Painting screws

[oguinn]

I got the BeePre and Kaiju back from powder coating yesterday (British racing green adjacent color with metallic flake) and am thinking about the hardware now. Something that bothered me a bit on my last series of amps was that the screws were all chrome while the rest of the hardware was black or white. I'm considering painting the screw heads either black or white (probably black) by putting everything top-facing into a sheet of cardboard and spray painting them, but I'm concerned about the paint flaking off when I screw them in. My questions are, I guess:

• Has anyone done anything like this before? Any tips? I might try covering the screw head with tape and screwing through the tape as a little protection against the screwdriver
• I assume that there's no concern with grounding here since using this method the threads of the screws would still be bare.
• Any hitches I'm not thinking about?

[Paul Birkeland]

I've stuck our screws into a block of foam and painted them.  Lacquer seems to hold up better than anything else I've used. 

You could have them power coated...

[Deke609]

You could also try mcandmar's idea of using gun bluing solution: http://forum.bottlehead.com/index.php?topic=11205.msg107080#msg107080

I haven't tried it. The manufacturer also makes "Aluminum black". I'm thinking of using it on my BeePre chassis.

cheers, Derek

[Doc B.]

Prep is important. If you really want to make sure the paint doesn't chip prep the screw heads by sanding them lightly with about a 220 grit paper. This is a labor intensive suggestion and not necessarily something I would do myself. But do make sure the screws are as clean as possible before spraying so the paint has the best chance of staying adhered. I would pour some acetone in a cup and let them soak in it for a few seconds. Use a paint that does not require primer, or figure to prime before spraying the top coat. Baking the paint in a cool oven (around 200F) for half an hour or so will help harden the paint if it is enamel. Baking is not necessary for lacquer.

Bluing can work well, but might come out uneven between different types of screws as the plating and/or alloy may vary some. The blued screws should be clear coated to keep from rusting.

[oguinn]

Awesome, thanks everyone.

I'm resistant to powder coating them because of how much thicker the powder coating has made the chassis. It's ok there because I can file the holes out where needed, but I definitely don't want to have to explain the particulars to my powder coating dude (who's retiring and whose ability to give a shit about my OCD requests is waning).

I'll definitely give bluing a shot. Worst case scenario I could just get replacements, so this is probably just not a huge risk.

[Paul Joppa]

Machine screws with black oxide coating are widely available

[mcandmar]

My preferred option is to buy black hex head screws, they just look better to my eyes.  If your in europe the imperial thread hardware is hard to find, easier to convert it all to metric.

Two example photos attached, the screws for the transformers were dipped in the gunblue to convert them.  The one with the brown colour transformer bell was treated with the gunblue, then brushed with steel wool to lightened the colour, and painted with some clear coat.  The chokes were also brushed with steel wool, then clear coated as the gun blue wouldn't react with those at all.  The other amplifier is just painted gloss black.  Should give you a few ideas...

[Larpy]

I agree that black oxide screws are the way to go.  All the screws I've painted look great until (months or even years later) I need to unscrew them; then the paint invariably chips.  Unless they're in a spot you know for sure will never need futzing with again, don't bother with painting screws yourself.

[Jamier]

I used black oxide hex hardware on my builds. I was concerned that the coating might not conduct in places where it should ( like the PT bolts ) so when in doubt, I removed the coating from the threads with a wire brush and a Dremel.

Jamie

[oguinn]

Alright, tried some blue on the underside of a transformer bell and didn’t like the way it looked. I’ll probably pick up some black oxide screws and black spray paint.

[oguinn]

Paul or Doc or whoever - are these Neutrik RCA jacks replacements for the ones in the Bee Pre and Kaiju kits? Just to keep the hardware color consistent.

[Paul Birkeland]

Yes, those will fit.

[oguinn]

Same with these XLRs?

[Paul Birkeland]

Every datasheet lists cutout dimensions.