Painting the chokes

[oguinn]

I’m painting the outer pieces this weekend. Is it the case that a) the plate chokes go on top, b) they look slightly different now than in the photo online, and c) the top metal pieces, including the metal bell sides, can be painted with a little sanding?

Just wanted to confirm before I made an expensive mistake.

[Tom-s]

Answers based on my past experience with Crack and reviewing the S.E.X. 3.0 manual.

A> Yes they go on top.
B> Can't tell. Don't have the kit yet. But i know that kits are shipped with bell ends on the chokes for some time now (different from picture in manual).
C> Yes. Paint adheres better with a surface to attach to. Sanding would be desirable to achieve this.

[oguinn]

The bell ends were throwing me off. I wanted to make sure before I got started, and to make sure it was fine to sand/paint all those pieces. Sounds like a yes. Thanks!

[Paul Birkeland]

Just a light scuff with sand paper or coarse steel wool will prep the surface for painting.  What you don't want to sand are the bottoms. 

[oguinn]

Got it. Thank you, Paul and Tom!

[jufelling]

Hey there,

I'm also going to paint the chokes today and I'm curious how to remove the bell ends.
I already opened the middle part (the frame?) that fits around the choke but the bell ends aren't moveable somehow.

My goal is to paint the middle part/frame in a different color than the bell ends.
I already read in another post that masking could be the way to do it but I assume it does not deliver the best results.

Have you guys any suggestions?

Best
Julian

[Paul Joppa]

I'm sorry to say, that was a mistake.

The channel frame holds the choke together - there is a paper a few mils thick that separates the stack of E-laminations from the stack of I-laminations. That "air gap" is critical to the performance of the choke. Without the frame, the only thing holding it together is the varnish in which the choke was dipped. You may - or may not - be able to re-assemble the choke without permanent damage.

To safely paint the choke different colors, you have to use masking tape.

[jufelling]

Hi Paul,

thanks for your fast response.

I have only opened it this far.
Do you think I damaged it already?

[Paul Birkeland]

Bend those back to where they were, varnish back over anything that has tool marks on it, then wait for that varnish to dry before you paint.  Proper oil based varnish takes a long time to dry all the way, so you may want to forego painting over that.

[jufelling]

Alright - thanks :-)

[jufelling]

Is there a way to check if it’s working correct beforehand or do I just know it at the end, as soon as I‘m making the last checks noted in the manual?

[Doc B.]

If you didn't go any farther than your picture shows it will be fine. The issue would be the gap in the lamination stacked being changed if you took the channel frame off of the choke. That would alter the characteristics of the choke in a way that wouldn't be obvious in the standard voltage measurements but could affect the overall sonic performance of the amp.

[jufelling]

Ok I get that.

Thank you all for your responses and help :-)