# Machining a new aluminum chassis for a music streamer build. Finished coating opinion??



## Tipton1965 (Feb 28, 2022)

My plan with this chassis was to have a polished aluminum finish on the front bezel and a combo polished/brushed finish on other areas. I got half way into this and made the mistake of stopping by a local powder coating company and looking over their color selections. Powder coating has come a long way. They had a wheel on display that was powder coated lollipop red over a metallic aluminum powder. It was really nice....see pic below. It made me think about staying with the polished aluminum front bezel but having the remainder of the chassis powder coated this lollipop red. What do you think? Thus far I only have the front bezel and one of the side pieces finished. So there is a time investment already paid for but man that lollipop red looks really cool. Opinions? Thanks!


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## Tipton1965 (Feb 28, 2022)

Something similar to this look.


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## ddillman (Feb 28, 2022)

Nice color


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## francist (Feb 28, 2022)

I think some of what makes those wheels so appealing is that there’s a whole lot of really sensuous curves and shapes that make the coating take on different values and depth. A flat surface may not give as much intrigue, but I still think it would look pretty killer. I think a lot of people are afraid to use colour, even just in combination, so if you’re getting the feeling you want it red then I say do it!


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## C-Bag (Mar 1, 2022)

francist said:


> I think some of what makes those wheels so appealing is that there’s a whole lot of really sensuous curves and shapes that make the coating take on different values and depth. A flat surface may not give as much intrigue, but I still think it would look pretty killer. I think a lot of people are afraid to use colour, even just in combination, so if you’re getting the feeling you want it red then I say do it!


You are right about the curves but the other factor is the base finish and a luminescent powder coat. They are semi clear so the shine of the metal comes through. If you don’t have super shiny base metal it has no depth.


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## ConValSam (Mar 1, 2022)

Case work looks fantastic already!

I'd vote for natural with red like the Rogers phono preamp. Yours will end up even nicer because the flutes in the aluminum will add depth to the color that a sheet metal case can't achieve.

Curious, what kind of streamer are you building?


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## Navy Chief (Mar 1, 2022)

C-Bag said:


> You are right about the curves but the other factor is the base finish and a luminescent powder coat. They are semi clear so the shine of the metal comes through. If you don’t have super shiny base metal it has no depth.


Some of the clear over polished aluminum powder coats are amazing looking. 

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


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## Tipton1965 (Mar 1, 2022)

ConValSam said:


> Case work looks fantastic already!
> 
> I'd vote for natural with red like the Rogers phono preamp. Yours will end up even nicer because the flutes in the aluminum will add depth to the color that a sheet metal case can't achieve.
> 
> Curious, what kind of streamer are you building?


Thanks for the compliment!
The streamer is being built around a Raspberry Pi 4B.  It will use an Allo Boss 2 DAC which I dissected from their player since that's the only way to buy the Boss 2 right now.  It will have a built in Linear power supply and will be running pi core player with everything being displayed on the built in 5" touch screen.


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## Tipton1965 (Mar 1, 2022)

C-Bag said:


> You are right about the curves but the other factor is the base finish and a luminescent powder coat. They are semi clear so the shine of the metal comes through. If you don’t have super shiny base metal it has no depth.


Right....the color on the wheel has an aluminum base coat but they can use a super chrome first then the red to make more of an anodized look.


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## Tipton1965 (Mar 1, 2022)

Navy Chief said:


> Some of the clear over polished aluminum powder coats are amazing looking.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


Do you mean they use a polished aluminum powder and then clear it?  Or do you mean clear powder coat over a hand rubbed polished aluminum like I have on my front bezel?


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## Navy Chief (Mar 1, 2022)

I have seen it done both ways, clear over a polished surface and clear over a chrome powder coat base coat. It is not something I have experimented with myself, my powder coating work tends to be more functional pieces right now. 

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


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## Tipton1965 (Mar 1, 2022)

Navy Chief said:


> I have seen it done both ways, clear over a polished surface and clear over a chrome powder coat base coat. It is not something I have experimented with myself, my powder coating work tends to be more functional pieces right now.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


I think a chrome powder coat base with clear over it would be more durable.  The powder coater I talked to said they could do it either way but couldn't warranty the job if they cleared over my hand polished front bezel.


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## Tipton1965 (Apr 22, 2022)

Well I got this project finished up finally. I ended up buying my own powder coat gun and finishing it myself. I was a little leery of trying the two stage powder coat process since I have never tried powder coating before. So, I did the chassis in illusion red and the front bezel in alien silver. I was going to leave the front bezel polished but it just didn't look right with the rest of it powder coated. Photos can't capture how good the color looks in person.....especially out in the sun.


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## frugalguido (Apr 22, 2022)

What gun did you purchase? The cabinet came out really nice!


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## Tipton1965 (Apr 22, 2022)

frugalguido said:


> What gun did you purchase? The cabinet came out really nice!


I bought the dual voltage gun from Eastwood.  Its basically an entry level gun but it sure works well.  I bought it for what the powder coat company was wanting to do the work for me.  A friend gave me an oven for free that I use for the baking process.  I deleted the top burners and turned it into an upper shelf instead.


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## francist (Apr 22, 2022)

I think that's the coolest (hottest?) stove I've ever seen!


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## mattthemuppet2 (Apr 22, 2022)

dang, that is seriously cool! Fabulous finish too, way more lustre than you'd be able to get with anodising and probably a more consistent finish too. Very impressive.


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