rack equipment touch-up

P

person346

New member
I'm trying to touch-up some scratches and nicks on a few rackmount units and I wanted to see if anyone had some suggestions for paint. Thanks.
 
Try matching the color of the original unit.

And why on earth are you trying to touch up the paint on rack gear? It won't make it sound any better.
 
Or if you want to have that in-your-face bling bling look you might want to sand it up till you see the bare metal, and then polish it.
Having it chromed would also help boosting the performance, and it impresses clients.
If you've chosen for the first option (to sand it up), you might also want to consider brushing it instead of polishing, for the more stylish, professional look.

No seriously, whats wrong with a few scratches in the paint or a little wear. Just leave it that way. Looks like you've got the gear for a long time, and you're a true recording veteran ;-)
 
Bored said:
No seriously, whats wrong with a few scratches in the paint or a little wear. Just leave it that way. Looks like you've got the gear for a long time, and you're a true recording veteran ;-)
Click to expand...
Note to self
  1. Never buy used gear from seller known as Bored
 
MOFO Pro said:
Note to self
  1. Never buy used gear from seller known as Bored
Click to expand...

lol,
Let's clear this up: I was just trying to point out that the looks of a unit don't affect it's performance.
As I am still only a beginning home-recorder I haven't got much gear, and the gear i do have is treated properly, no scratches or whatsoever to speak of.
 
Bored said:
lol,
Let's clear this up: I was just trying to point out that the looks of a unit don't affect it's performance.
As I am still only a beginning home-recorder I haven't got much gear, and the gear i do have is treated properly, no scratches or whatsoever to speak of.
Click to expand...
Then how do you know that the scratches don't affect audio performance? I hate it when people talk about shit they have no idea about. Go scratch something of yours and report back immediately!
 
Bored said:
lol,
Let's clear this up: I was just trying to point out that the looks of a unit don't affect it's performance.
As I am still only a beginning home-recorder I haven't got much gear, and the gear i do have is treated properly, no scratches or whatsoever to speak of.
Click to expand...

The looks of a unit do give an indication of how well or poorly it has been maintained, however. If it is banged up, heavily scratched, knobs or buttons missing, bent rack ears, and other ills, you pretty much know that the owner(s) didn't really respect it. It also means that whatever is inside the unit has also been subjected to those G forces when it was dropped, slammed, beat on and otherwise abused.

You can also be pretty sure that any necessary maintainence has also probably been neglected. Further, if the owner has obviously subjected the unit to physical abuse and neglect it is a pretty reasonable assumption that they applied that same lack of caring to the rest of their system. i.e. the unit might have gotten bad power, spikes, been improperly grounded or not grounded at all, subjected to high heat with no ventilation, and any of a number of other forms of abuse that can shorten the lifespan of equipment.

So in my opinion, the outward appearance of gear is often a *great* indicator of it's inward condition.
 
SonicAlbert said:
The looks of a unit do give an indication of how well or poorly it has been maintained, however. If it is banged up, heavily scratched, knobs or buttons missing, bent rack ears, and other ills, you pretty much know that the owner(s) didn't really respect it. It also means that whatever is inside the unit has also been subjected to those G forces when it was dropped, slammed, beat on and otherwise abused.

You can also be pretty sure that any necessary maintainence has also probably been neglected. Further, if the owner has obviously subjected the unit to physical abuse and neglect it is a pretty reasonable assumption that they applied that same lack of caring to the rest of their system. i.e. the unit might have gotten bad power, spikes, been improperly grounded or not grounded at all, subjected to high heat with no ventilation, and any of a number of other forms of abuse that can shorten the lifespan of equipment.

So in my opinion, the outward appearance of gear is often a *great* indicator of it's inward condition.
Click to expand...
Rack rash is not indicative of how well or poorly a piece of gear was maintained.
 
ez_willis said:
Try matching the color of the original unit.

And why on earth are you trying to touch up the paint on rack gear? It won't make it sound any better.
Click to expand...

Scratches cause delay in reflections 'cause they are deeper in the surface. Fill in any scratches before touch-up and always use a fire-proof paint 'cause when you are done, it's gonna look HOT baby!


Yeah!
 
ez_willis said:
Rack rash is not indicative of how well or poorly a piece of gear was maintained.
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Agreed...

But a gouged and scratched face plate is...

Recently there was a post from someone looking to sell their DMP-3... stated that the unit was in fine operational condition, but that it was a bit scratched up from being transported...


IN A DUFFEL BAG!!!


No thanks... like sonic says... the appearance of the equipment is an excellent indicator of the respect the owner has shown it...

duffel bag...
 
I recently got a mic pre from a guy on ebay. His description did not give me a TRUE representation of the unit because when I got it, there were scrtatches all over it... the case was missing some of its screws :eek: , and the screws that were on it it were quite loose.

The mic pre works fine so I did not make a big beef about it. I did use a colored Sharpies to help hide the scratches.
 
In my definition, rack rash is specifically the gouging in the faceplate that occurs around the screw holes.

I do believe that extensive rack rash, like other visible signs of abuse, is an indicator of poor maintainence and lack of caring on the part of the owner of the equipment.
 
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