Repainting front panel without filling engraved markings with new paint

[Diamondj421]

The title pretty much says it all but I built a Classi EQP1A from Don Audio a few years ago and all was well. Then one day, I was installing a new ceiling cloud... by myself. I missed one of the hooks while trying to chain it to the ceiling and the cloud came crashing down on top of my desk. Since I was so confident in my ability to hang this thing, I didn't bother removing my gear. Fortunately (if you can say that), only the front panel of the Pultec was harmed. I now have a fairly deep, 3-inch scratch going from the upper left corner of the panel to the LF boost knob. It hasn't bothered me TOO much since it still sounds just as great, but I lost a lot of work during COVID so need to sell it to make ends meet and that scratch will definitely affect the resale value. I'm pretty handy with a can so I was going to just sand it down and respray it but had a thought pop in my head. How the heck would one repaint an engraved panel without the paint getting into the markings? So yea... That's where I'm at. Any suggestions?

 

[gyraf]

Actually, I'm not sure I'd do anything to restore cosmetics - there is something real and honest about scars of war. If you've established it to be 100% fully functional, it would be a feature not a fail.

But I would probably come up with a slightly colored dramatic story to cover the part that shows my desicions in a dubious light

/Jakob E.

 

[Brian Roth]

What finish/color is the panel?

Bri

 

[Diamondj421]

If I were to be specific I’d say royal blue? Like I said it’s a Pultec clone so the makers of the panel were going for “that look”.

 

[Brian Roth]

I've had some "luck" reducing the visibility of a scar on black anodized panels by using a black Sharpie pen. Perhaps there is a Sharpie with a color close to that royal blue.

Bri

 

[scott2000]

Are the panels still available? Maybe buyers would be ok with getting one themselves if it bothered them .

 

[Diamondj421]

Are the panels still available? Maybe buyers would be ok with getting one themselves if it bothered them .

Good call. Definitely worth giving a shot.

 

[mjrippe]

There are two possibilities for re-working the original panel.

If the engravings are deep enough, you can just re-paint the panel and then re-fill the engraving.

If not, you can fill the engravings with wax (beeswax has a low melting point), clean off any excess wax, paint the panel, then heat the panel to melt out the wax.

 

[emrr]

you can fill the engravings with wax (beeswax has a low melting point), clean off any excess wax, paint the panel, then heat the panel to melt out the wax.

Wow, that's one that's been on my list to try with a Collins panel having engraving with no infill, left natural. Wrinkle paint too, of course. I expect to fail a few times....

 

[mjrippe]

Wow, that's one that's been on my list to try with a Collins panel having engraving with no infill, left natural. Wrinkle paint too, of course. I expect to fail a few times....

Wrinkle paint and even hammertone is really tough to get right! You will probably have to strip and prime the panel first.

 

[emrr]

Wrinkle paint and even hammertone is really tough to get right! You will probably have to strip and prime the panel first.

The original paint failed for what appears lack of primer, was flaking off like sand particles.

 

[Tubetec]

Id probably mask off around the scratches with tape , then drop paint into the dents with a small brush , build up a few coats so its proud of the surface , then very gently with extra fine grit paper sand it back flat and level .
Those waterproof nail polishing boards the fairer sex use with 5 or 6 different grits are excellent for these kinds of jobs , a few drops of water with a little liquid soap added will help to disipate any heat while your sanding it back .
Probably wont be completely invisible due to fading of the original colour over time but with care it'll be as good as it needs to be.

 

[emrr]

Fine grit auto polishing compound is pretty good for this stuff too, just test it first to be sure it doesn't take desirable paint off too quickly.