Amp finish

[zztunnell]

Being that some of my chrome QX amps are a lil scuffed Im comtemplating refinishing all of them.

From what I read they are powder coated.

Diassembly and reassembly shouldnt be a problem for me.

Are there any do's or don'ts on what kind of finish is best? Paint,powder coat. Ive been thinking maybe liquid tranfer,kind of like that orange skull M44 that was on the bay.

Should I go ahead and upgrade/repalce the caps while its apart?

Any ideas or suggestions are great appreciated!

[LowandLoud]

I owned a bunch of original QX awhile back. I always assumed they were chrome. If it is powder, it is quite the match. Re-chroming would be very expensive. Paint is fairly soft, especially when heat is added, so not that durable. PC would be your best bet. Check with MHyde71 to see if he can match the finish. If anyone can, he will put the care into matching it up because he is a PG enthusiast like us. He also does amazing work, lots of testimonials to that around here.
As far as caps, i have not heard of a problem with the QX's.

LL

[zztunnell]

I dont necessarily have to go back chrome.

I thought they were polished aluminum then clear powder coated,but I have one amp that was scuffed pretty bad in one spot. Ive tried over and over to polish that spot with no effect. Tried White diamond,Wenol,Neverdull and mothers. Absolutely no change.

Im going to sand around on the really scuffed amp to see if I can get down to raw aluminum and go from there.

I was initially worried about heat transfer but if Phoenix power coated them new it must not be a huge issue.

Bead blasted would look cool as shit but be a nightmare to keep clean.

I figure if im going to tear all 8 amps apart I might as well do some upgrades while I got them apart. Such as new/better caps cooling fans and screw in rca jacks. And anything that anyone else can think of.

[ttocs]

pretty sure they were chrome.

[zztunnell]

pretty sure they were chrome.

I thought so too. Til I was flipping through the manual.

[Kirghiz]

Chrome powder coat you should be able to fix reasonably easily I would think.

[zztunnell]

Chrome powder coat you should be able to fix reasonably easily I would think.

For the life of me I can't figure out how without stripping them first.

Thats why i thought maybe paint or liquid tranfer.

They could be painted without disassembly,but chrome plating,powder coating and liquid transfer would require complete tear down.

Im going to sand around on the amp thats really beat up. I may be able to sand them all in one direction and then clear coat them. Ending up with a finish kind of like a delorlean or the titanium product line. That way i could source titanium gear to blend in to the system instead of black.

[LowandLoud]

I would send Matt a msg and ask him his opinion. He is not around here very often i guess because he would have chimed in if he had seen this thread.

LL

[Kirghiz]

You'd have to remove the chassis and sinks from the electronics to do it. But, in my opinion refinishing the bottom of the amps is pointless because it wouldn't be seen. If you flush mount the amps in the install you wouldn't see the sides either. That being the case, all you'd be looking at really refinishing would be the heat sinks, and anyone can remove those easy enough.

I'd just worry about making the tops look pretty myself.

[ttocs]

You would need to take off the boards as well but if you like the skulls thing on ebay then you need to look into hydrographics. The have DIY kits on ebay now. You just float the pattern in a tube of water, spray the activator on it and then dip it. Not sure how all the ridges in the sink would go though but its an option to look into.

[zztunnell]

You would need to take off the boards as well but if you like the skulls thing on ebay then you need to look into hydrographics. The have DIY kits on ebay now. You just float the pattern in a tube of water, spray the activator on it and then dip it. Not sure how all the ridges in the sink would go though but its an option to look into.

Thats what i was talking about with liquid transfer just couldnt remember what it was called.I thought about hydrographics because I pretty much wouldnt have to do any prep except take out boards and clean the sink first.

You'd have to remove the chassis and sinks from the electronics to do it. But, in my opinion refinishing the bottom of the amps is pointless because it wouldn't be seen. If you flush mount the amps in the install you wouldn't see the sides either. That being the case, all you'd be looking at really refinishing would be the heat sinks, and anyone can remove those easy enough.

I'd just worry about making the tops look pretty myself.

Once the other three amps arrive Ill be able to assess where the major scratches are located. The amps I have now have great looking heat sinks its the smooth strip with the emblem and the edges that are scuffed. I might be able to sand the smooth parts and leave the sinks shiny for a two tone.

Im leaning towards leaving the back covers off and my amp rack would be to see through box with plexi on both sides and fans on both ends.

This will reside where rear seat back is now and mounted to the original seat hinge brackets so it could be lifted and used as an impromtu seat.The seat bottom would be where the box for the 4 10's will be so when closed and covered with carpet would look like factory.