restoring A7's

[Audio_by_Goodwill]

My eyes! My eyes!!!!!

I remember seeing those on CL awhile back....... in MO, if I recall.

How gummy is the paint? If it's not gummy, I'd try sanding it off. If the paint didn't stick real well, a sharp razor blade my take much of it off, with out too much trouble...... maybe a gasket scraper. I'm just throwing out ideas. If I were doing it myself, It would be trial and error to find the right method.

If I were to use a chemical, I'd probably try one of the newer "safe" chemicals. They tend to lift paint one layer at a time, and I think that may be to your benefit if you've just got one layer of nasty paint......... you don't find pink, and then lime green underneath the orange.

If I were repainting, I think I'd find a nice pre-mixed grey that I liked, or experiment mixing white and black. Probably a flat black, adding gloss white until I was happy. I don't think Altec was super sensitive about the particular grey they used. It's been mentioned that they used the grey that meets the standard for electrical equipment, but I don't know how to find that........ I don't know what the standard is called.

The high frequency horns could be media blasted if you've got a local shop that does it cheap. I'd bet that the good old fashioned "unsafe" paint strippers would work well on them, too........ shouldn't be too bad a job since they're metal. Some people poweder coat them after being cleaned of the old finish, but I don't think I'd bother with the expense. Flat or satin black spray paint should be fine....... I say should be, becasue I've never actually painted mine after blasting. After that, you can work on dampening them if you'd like. We've had a couple of good examples here on the board lately...... one using silicone in the cavity up front, somebody did wax.... or was thinking about it. Also latex paint and sand on the outside is an old trick, but has been recently done. When I first read of the paint and sand, I thought it sounded hokey, but it actually looks pretty decent. Then there is also Aquaplas (Anti-vibe) that Altec used on large format horns. We've recently had a discussion about it, but it's pricey compared to the other options.

[Altec Best]

OMG.... What the heck are some people thinking.Hey let's paint them orange for Halloween. Too bad Halloween isn't every day of the year.

The horns should be glass beaded,if you can't find one there is a gel you spread on it that works good.It only requires one coating it is time activated meaning the longer you leave it on the more paint it takes off.Ditto for the cabinets(Gel)

I hope they are cheap.Because of the time involved of cleaning them up could get expensive(In terms of your time).But is very cool to see someone trying to save them. :2thumbsup: Best Wishes Toby Regards ~ John

[Altec Best]

Here's an auction style listing even cheaper with a starting bid of $10 for 4 stickers.

ALTEC VOICE OF THE THEATER (VOTT) LABELS A2,A4,A5,A7! - eBay (item 160445358642 end time Jun-17-10 12:01:58 PDT)

[GEK]

Don't get too fussy with the shade of gray. I have several original Altec cabinets here (A-4, A-5 and A-8) of different generations and no two are exactly the same shade. I've had some custom paint made up at Home Depot, but actually Behr "Evening Hush" 770F-6 is a surprisingly good match and available "off the rack".

If the orange paint is well applied I'd forget trying to remove it. I'd give it a light sanding, and then get a good primer like "Fresh Start" tinted to match. With a coat of primer and a good top coat or two you should never see the orange again.

- Gary

[badtoby]

Removed the horns yesterday to refinish and found one of the terminals loose. Pulled the cover to tighten the connector and the edge of the fram is broke in pieces. What now?

[Audio_by_Goodwill]

Removed the horns yesterday to refinish and found one of the terminals loose. Pulled the cover to tighten the connector and the edge of the fram is broke in pieces. What now?

I don't mean to nit pick, but some people don't appear to know this......... the horns are separate devices from the drivers. You have 511B high frequency horns and they don't have terminals, covers, connectors, or a diaphragm...... that's the driver that is bolted to the back of the horn that has all those parts.

What did you decided on your method of refinishing the horns?

[badtoby]

glass beading for the removal. first I'am taking them to a paint guy to see if the paint can be matched (green). Yes I know the horns and drivers are two pieces assumed everyone would know what I was saying. still wondering what to do about the frams,where to get them (16 ohm).Is this something I can replace myself? Bought new stickers off Ebay and if weather is good this week hope to do the cabs.