| Author |
Message |
    
747
Member
Username: 747
Post Number: 90
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 - 12:12 pm: | 
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Sorry for the double post, but it seems the ask-the-tech section doesn't see much of the light of day!
I'm wanting to paint the base and coil area of my Wilson 500 to match my car (Chrysler's Bright Silver... metal-flake)... I would of course mask the bottom where surface contact is made, and the metalic mast at the top that holds the stinger.. Is there any draw-backs to doing something like this? |
Tech808
Moderator
Username: Tech808
Post Number: 5592
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 - 12:33 pm: |
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747,
No Drawbacks that I know of other then sanding very lightly so the paint takes hold, but I would suggest you use a Non-Lead based paint and primer it first.
And be sure to also lightly sand the primer with 300 wet/dry paper before painting.
Lon
Tech808
CEF808
N9OSN |
747
Member
Username: 747
Post Number: 91
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 - 1:26 pm: |
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Excellent suggestion on the sanding and priming Lon! Question though - lets say that I want to paint the stinger , with lets say flat black or gloss black , or any other color that doesn't have metal flakes... As long as it's not lead based, are there any issues there? |
Waterboy
Junior Member
Username: Waterboy
Post Number: 30
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 - 6:47 pm: |
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I paint my base Ant. flat black and also the stinger on my mobile.. that makes them less noticable. Never had any problems. |
Redwolf_145
Junior Member
Username: Redwolf_145
Post Number: 44
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 21, 2005 - 12:22 am: |
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You would want to sand the primers with 400 Grit wet/dry... 300 will leave Sanding scratches in the primers.... your you could even go up to a 1000 or 1500 if you wanted but don't go below 400... |
Bigbob
Senior Member
Username: Bigbob
Post Number: 1830
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, April 21, 2005 - 9:10 pm: |
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The metal flakes probably wont bother 11 meters but uhf and very probably microwave this could act as a shield and greatly affect swr and performance,but if you use power(11 meters)of a 1000 watts or more these metal flakes could generate quite a lot of heat,because you are changing the dielectric of the coil.Most of a base-loaded antennas wattage is emitted from the coil and a lesser and lesser amount as you move toward the tip,the whip or stinger just adds capacitance to balance the inductance of the load and is very nessesary for proper swr.Bigbob |
Stickshift
Intermediate Member
Username: Stickshift
Post Number: 211
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Friday, April 22, 2005 - 12:59 am: |
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747,
I painted the coil of my wilson 1000 over 2 years ago with flat black primer and covered it with a couple coats of clear. It still looks as good as the day I did this with maximum exposure to UV rays. The coil had a crack that I filled with some epoxy and sanded smooth with 400 grit sand paper before applying the primer and clear coat. As for painting the steel whip, I don't think it will make any noticeable difference on performance. Mine had been painted by a previous owner. Paint doesn't stick very well to stainless steel and was begining to peel so I removed it with a scotch-brite pad.
Hope this helps. |
1861
Intermediate Member
Username: 1861
Post Number: 148
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 22, 2005 - 9:31 am: |
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I was watching ( WHITE LINE FEVER ) on tv last night and saw a commercial for a new paint from KRYLON , it is made for plastics , and they said , no sanding or priming needed . They were painting lawn chairs . You might look into that . |
Tech808
Moderator
Username: Tech808
Post Number: 5601
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Friday, April 22, 2005 - 9:55 am: |
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1861,
Thanks for the Great Tip on a  Product. 
Lon
Tech808
CEF808
N9OSN |
