Black screws: Powdercoat or Purchase?

[raindownthunda]

I am getting the top plate and transformer bell powder coated black. I was thinking of getting the screw heads powdercoated black as well, and am wondering if ALL of the screws can be powdercoated, or if there are some I should avoid for grounding problems or other reasons? Is it better to just purchase black screws rather than powdercoating?

For furthering the "blacked out" look, are there black tube sockets as a recommended replacement?

Thanks & I apologize in advance if these questions have been asked before.

[Tubejack]

FWIW, I use black anodized button head and flat head hex screws on my black powder coated chassis.  Easy to find proper sizes and order .....

https://www.fastener-express.com/socket-head-cap-screws.aspx

[oguinn]

I bought black oxidized screws from Fastenal after getting feedback in this thread:

https://forum.bottlehead.com/index.php?topic=11911.msg108225#msg108225

[Paul Birkeland]

I would also vote for just buying black screws.  McMaster Carr has black oxide stainless, which won't rust like normal black oxide screws will.

[oguinn]

Man, thanks for mentioning that. I checked my Fastenal order and realized I had three sizes of screw that weren't stainless. I'll reorder those.

[raindownthunda]

Thanks for the advice and links! Super helpful.

I just purchased black oxide button head hex screws from Fastenhal for local pickup (much cheaper shipping for individual parts). Unfortunately I couldn't find the right sizes in stainless black oxide, but I ordered a couple spares in case I do run into any corrosion issues in the future.

I just dropped my top plate and transformer bell off at Northwest Powder Solutions in Kent and am going with a 60% gloss jet black. They wanted $10 per piece (plus $20 & $10 to mask off the bottom sides of both pieces). I figure the extra $30 is worth the convenience of not having to sand down the bottom of the top plate for grounding requirements and was still well under the $100+ minimum most places around here charge. I'll be sure to follow up on results to see if they are worth a recommendation.

I was also looking into getting black sockets (to complete the blacked out surface look) and was wondering how these look in terms of quality? Update: I can't post external links, but Angela.com is the site I'm looking at with 9-pin and 8-pin black sockets for under $5 total. The measurements close (if not exact) to the stock kit sockets I have sitting in-front of me:

Do you see any issues with these sockets or have other recommendations for achieving the all black surface?

Thanks again!

[Paul Birkeland]

Oh man, I'm only ten minutes from Kent and certainly would've shot your plate, though admittedly I don't do gloss powders.  You'll have to let me know how that whole process turns out, as I'm looking for a powder coating shop for some really large items in the near future.

As long as the sockets you're buying don't have the posts that you're supposed to wrap your connections around, you'll probably be fine. 

[raindownthunda]

Hey Paul - following up on the powdercoat experience with NW Powder Solutions. I think they did an AWESOME job, were great to work with, and very professional. There was practically no overspray on the underside of the plate and none on the transformer top. No beading or other imperfections.  They were able to get my parts in over the weekend and it only took 5 days (including the weekend) for me to get the finished parts back. I couldn't be happier and would definitely recommend!

Attaching a couple pics of the finished build