To paint, or not to paint, That is the question....

[mister_dk]

I have a 6.5 ft mesh dish that is starting to show it's age. I would like to give it a fresh coat of paint, but I am not sure if I should. I have been reading conflicting arguments for and against painting. Some say yes it's OK as long as you use flat paint. No gloss or semi-gloss because it increases reflectivity. Other reports say that it is a definite no to paint.

So, whats the real story? Paint or no paint? Gloss, semi-gloss, or flat? If I don't do something to retard the rust I will end up with extra-large mesh dish. If I use flat paint will it lessen the signal? don't I want as much signal as possible going to the lnb?

HELP!!!!

 

[FTABman0]

Great question mister_dk!

I just got a 7 ½ bud that is obviously been painted. I was wondering about that also. I will wait and see how the experienced C-Banders chime on this one!

Maybe this needs to be moved to the C-BAND Satellite Discussion site for more C-Band guys to see!

 

[turbosat]

Paint 'em! Might make your dish hang around a little longer. Nothing wrong with a little sanding and brushing to remove the loose paint, if you want to go all out-primer the bare spots, hose it down good and let it dry. Then spray your paint. O r I guess you could brush it too, lol. I saw a VW bug that had been painted with a brush one time, didn't look too good though.
Only thing I've ever heard about the painting was, don't use metal-flake type paint, or any paint with metallic particles as it could goof up the reflectivity. But on a mesh dish I don't see how it could. A solid dish might be different. Never painted a mesh dish yet, but may do it this summer-my 10' sami is showing its age. On a solid dish I'd stick with a dark color though, just to keep the possible reflected heat lower on your lnb.

 

[SatPhreak]

Painting a dish is fine since paint doesn't refract or reflect or absorb radio waves. It will not affect signal quality at all. A gloss paint should be avoided as it will reflect extra light and heat from the sun onto the lnb during solar outages in the spring and fall. The extra heat could overheat the lnb and damage it.

Some of the nascar teams have their sub dishes painted with their sponsors logo and some of them are even painted a glossy colour,although I still wouldn't recomend a gloss paint for the above reasons.

 

[AcWxRadar]

I am just thinking out loud here, but....

Metal flake or glitter paint would obviously be a poor choice.

White or silver and any glossy paint would naturally be bad as it would reflect a great deal of sunlight towards the LNB.

Black and other dark colors would be a poor choice as that would absorb heat radiation from the sun and possibly alter the shape of the panels of the dish and change the geometry of the dish.

A dull and neutral gray would probably be best. Since this is the color most dishes come in from the factory, I assume they have already studied the affects and flat gray was found to be the best.

A mesh dish is obviously less susceptible to any problems if you paint it nearly any color. But, I would personally not choose all white or silver. Especially for a prime focus and large dimensioned dish.

There is probably a specific type of paint that is best suited for this application. Dependant upon the makeup of the paint and the color tint. You obviously want it to reflect the signal, but be somewhat neutral regarding solar radiation and noise.

Radar

 

[mister_dk]

Thanks everyone. It sounds like the verdict is to paint with a neutral, non-metallic, flat paint. I will have to do it while the wife is out or she will want to paint flowers of sunsets on it.

Thanks.

 

[SatPhreak]

I've seen a nice spun aluminum c-band dish with a bull moose grazing in a swamp painted onto it. It was a very nice nature scene and it must have still worked OK as at different times it was pointed in different directions. It was painted with matte pastel colours though.

 

[Fizbi]

My painted dish melts the snow off faster than if the dish was not painted.

 

[Anole]

confused:

If I don't do something to retard the rust I will end up with extra-large mesh dish.

The mesh itself is rusting?
Sorry, I have limited experience with BUDs. Mine are aluminum, one solid, one perforated.
The mounts and poles have rust, and I'm taking steps to deal with that, long term.

Kinda doubt that my anti-rust regime is worth the effort on a questionable dish.
Might be better off getting another dish than doing to yours, what I'm doing to my poles.

I'm knocking off lose rust with a wire brush.
Not sure how I'd do that to mesh, though.
Maybe you could use steel wool?
You do not need bright 'n shiny metal, and leaving firm rust on is fine.
Power tools might wreck your dish shape, but should be fine on the support structures.
Then two coats per mfgr's instructions of Rust Destroyer as a primer.
It actually does rust conversion, turning the existing rust inert.

Your top coat would have to be a flat product of pretty much any color you choose.
I'm partial to a light charcoal or dark grey, but that's a personal call.

