To paint my Conion 100s or not - need opinions

[m40dotcom]

So....
I just painted my first box ever. Of course I was a bit nervous, knowing that I rarely take the time to do any project correctly and mess it up only cause I try to get it all done too fast. So I took my time looking for paints and trying to do things right, and nervously painted the first back half of one. I loved the look of the newly painted one as it previous was just gross with overall discolor and staining, etc. Now it looks like new. The color seems to be as close as I'll get after a few auto stores and a huge hobby shop (FYI Japanese paint is very limited now because of Tsunami). Maybe a slight shade lighter than orig, but it's hard to know cause my only reference the inside and battery cover that seems to not discolor, but they are still 30 years old so maybe they were a bit lighter to begin with.

What I'm wondering is what everyone's opinion is on where the line is at keeping things original even if it's just a bit discolored, or if you can do it right, paint it and make that thing shine like new. I have a 2nd and 3rd one that have less discoloration and staining, but still when next to the painted one, they look like poo. Does painting them and not being 'original' make them less desirable and/or worth less? Or does making them look like new, despite being 'not orig paint' actually improve them to collectors. Looks alone it's no question of course.

The before and after of the painted case... (no, I didn't have the battery cover on during painting/drying, and yes the label is still masked with tape in pic)

The next in line that I'm really feeling like I want to paint now. Don't feel it's 'needed', but man it looks like dirt compared to the fresh one.

 

[Fatdog]

A "Full Patron" and a good scrub brush will clean up that second one.

 

[blu_fuz]

The only reason I would paint the second one is because the feet are broken. It is your chance to plastic weld and create new feet on it, fill, and sand them. Then throw the paint on that one. If the feet were OK, then I would leave it.

Sure, we all like "original" boxes but sometimes after 30 years of grime/discolor it needs to be freshened up. Just like cars

 

[baddboybill]

Lookin real nice, Melly can give excellent pointers. The Black Crown 950 he painted that I have, looks like it was suppose to look that way

 

[m40dotcom]

blu - How would you go about doing new legs? I'd love to do that, and I know the hobby shop down the street had sheets of plastic, just not sure if they are hard as the plastic on the case/legs. I haven't asked them for different options, but is that how you'd do new legs? Cut from new plastic, melt them together just with the plastic adhering and no glue needed. Then as you say, sand and paint? I'm sure this technique is described elsewhere on the board. I'll look further for it later today.

 

[blu_fuz]

Checkout youtube for ideas how to repair plastic

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

This is something that has been on my mind for some time....I have thought about it and here are my thoughts.

In the realm of any collectible a perfect survivor will always bring the highest value

A top Notch professional restoration will be a close second

If your planning / worrying about resale do the best job you can OR leave it alone.

With all that said....I'D PAINT IT!

Why not have a REALLY nice radio for you to enjoy? Worrying about resale on a stained up, broken footed, worn out radio just seems silly. Clean her, Paint her, Enjoy her! It's your radio after all....

I bet after your done and she is looking GREAT your going to be so pleased with your efforts that all those questions will just fade away!

I want to build a TRC-920 shelf queen. Do a repaint and make her look the best she can....I'll always have my 920 Trash Blaster that will be in my hand, but it would be nice to have a REALLY nice one for display. Of course I'm not thinking about resale!

 

[Reli]

I would say that a highly skilled paint job will, or at least SHOULD, increase a box's value. As long as you use a color that is similar or better than original. For example, maybe use titanium silver instead of regular silver.

And anything is an improvement over the shitty beige/tan backsides that many boxes have.

Paint in that era was horrible anyway. You can always improve on it.

In short, boomboxes are not Mona Lisas or 1957 Ferraris......nobody cares if your box is all-original or not.

 

[blu_fuz]

I would say that a highly skilled paint job will, or at least SHOULD, increase a box's value. As long as you use a color that is similar or better than original. For example, maybe use titanium silver instead of regular silver.

And anything is an improvement over the shitty beige/tan backsides that many boxes have.

Paint in that era was horrible anyway. You can always improve on it.

In short, boomboxes are not Mona Lisas or 1957 Ferraris......nobody cares if your box is all-original or not.

I have to agree and disagree here.......

1. Using a color that is "better" than the original is not something that you want to do if you are trying to keep it looking original. Use as close to original unless you are going custom.
2. Ton's of people care if a box they are purchasing is all original or not, BUT when it comes to YOUR boombox, do what you want!

 

[m40dotcom]

Thanks for all the responses. And yes, I'm more doing it for myself than worrying about any resale. Just was wondering if the time came where I 'had' to sell ones, what the thoughts were. Like mentioned, if the painting is done right, I think it should only improve it on a whole. Ya know, like putting in bad ass LED's in a M70 Having a few of the same model would be the only reason I'd see myself selling one. But when that model is a C100 of AKA, I still might have a hard time giving one up. I mean you need one in every room if you can right?

Now on to the top/sides where it's even a bit trickier to match. I haven't seen any thread or mention of someone finding a good paint for repainting a C100 to as close to original as possible. If someone knows the paint, please share asap before I run through 5-6 more cans just to test.

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

I mean you need one in every room if you can right?

EXACTLY!

 

[baddboybill]

sorry dude

 

[Superduper]

A great looking original is hard to beat. But when a box is sorta trashy to begin with, a skilled repainting in any tasteful color is always going to be a big improvement, both in terms of your own appreciation and how you feel about the box, and well as how much kudos and praise you'll get from others.

As for resale, let's just say that a skillfully and tastefully done job will not hurt the value of a trashy original. And before you think that you can fix up a trashy looking box to minty original.... forget it. When it's trashy, it's not just the paint. The body will have nicks, scratches, chips, cracks, engravings, etc. The trim will have scrapes, scuffs, scraches, nicks, gouges, kinks, dings, dents, corossion, rust, and probably 18 other things I missed. The antenna bosses are probably chewed up and the antenna retainers are probably gone. The legs are likely chipped, chunked, or shark bitten. So once again, when it's trashed, it will NEVER again rise to the value of a true minty unblemished original so you can't compare to that. But a nicely refreshed example compared to a worn trashy original -- I'll take the cleaned and freshened one every time. I will say this however........ if a box is painted in a amateurish manner, that sale will get laughed at, ridiculed and criticized here, so either do a good job or leave it alone.

 

[m40dotcom]

Totally. Cleaning up a heavy discolored box leaves you with a clean heavy discolored box, which the fresh nicely done OG paint looks much better than.

 

[Reli]

Plus, beige colored paint? I see no value in that. Any box with a beige colored backside should be re-painted silver or black, IMO. Your photo #2 looks WAY better than photo #1.