Paraset~ Panel Finish - With Paint!

Instead of the nickel plate;  I elected to use simple enamel spray paint.

I am no painter, but I have painted on metals before, surface preparation is the key to a good outcome. The one thing I have learned is painting steel is by far easier than aluminum, which is like, in fact, painting on glass.  It will peel off and look terrible in no time if it is not prepared properly.  The chemicals you need to prep the surface are pretty nasty and toxic as you actually need to etch and de-glaze the surface.

Prep:
Steel on the other hand is far simpler, since most auto body repairs are steel, lots of material is readily available.   I start preparing the surface by a fine sanding, followed by de-greasing the surfaces.  I use carburetor cleaner, which is really just strong solvents in a spray can,  to remove any oil:

Item #08796 3M™ Carburetor Cleaner

Make sure to handle the panels very carefully only with gloves after cleaning, not to get any oil, even by simply by touching the surfaces.

I put then carefully put some blue masking tape discs on bottom around screws and connections with tweezers.  I wanted these holes to be electrically grounded.   I suppose I could have skipped this and simply removed the paint later with a small rotary brush.  

Next, two coats of:  Item #249415, Rust-Oleum® Sandable Primer  - Gray 
Sanded between coats, with fine sandpaper on a sanding block, not just with sandpaper.  The idea is to make a smooth surface to fill in the scratches, low spots, and tool marks. 

I then let it bake in sun for an hour or so.  This helps let the VOC solvents in the paint evaporate. The bottom side had only one coat, no sanding just to stop any rust since it had been sanded and de-greased

With primer the idea is to make a smooth surface for the color coats: 

Second PRIMER:  


I only sprayed one coat of primer with no sanding  which is why it is dull compared to the front surface:

 Note:  Masking tape on back side is covering some holes.

Followed by Three light coats of Industrial Spray enamel:
Item # 37487, Krylon® Industrial Grey Tough Coat® Acrylic Enamel Paint

Let dry for an hour or so in the sun, with a ery light sanding between the coats.   

Then baked it on -  after the final coat in a small toaster oven at its lowest setting for about 30 - 45 mins.  I read the max surface temp was about 145°F  with an IR thermometer.

Coat #2:

Final coat!   I know, it sounds like a lot of work, but really not too bad, I did it in only one day.

Next, I will  apply decals and use a clear coat to protect the decals, and then finally remove the paint on the counter sink holes with the same bit used for making them for even more electrical contact area.

Note: The hole for the crystal holder is back?  Yes, as suspected, drilling through two hardness's of materials was an interesting challenge, which is why the hole is not countersunk.  I ended up using some epoxy putty to fix it. I had to grind the hole out and enlarge it bit to effect the repair.   

 Also there are four more "hidden" holes!  Yes, I pre-drilled the 4-way mounting holes for the choke transformer and filled in for future used if needed, since I had the locations marked.