In my case, on the motor, mount, and pole, I'm using a glossy rust killing paint.
Hammerite when I can get the color I want, and RustOleum for other colors.
Some would argue the paints themselves should do a great job.
Or, after the primer mentioned, even 99¢ Walmart flat gray primer would make a good top coat. -
Others might go for the 99¢ product right over bare metal and be done with it.

As I said above, shopping for a new dish might make more sense than to follow any of these suggestions.

If I use flat paint will it lessen the signal?

Not at all.

 

[toucan-man]

A gloss paint should be avoided as it will reflect extra light and heat from the sun onto the lnb during solar outages in the spring and fall. The extra heat could overheat the lnb and damage it.

How do stainless steel dishes deal with this reflectivity issue? Was wondering if you could roast hot dogs and watch tv at the same time on a sunny day, haha.

 

[turbosat]

You're giving me ideas toucan, with the neighbors yapping little jack russell rats, maybe I should paint one of my little solid dishes with chrome paint and point it in their direction this summer , bwwaahhhaaaahaaaaaaaa

 

[MikeinBaja]

I guess I have the creativity (but not the artistic talent) because I've always thought of painting a big old eye-ball on mine!

 

[toucan-man]

...with the neighbors yapping little jack russell rats, maybe I should paint one of my little solid dishes with chrome paint and point it in their direction this summer , bwwaahhhaaaahaaaaaaaa

"May a pack of wild Dobermans reek havoc in your dish farm" -- Carnac the Magnificent

 

[Anole]

artistry on dishes:

I've always thought of painting a big old eye-ball on mine!

Yea, a little blood-shot. -
With or without lashes, as you prefer. -

Truth is, nobody will be within 20 feet of it, so you don't need to be that good.
Find a picture in a magazine or on a web site and blow it up.

There are a number of ways to transfer the outline to the dish.
I might fire up my old slide projector on a dark night, and use a little slide as a guide to sketch in a rough outline.
Or, you could print out a big picture using several sheets of your printer, and tape it to the dish as a guide.

Some of us BirdView owners had talked about replacing the original logo.
In some versions, it's a stylized dove.
I thought about a big green lizard coming up one side ...
... and then across the top have the head chasing after the flying bird! -

The dish is white, so that's a blank canvas...
...hrmmmm... so is your DirecPV.... that'd make a great eye!

Two eyes on an oval Primestar 84e dish, with the LNB as the nose?

 

[SatPhreak]

How do stainless steel dishes deal with this reflectivity issue? Was wondering if you could roast hot dogs and watch tv at the same time on a sunny day, haha.

Google parabolic solar cookers, and you will find out. Here is one link http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Parabolic_reflectors.The only time of the year that you would need to worry about the heat to the lnb is when the dish is pointed to the sun around the equinoxes. In the middle of summer the focal point of the heat would be below the lnb, in the winter it would be above it even if the dish is pointed to the same azimuth as the sun. A true solar cooker would track the sun in az and el and not the Clarke belt.

Technically you could cook a hot dog in a couple minutes in the summer while watching tv with an unpainted stainless steel dish tracking the Clarke belt using the focal point of the heat. Trying this at the eqinoxes would probably set fire to the lnb in a couple minutes. Some people have made solar cookers out of old large dishes covered with aliminum foil, stainless steel sheets, or even covering the entire dish with small pieces of mirrors for even quicker cooking times. Wear welding glases to protect your eyes, and heavy leather gloves to protect your hands when working with solar cookers.

You could also mount a Stirling engine at the focal point of a highly polished dish that tracks the sun, driving a generator to convert sun heat to rotary motion to electrical energy. Add batteries, and a regulator/invertor system and go off the grid if you live in a sunny area. There is a few of these in commercial use at the moment, connected to the grid though; with one 30 foot mirrored dish producing enough electrical energy to supply around 10 North American houses ( I think at least one multi dish system is in Neveda currently but can't find the links right now).

Edit: here is a pic from wikipedia with a commercial Stirling system http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Dish_Stirling_Systems_of_SBP_in_Spain.JPG. This insn't the one I had seen before in the US southwest but it similar.

 

[MikeinBaja]

Yea, a little blood-shot. -
With or without lashes, as you prefer. -

Truth is, nobody will be within 20 feet of it, so you don't need to be that good.
Find a picture in a magazine or on a web site and blow it up.

OK you got me going! I'm thinking one of the old SKY dishes I've got laying around.

If you don't hear anything in a few weeks it means I either chickened out or burned it after!