Re-finishing crack question

[Ankaret]

Hi all,

Still loving my regular crack build from over a year ago. Sounds amazing! I did a standard build and did not finish or color the top plate and did just a plain clear finish on the wood originally.

Im getting the strong urge to re-model the aesthetics of my crack and wondered if any of you have done that after the build has already been completed? How much work is it to detach just enough to get the top plate completely free for painting/finishing? Looks like it might be a bit of work and possibly a pain to get it all back in. Worth it?

And as far as re-painting and re-finishing the wood: Mine is currently covered in several layers of semi-gloss polyurethane clear finish. Can I just color and finish over what's already there, or is it highly recommended to sand down most of the original finish and start "fresh" on the wood?

Any experience or thoughts/tips/tricks other crack owners can share would be super helpful. Thanks in advance!

 

[Paul Birkeland]

If you want to paint the top plate, you'd need to nearly completely disassemble the amp.  It's not really worth it once the amplifier is built.

On the wood base, if you'd like to paint it a solid color, you can give your poly coating a light sand and paint right over it.  If you want to stain the base, you'll need to sand through to raw wood.

-PB

 

[Adrian]

If you plan to do a simple spray paint finish you might consider masking everything you do not want painted and carefully spray paint the top.  Be careful of overspray through vents and around sides that can spray your wiring/components, go with light single strokes at all angles.  I've done this on several tops.

 

[caffeinator]

I refinished the top of my SEX Amp a few years ago after I was unhappy with the original paint job.

Some items can be slightly loosened to improve the re-finish job.  For example, the IEC cord socket can be lifted up a little so the paint gets to the edges of its cutout, RCA's can be loosened and lifted for the same reason, on/off switch, etc.  In other words, things that have flanges or other features that would be hard to mask and might trap a contrasting color under the edge might be worth just lifting a smidge to paint.

The transformer is easy to mask, so not much sense disturbing it to paint, so long as painted fastener heads don't bug you.  If you don't want them painted, you can use some RTV silicon to cover them if you're careful not to get any on the surface you want to paint.  Tube sockets, given the other things ganged on their fasteners, are best left in place and simply masked, I think.

If you want a stained base after having coated it with a clear finish, it might be easier to fabricate a new base.  Sanding through the clear all over can be a challenge and getting into the rabbet cut recess for the top plate would be difficult.  If I were doing it, I'd keep the poly-coated one to make a solid colored base and fab a new one for staining.

Good luck!

 

[Ankaret]

Thanks for the tips everyone. Seems like I will be able to mask and get a decent job done that way for the top plate, and I think Ill follow the suggestion of just keeping my current finished wood base and ordering another for a fresh stain job.

Does anyone have a picture of a top plate they painted/finished? I want to basically make it look a bit smoother and more "finished", something like this:

http://s44.photobucket.com/user/lextek/media/2012/58730821.jpg.html

or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtlplvhDSR0 (skip to end)

What do you recommend for achieving that sort of look?

Thanks!