight, horizontal strokes. The brown painted strip at the bottom needs to be protected with tape. Unlike the PAS-3 faceplate with its silkscreened lettering, the PAS-2 had embossed lettering so you won't destroy it with the steel wool.

Scotchbrite® scrubbing pads have been suggested, too. Perhaps some lubrication with a light oil or WD-40 would help.

They did NOT come with a smooth, mirror-like polished finish, nor with a matte finish or a randomly grained one.

You can get brass sheets from the hardware store, if you want to practice first.

Makes sense GP49... Thanks. That is not an easy finish to reproduce but you have given me some ideas to try out. Did you clear coat your faceplate after texturing? Gloss or satin over the graining maybe?
...j

j beede--super fine steelwool should work -that would have 4 zero's or 4 ott it is prononced mmm how would one spell that--use double sided tape to hold faceplate in place --keeps your fingers off of it-- your final strokes you would want to go in one direction-i wrapped my steel wool around a small dowel--satin finish on the clear coat- 400 grit wet/dry automotive sandpaper will also work - i have used both successfully---howie

Sounds good Howie. I think "0000" as in steel wool is spelled "four aught" which I think is a variation on "four naught". In any case I'll give it a try. I have a vairety of wet/dry paper too in 400/600/800/1000/2000 grit. It sure can't come out looking worse than it does now!
...j

j beede wrote:Makes sense GP49... Thanks. That is not an easy finish to reproduce but you have given me some ideas to try out. Did you clear coat your faceplate after texturing? Gloss or satin over the graining maybe?
...j

I clearcoated it, glossy.