My Panasonic rx5150

[Plasticity]

Got my first boombox in over 30 years. An rx5150. It was mechanically restored, but I wanted to customize it and touch it up a bit. The original grills are not for me. Customization has begun. I'm going slow, one grill at a time. I'm also touching up the chrome bezels. Looking to paint the rear casing as well, but need advice on paint.

 

[Superduper]

I think I painted case backs with Stone Gray color which was a decent match to many panasonics.

 

[amoorey]

It’s looking great! I’m starting my first project soon, a JVC RC-880. I don’t plan on restoring to mint aesthetic condition but would love to hear what you used and how you did your bezels and paint touch ups.

 

[Plasticity]

It’s looking great! I’m starting my first project soon, a JVC RC-880. I don’t plan on restoring to mint aesthetic condition but would love to hear what you used and how you did your bezels and paint touch ups.

Thank you! I used Krylon Matte Black for the grills. I wanted the chrome to pop and felt there wouldn't be enough contrast if I use a semi gloss. It was a tough choice but I'm now 100 percent sure I choose correctly. As for the bezels, mine were mostly intact but the small flaws and chips bothered me. My solution was using the top rated chrome paint pen I could find. The Zoet Chrome Marker. I'm very happy with those results as well. Of course you can tell up close, but from a couple feet away the effect is fantastic to my eyes.

 

[Plasticity]

I think I painted case backs with Stone Gray color which was a decent match to many panasonics.

Thank you. I'm wondering about how to do it right the first time. Do you use a special primer coat for plastic or anything? I don't want it to chip

 

[Plasticity]

Getting there.

 

[BoomboxLover48]

It would be nice to paint the microphone grills!

I am still waiting to paint 3 of my RX5150s. Need to mask the chrome bezel internal area well before I spray it.

 

[amoorey]

Thank you! I used Krylon Matte Black for the grills. I wanted the chrome to pop and felt there wouldn't be enough contrast if I use a semi gloss. It was a tough choice but I'm now 100 percent sure I choose correctly. As for the bezels, mine were mostly intact but the small flaws and chips bothered me. My solution was using the top rated chrome paint pen I could find. The Zoet Chrome Marker. I'm very happy with those results as well. Of course you can tell up close, but from a couple feet away the effect is fantastic to my eyes.

Thanks!

 

[Tinman]

I doubt you'll have any chipping issues.
I personally like semi gloss but it's an individual choice.
I hit them with fine steel wool then wash/scrub them really well before painting.
I think I agree with Bbl48, the mic grills being black might really set it off.

 

[Plasticity]

I'm absolutely going to paint the mic grills. I'm just going one grill at a time. Really methodical so I don't make a mistake. They'll be done tomorrow morning

 

[Plasticity]

I doubt you'll have any chipping issues.
I personally like semi gloss but it's an individual choice.
I hit them with fine steel wool then wash/scrub them really well before painting.
I think I agree with Bbl48, the mic grills being black might really set it off.

I'm referring to the back casing of the boombox. Should I use a special primer first? It's this awful khaki color now. I want it a nice deep grey

 

[Plasticity]

One thing I'm not happy about is the condition of the door. I really would like one in nicer condition. There's a lot of scratches on it. If anyone has one to sell, I'd really appreciate it

 

[Plasticity]

Done with the mic grills!

 

[Tinman]

I'm referring to the back casing of the boombox. Should I use a special primer first? It's this awful khaki color now. I want it a nice deep grey

You could use an adhesion promoter or primer made for plastics.
There are also paints specifically meant for plastics that would probably work just as well and you could skip the primer step.
Just make sure it's very clean before painting.
A lot of us here use a bath tub for washing the front and rear cabinet pieces.

You should post in the "wanted to buy" forum for the door.
Just beware of replies telling you to contact someone else via text or email, they're almost definitely a scam.

Btw, it looks great.

 

[Plasticity]

You could use an adhesion promoter or primer made for plastics.
There are also paints specifically meant for plastics that would probably work just as well and you could skip the primer step.
Just make sure it's very clean before painting.
A lot of us here use a bath tub for washing the front and rear cabinet pieces.

You should post in the "wanted to buy" forum for the door.
Just beware of replies telling you to contact someone else via text or email, they're almost definitely a scam.

Btw, it looks great.

Thanks! It's all cleaned up, I think I'm going to use a good primer for plastics, so I'll have a wider selection of greys to choose from for the actual paint job

 

[BoomboxLover48]

You could use an adhesion promoter or primer made for plastics.
There are also paints specifically meant for plastics that would probably work just as well and you could skip the primer step.
Just make sure it's very clean before painting.
A lot of us here use a bath tub for washing the front and rear cabinet pieces.

You should post in the "wanted to buy" forum for the door.
Just beware of replies telling you to contact someone else via text or email, they're almost definitely a scam.

Btw, it looks great.

I have made adhesion promoters for automotive car bumpers and all when I was working for Eastman. My formulation was approved by BASF. I formulated all types of coatings from UV, industrial, architectural, powder coatings and so on. (sorry to put my resume here haha!)They are made for solventborne and waterborne coatings. I always could see that the solventborne types gave the best adhesion results. The type of plastics used for boomboxes from the 80s don't need that kind of adhesion and normal solventborne coatings always adhered well. Basically, the solvents used to swell these plastics and gave good adhesion. This is not the case with Thermoplastic Polyolefine (TPO), ABS types and a wide variety of plastics used in the automobile industry.

 

[Superduper]

All I know is that over decades of painting boomboxes, I've never used any adhesion promotors on plastic boombox shells, and have never experienced any hint of adhesion issues. These shells often have textures or very fine detail, and in order to preserve those, thin coatings are best. The more unnecessary coats are applied, the more the texture and detail degrade from the thick coats. All aerosol spray paints I've used have solvents in them and they tend to already etch the plastic for good bond. For myself, I'd likely just continue doing what I've been doing quite successfully.

 

[Plasticity]

I have made adhesion promoters for automotive car bumpers and all when I was working for Eastman. My formulation was approved by BASF. I formulated all types of coatings from UV, industrial, architectural, powder coatings and so on. (sorry to put my resume here haha!)They are made for solventborne and waterborne coatings. I always could see that the waterborne gave the best adhesion results. The type of plastics used for boomboxes from the 80s don't need that kind of adhesion and normal solventborne coatings always adhered well. Basically, the solvents used to swell these plastics and gave good adhesion. This is not the case with Thermoplastic Polyolefine (TPO), ABS types and a wide variety of plastics used in the automobile industry.

So are you saying normal high quality spray paint will do fine? What is considered a "normal soventborne" coating?

 

[BoomboxLover48]

For the type of plastics used in the 1975 to 1988 types of boomboxes you will not need an adhesion promoter. Typical aerosol automobile paints like Dupli-color will work well. Sherwin Williams KRYLON aerosol paints and Rustoleum paints all give good adhesion.
Surface roughness gives better anchoring that help adhesion. There are so many ways to etch the surface for better adhesion with UV radiation.
Aromatic solvents like Xylene and Toluene are better for swelling cheap plastic materials.

Acetone, Toluene, Xylene, n- Butyl Acetate types are normally used in the aerosol cans.

A solvent blend is used in the aerosol cans along with a propellant. The Non-Volatile Mass is very low like 5 to 7%.

 

[BoomboxLover48]

So are you saying normal high quality spray paint will do fine? What is considered a "normal soventborne" coating?

I made a correction: Solventborne gave the best adhesion.