Solid Spun Aluminum 8.5 footer - Maybe Regency

[linuxman]

I am starting a new thread on this dish because I am going to add it to the roof soon. I also wanted to discuss some of the maintenance items I am planning for it.

Here are some pics after we got it home today:





Like to never got it off the roof. It had sat so long in one position, the pivot pins at the top and bottom of the rectangular mounting "ring" were rusted solid. We spent an hour rocking it back and forth with PB Blaster, and inching it up out of the bushing sleeves. The sleeve on the bottom actually came out instead of the pin coming out of the sleeve. So now I have to get a gear puller and see if I can get that off, and polish everything back up and put it back together.

Still can't find any ID, and the last picture above is the section where the name should be like on Diamond Jim's Regency dish. I think what happened is that the original white paint started coming off, and the decal with it, and someone took some latex brown and applied it with a roller and brush just to get the shiny covered again.

As you can see from some of the pictures it is spun aluminum. It is pretty smooth on the front side, but I can feel just a tiny groove in between each ring on the back side.

I put the string on it after I got it home, and it all looks good. The depth is 14-7/8", and the diameter is 7'-6.5" which according to my online calculations gives me a F/D ratio of 0.44 and a focal distance of 45.2".

This is an extremely flat dish. The Birdview was a 0.42, and I thought it was flat. This one should have extraordinary gain if I can get past any side-lobe issues that may arise.

Now for some questions:

First of all, Diamond Jim, if you read this, can you post the diameter and depth of your Regency dish? I would like to see if this one not only looks like a Regency, but also has the same characteristics.

Secondly, the paint is junk. It is rough and thick in places, thin in others and needs to come off. Would it better to just use some paint stripper to take it off? I don't want to have to sand it because I don't want to mess up the spun aluminum look on the surface.

If so, does anyone have a stripper they recommend?

After the paint is removed, I think I can just smooth it up with some steel wool.

Thirdly, I asked in the other thread about color. I know sunlight is an issue with a big solid like this one. So which color should it be, Flat Black, Flat Charcoal Gray, or Flat White?

Thanks for all your help and suggestions!

Fred

 

[turbosat]

Nice one! Good thing you got it before the scrappers did. I know where one is similar to it, but has one spot on it where somebody ran it down on a ladder.
Looks to be 8-9' from the road, but since it's bent I haven't stopped to check.
May not be enough to hurt it, but its noticeable from the roadside.
Kudzit prob wouldn't hurt it, never tried it on aluminum. Could just brush it with the steel wool after power-washing it, and paint right over it. Couple of coats of whatever, should cover it. I like the light colors but it probably doesn't matter a lot.

 

[voomvoom]

Thanks for the pictures Fred. Man that's a nice dish, I want one. I bet it was Fun getting it off the roof, it's probably quite heavy? I don't know anything about clean-up or painting, so I'll let others give suggestions for that. As far as the color, I'm sure there is scientific eveidence somewhere to prove which color would be best for any/all dish(es). I just don't know what it is? Sorry I'm no help, so when you decide that it's going to be too much work for your time, you can take it to the nearest Freight Office and ship it to Georgia. And, I'll take care of the dish for you. Thanks in advance for your kind consideration!

Al

 

[linuxman]

Hey Turbosat,

Thanks for the tip on Kudzit. I just took a look at Lowes and Home Depot, and neither lists it as a product. I'll have to look elsewhere. I don't have a power washer, and when I did scrub up the dish today, the wash water was almost milky brown from all the latex pigmentation. I think at least the brown has to come off. Can't paint good enamel or lacquer paint over latex. It'll just come right back off in a few months.

Hey Al,

Actually it wasn't too bad getting it off the roof once we got it off the stinking pivot pin. We just took the support arms off, and laid it on it's face, and set the edge over the roof onto the extension ladder and slid it down. Two men on top, and two on the bottom. After that, two men set it on the truck.

As for shipping it to you, well maybe the next one.

Why don't you come on up here and spend a week with me. I'm sure there are more good dishes out there like this one.

I'll send you home with a nice dish.

Fred

 

[turbosat]

Haven't stripped any paint in about 7yrs or so, they may have changed the names of the stripping products, but the big 2 used to be Strip-eaze and Kudzit. Lowe's prob has that orange-peel stripping solution, works just as well without to much mess. I was going to suggest you do that part outside, but then, how would you get a huge satellite dish inside the house anyway....
If its latex that stuff will wash it right off, then you can go for the TSP or whatever is good on metal. Bet it will look like brand new.

 

[chefwan]

Nice Find Fred looks like you've got a good one there you better put this one up and tie it down good it may catch alot of wind being solid

 

[linuxman]

Hey Turbosat,

Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to Lowes today and see what they have. I just need to be sure that it won't damage aluminum.

Hey Chefwan,

I plan to put it up with the same type of mount as all the others, so it will be pretty secure.

Fred

 

[Anole]

soften first, then power-wash

Not too sure about stripping the paint.
Want to use something that doesn't attack or react with the aluminum.
Anything that'll soften the paint, where you can scrape or power-wash it off should be gentle enough.
Just give the chemicals time to work and don't get in a hurry.
Test 'em on the back side if you're worried.

Here's a thread with Andrew info for cleaning and painting their molded dishes.
Not the same, but still some good ideas.

As for color, I'm partial to the 99¢ cans of flat grey at Target, WalMart, et al.
Practice on the back side. I wouldn't want to leave it unpainted.
Front and rear could eat up a lot of cans, but I'd still go with two coats.

 

[linuxman]

Hey Anole,

I read your post about the Andrews painting their dishes recommendation the other day. It is good information.

