La Scala Splits

[the real Duke Spinner]

On 9/7/2022 at 9:33 PM, MookieStl said:

i doubt cast aluminum would polish up. Kinda like the corner pieces of the trim. 

You can be the first to try it and report back, but I doubt you will like the look. Also getting deep into the horn would be a challenge. You can see how much of my paint was gone after the power wash. What was underneath wasn't pretty.

Any aluminum can be polished

[Khornukopia]

On 9/7/2022 at 7:49 PM, nickyboy6100 said:

spray paint... A little tip. Hook a shop vac to the driver end of the horn and you will get coverage all the way to the back of the horn throat. 2 light coats is all it took.

 

Really good advice!

[MookieStl]

10 hours ago, the real Duke Spinner said:

Any aluminum can be polished

Point was the cast alum used in the horns will not polish up to look good. You can polish your little guts out. I process hundreds of tons of aluminum every year. 

[the real Duke Spinner]

8 hours ago, MookieStl said:

Point was the cast alum used in the horns will not polish up to look good. You can polish your little guts out. I process hundreds of tons of aluminum every year. 

I polish tons of aluminum ... 

Every year. 🙄what makes this different ?

[CWOReilly]

4 hours ago, the real Duke Spinner said:

I polish tons of aluminum ... 

Every year. 🙄what makes this different ?

That’s what I wanna know. 

[MookieStl]

You are right, cast aluminum will polish up. I have seen some nice looking auto parts. My point was the horns (in my experience) will not. Not sure if it is the type of aluminum used or the process.  I had a member here bring a couple k400s to  my shop to run through my paint booth. They had casting ridges in the throat of the horn possibly from the mold being made in sections. We worked like the devil grinding them down and sanding etc. The metal never looked "polished" and the tight access was a pain. I also refurbished a pair of HIPs and the extruded aluminum angle polished up nicely and the cast corners did not. There are many alloys with varying degrees of Magnesium etc. That may play a role. I predominately use 6062 or 6063 which is good for extrusions which is what we buy. Normally tempered to T6 and it will polish up. By all means give it a try. I hope it works out for you. 

[the real Duke Spinner]

1 hour ago, CWOReilly said:

That’s what I wanna know. 

Porosity ??

[CWOReilly]

5 minutes ago, MookieStl said:

You are right, cast aluminum will polish up. I have seen some nice looking auto parts. My point was the horns (in my experience) will not. Not sure if it is the type of aluminum used or the process.  I had a member here bring a couple k400s to  my shop to run through my paint booth. They had casting ridges in the throat of the horn possibly from the mold being made in sections. We worked like the devil grinding them down and sanding etc. The metal never looked "polished" and the tight access was a pain. I also refurbished a pair of HIPs and the extruded aluminum angle polished up nicely and the cast corners did not. There are many alloys with varying degrees of Magnesium etc. That may play a role. I predominately use 6062 or 6063 which is good for extrusions which is what we buy. Normally tempered to T6 and it will polish up. By all means give it a try. I hope it works out for you. 

That’s what I wanted when I first asked months ago. I knew someone had to have tried. Thanks for that! Certainly makes me reconsider my initial plan. 

[CWOReilly]

8 minutes ago, the real Duke Spinner said:

Porosity ??

Maybe. I think @MookieStl is probably correct that the mix in the alloy is the factor. Magnesium has more porosity and would change the characteristics of the aluminum. 

[OO1]

 It's not an Aluminium-Magnesium alloy ,   the corners of the klipsch metal trim  are made from zink pot metal  , they cannot be polished like extruded aluminium , and they wont anodize either , the only way to refresh these is by  Electroless nickel-phosphorous  plating  and it 's very expensive .

[CWOReilly]

4 minutes ago, OO1 said:

 It's not an Aluminium-Magnesium alloy ,   the corners of the klipsch metal trim  are made from zink pot metal  , they cannot be polished like extruded aluminium , and they wont anodize either , the only way to refresh these is by  Electroless nickel-phosphorous  plating  and it 's very expensive .

But what about the horns?

[OO1]

4 minutes ago, CWOReilly said:

But what about the horns?

Aluminium alloy 

[CWOReilly]

1 minute ago, OO1 said:

Aluminium alloy 

Any clue to the mix?

[OO1]

no 

[MookieStl]

Just for giggles, I was going to try a little elbow grease on a couple K700s I have laying around (that may end up being a lamp someday). But after inspecting them, I do not think they are the same type of alloy as the K400. Much smoother, less porous (to the eye). Not sure it would be apples to apples. Maybe try a small area on the outside of the horn??!!

[geoff.]

Yes!

 

”Test in an inconspicuous area.”

[OO1]

...........

[billybob]

23 hours ago, CWOReilly said:

Maybe. I think @MookieStl is probably correct that the mix in the alloy is the factor. Magnesium has more porosity and would change the characteristics of the aluminum. 

Those look good as is. Not everyone wants a shiny car bumper chrome look on ProLS.

[CWOReilly]

5 hours ago, billybob said:

Those look good as is. Not everyone wants a shiny car bumper chrome look on ProLS.

Mine need some TLC already. Probably will go the patina route since my trim is pretty beat. Although a ”silver” horn would probably look pretty good in them. IMO. 

[chassell]

15 hours ago, CWOReilly said:

 Although a ”silver” horn would probably look pretty good in them. IMO. 

I thought so, too. The aluminum SMAHL definitely does. I picked up a can of "chrome" colored rattlecan paint to test. It doesn't look like chrome, but it does look like the original color of the corner bumpers @OO1 mentioned above so I used it to paint the ones on mine...they're not going to be be touring anymore so paint is fine, looks great and is waaay cheaper than nickel plating. I ended up doing my horns flat black and am quite happy with that.