Painting Harman Kardon A224 Trio Tube Amplifier

TheWolf82

TheWolf82

Active Member
Hey Everyone,

I was wondering if ANYBODY would give me their opinion on painting my A224 Tube amp? I just picked up a beautifully clean and serviced A224 from my local repair shop however the black cover is scratched up quite a bit. I'd like to repaint it black. Maybe a silly question - but would spray painting it be ok? The cover gets awfully hot. Not sure if there is a particular type of paint I should be using for a tube amp that gets hot like it does. What would be the best way to go about painting it?

I appreciate any insight! Thanks - Michael
 
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Good question.

I also have an a224. The chassis is, frankly, pretty rough, but after replacing filter caps, and some "victim" resistors, it works/sounds fine.

The front panel cleaned up OK, and the cover doesn't look too bad, but mine does have some evidence of rust spots in/under the paint, so I was thinking along the same lines.

I would not recommend a high-temperature BBQ or exhaust paint. In my expirience, these hi temp paints remain/become chalky especially if you don't really cook them on (like normal use of an exhaust manifold.)

There is a place near me that does media blasting and powder coating. If I were ready to do mine, I'd ask him about the temperature. That would be the ultimate finish in terms of both looks and longevity. I'd also ask him about the finish. I'm sure they have appropriate levels of gloss for an electronics cover. Often -- especially with a small, hand-held part, and black color, they may be able do it allong with another job, helping to reduce the cost.

If you did not want to do that, Rustoleum Gloss, Semi Gloss, or Hammered Black spray enamel all say they are good for 200 Deg F. I can crank mine up for a few hours, and check it with an IR termometer, but I don't think it exceeds that. Expect it to start smelling again for several uses even after it's dry, but you should be OK.
 
Duplicolor engine paints are good for way more degrees than you're going to see on a tube amp. its nice paint too. Any auto parts store should have a selection of colors, and they've always got black. Not 100% if they have flat or semigloss though. I suspect that wasn't originally a high gloss part.
 
Yup, I've used automotive paint for transformer cores, end bells, and chassis. It all works very well.

Here's the last can I purchased from the autoparts store in the color match section.

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Thanks to all the suggestions. I was really lost on what to do. I actually just picked up some high gloss spray paint at Walmart but I think I’m going to return that and go with the automotive spray paint. Thanks again for all the good suggestions!
 
kward said:
Yup, I've used automotive paint for transformer cores, end bells, and chassis. It all works very well.

Here's the last can I purchased from the autoparts store in the color match section.

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So you really think this paint will be ok to paint the cover of my HK Trio? It says it’s good for 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Really don’t want to burn my house down.
 
I've painted amp cages with common spray paint before. It will probably smell a bit the first time it gets hot, but once it bakes on it works fine. I did an old oil stove with common paint once, and that thing surely got hotter than the lid of an amplifier. The oil stove really smoked when I lit it off but after the finish baked it was extremely durable.
 
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