Transformer Bell and Plate Painting/Cerakote Grounding?

[Kevin]

Hey everyone! I'm new to bottlehead, but I have put in an order for a Mainline and the anticipation is killing me.

I started planning ahead, like how I'm going to stain the wooden base, but am still struggling to determine how I will approach the bell and top plate. I'm leaning towards Cerakote for the bell and top plate (top side only, because I believe the bottom is needed to ground components). I want to do Cerakote because I'm a little paranoid and want to do a pretty much indestructible finish. But I can't help but thinking of crazy ideas of printing stuff on the plate.

I have a few questions to help me plan on painting:
Transformer Bell:

• When coating, does any of the screw holes need to be left uncoated for grounding purposes?

Top Plate:

• Cerakote - Has anyone have any experience with this? I don't have a sandblaster and was wondering if sanding would suffice. I have an airbrush that should suffice in applying the coating.
• Printing - Has anyone ever printed anything on their plate? I found this picture online ((https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/77000/77658/ISS030-E-188071_lrg.jpg)) that I think will look awesome on the top plate with the tubes, making the plate look like some kind of circuit board or a city. IF I can pull this off, I think this would be the way to go... I was thinking if I can get the image somehow on the plate, I can just finish with 2k clear gloss for protection.

Please let me know if you have any feedback! I can't wait to get started. I stayed up until 3 am for the past 3 days thinking of things I could do...

[Paul Birkeland]

It would be a good idea to scrape off some of the finish on the bottom side of the transformer bell and just the smallest amount on the top side around each hole. 

Cerakote would be a neat coating, but you have to follow the instructions very carefully.  Skipping or modifying steps may lead to the coating flaking off.  When in doubt, you could just take your parts to a reputable shop and have them done. 

Most printers are intended to print on flexible material that travels through the printer rollers.  I have seen people prepare a piece of very thin aluminum and send it through an inkjet, but you might need 8-10 tries to really get that right.  Once your piece of thin aluminum comes out, then you could laminate it to the stock top plate and trim out all the inside holes.  For what you're looking for, you may be able to find a local airbrush artist who would do a custom paint job on your top plate for you.   

[Alonzo]

Auto vinyl wrap maybe, you'd have to check the heat resistance but my mainline doesn't get very hot.

[Kevin]

Thanks for the feedback!

I was looking at maybe some ways to transfer pictures to other surfaces; I know I won't be able to put the plate through a printer. I found a few methods to transfer pictures to other surfaces like metal and wood, but they don't seem to be able to yield a durable finish. Even with spray paint... I just tested out some Rustoleum glossy black, and even after 48 hours of drying (recommended drying time of 24 hours), I can still leave scratches with my fingernails using moderate pressure. A 2k spray finish might help with durability though.

I think I'll just go the black Cerakote route... I called a local place that does coating and he quoted me $50 for both the bell and the plate.

[Paul Birkeland]

Powder coating will be quite durable as well, especially if you pick a textured powder.  That is what I use for anything I make for myself.