I got a product from Lowes today called Klean Strip. I was attracted to it because it was a spray on solution. Comes with a little sprayer bottle. It works pretty good, but I learned a lesson. Spray it on thick. I made the mistake of spraying it on until wet. That's not good enough. It has to be a thick layer.

That's probably why all the others are brushed on. I spent about 5 hours on it today. Spraying, waiting, scraping etc. That was on the front side only. I haven't stripped any paint since I did an old studio upright piano when my wife and I first got married 30 years ago. I remeber saying then that I would never strip another object, and now I remember why I said it.

I am not going to strip the back side. Just remove loose paint, and paint over it.

It is coming along nicely. It is almost dark now, and the picture doesn't do it justice. The dark gray you see is the bare aluminum, and is much brighter in the light.

The stripper doesn't bother the aluminum at all. I am going to give it one more coat in the morning, and hopefully that will be it.

Here is a pic:



Where it is bare, it is as smooth as a piece of glass except for the barely discernable ridges where the spun effect is. That's what I want is that smooth surface. Not that it will get any better signal, but it will look a lot better, and it will drain water a lot better.

Fred

 

[linuxman]

Well I am quitting. I ran out of stripper, and don't want to buy more for the few residual spots that remain. If I had a power washer, they would have come off this round, and maybe the round before.

The few spots that are left will just be part of the new paint job, and never be noticed. They are at least as smooth as paint is anyway.

I took another shot this morning in better light before I started the final round, and then a couple after I finished. I tried to get what I see, but couldn't get the camera to cooperate. The dish is very bright and shiny in the light, but it won't capture on the camera very well.

Here are this finished product pics:



It is going to be a very nice dish. Very few imperfections in the aluminum at all.

Fred

 

[Inno]

Nice find! I umm.........had one a lot like it a number of years ago..........in fact I had a total of 6 or 7 at one time, not thinking I'd ever get back into the hobby I scrapped most of 'em...........I'm really sorry I did that now.

 

[voomvoom]

Nice find! I umm.........had one a lot like it a number of years ago..........in fact I had a total of 6 or 7 at one time, not thinking I'd ever get back into the hobby I scrapped most of 'em...........I'm really sorry I did that now.

You should be "Tar'ed and Feathered" for doing such a remorseful thing! That was an awful thing to do!
I certainly hope you're ashamed of yourself!

Al

 

[Inno]

I've actually contemplated tarring and feathering myself and taking pictures just so you all would understand how sorry I feel about it. I did keep all the feedhorns and LNBs from these dishes, receivers too..........for what it's worth
Sorry

 

[linuxman]

Hey Inno,

Don't feel bad about doing what every other BUD owner did when they were told there was nothing else to receive out there.

Now all you have to do is go out and find some other dishes and save them from the re-cycler.

You didn't happen to save any manuals on those dishes did you?

Thanks,

Fred

 

[BKP]

Nice find and I know you had a grand ol' time stripping that baby, Hahaha..

I vote for flat black.. I think you'll be glad this winter when ice and snow actually melts off..


Later, Brent

 

[Diamond Jim]

Fred,

Here are the photos that you wanted to see. You don't have to look close to see the difference between the two dishes. I hope this helps you out.

 

[linuxman]

Thanks Jim,

After looking at the two pictures you provided, and the pictures of my dish, along with the 7.5' diameter measurement you PM'd me, it is evident that mine is not a Regency dish.

Now that I look at the mount on the back, there is a difference in them besides mine not having a button-hook.

Here's another pic of the back of mine for comparison.



Now just need for someone to help identify what it is I have got.

Fred

 

[caddata]

....smooth as a piece of glass ....

Hey Fred:

My experience with painting aluminum is that the bare, smooth surface needs to be lightly wet sanded or chemically etched. Gives the paint something to stick to, otherwise it'll be peeling before next fall (after a full cycle of environmental temperatures). My jury is still out on priming a bare surface. Might not make much difference either way. I'd use a good acrylic enamel.

In the past, painted aluminum (airplanes and truck bodies) were usually primed with zinc chromate. Now days, most aluminum is powder coat finished.

Good luck on your newest project.

Harold

 

[Diamond Jim]

I think what happened is that the original white paint started coming off, and the decal with it, and someone took some latex brown and applied it with a roller and brush just to get the shiny covered again.

Fred,

Just for the record, the Regency dish were a light brown/tan colored. That is the origional paint job on mine. The silver spots on the lower left is some spilled navel jelly. I was using that to take the rust off of the button hook and I dropped some of it. I ask my satellite guy about it and he said let it go. That's been about 10 years ago and everything is still working fine. If you think that dish was white, it could be a Birdview or a Horizion.

 

[linuxman]

Hey Harold,

As always, your advice is very much appreciated.

I have purchased 6 twelve ounce cans of Rustoleum Automobile Primer that is a very dark, almost black shade of Gray. It should be a very good quality enamel paint. Almost $4.00 per can.

I will use that for the face of the dish. May use the same thing for the back, or might go with the cheaper stuff as Anole suggested for the back, especially if I don't strip it. I have used the cheaper stuff for all my other dishes and have had no problems yet.

That's something I don't understand. On the front side, the paint looked like it had simply worn down by wind, sun and rain which caused someone to put on a coat of paint with a roller and brush. I can still see the roller marks. Whereas on the back, some of it peeled and is loose enough to chip away. I had a very difficult time getting that stuff to come off the front. There is still some residue.

The light sanding on the bare metal idea sounds good to me. I know when we painted aluminum guttering when I was in construction, (when Moses was just a kid) we always wiped it down with vinegar before painting it.

Well at least I have another project again.

Fred