Mesh Antenna Repaint ???
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Re: Mesh Antenna Repaint ???
A thin coat of flat (non gloss) paint won't hurt reception but from what i've read it won't help it a whole bunch either, a dish of bare metal would reflect more signal as a rule than a painted one but you need to protect it from rust. If your dish is damaged or badly rusted you want to affect repairs first before painting.
I've read that its best to use a flat or non gloss paint as its said that glossy paint and metallic paints can actually cause stray satellite signals to bounce around and enter the feedhorn causing extra noise and may even damage the LNB if the sun blinds it, not sure if that is true but its what I read somewhere. I also read that you don't want to paint the cap or (scaler ring) around the LNB that faces towards the dish as its said that can hurt reception (reflect signal away from the LNB). Again don't know if that is true but sounds logical.
**** You want to take a garden hose, bucket and dish soap and long broom to scrub and wash the face of the dish, the paint will stick and seal better and last longer if it doesn't have to fight a 20 year layer of dirt and bird poop. Rinse and let dry for a day before painting.
Aerosol paint is going to be a smoother coating than a brushed on paint. I would use spray on cans of ((Krylon brand)) flat black paint (if thats the original color) as Krylon is made to fight rust and most of it can be used without first painting with a primer and you want to have a smooth coat. (Should be able to find Krylon at any hardware store or maybe even a Walmart and they might be cheaper.)
Both spraying and brush on paints - one or two light coats are always better than one thick heavy coat.
Krylon also makes cans of (brush on) paint called "Tough Coat" so if you want to also paint the mounting and pole you might want to do that if rust is an issue.
Good Luck !
I've read that its best to use a flat or non gloss paint as its said that glossy paint and metallic paints can actually cause stray satellite signals to bounce around and enter the feedhorn causing extra noise and may even damage the LNB if the sun blinds it, not sure if that is true but its what I read somewhere. I also read that you don't want to paint the cap or (scaler ring) around the LNB that faces towards the dish as its said that can hurt reception (reflect signal away from the LNB). Again don't know if that is true but sounds logical.
**** You want to take a garden hose, bucket and dish soap and long broom to scrub and wash the face of the dish, the paint will stick and seal better and last longer if it doesn't have to fight a 20 year layer of dirt and bird poop. Rinse and let dry for a day before painting.
Aerosol paint is going to be a smoother coating than a brushed on paint. I would use spray on cans of ((Krylon brand)) flat black paint (if thats the original color) as Krylon is made to fight rust and most of it can be used without first painting with a primer and you want to have a smooth coat. (Should be able to find Krylon at any hardware store or maybe even a Walmart and they might be cheaper.)
Both spraying and brush on paints - one or two light coats are always better than one thick heavy coat.
Krylon also makes cans of (brush on) paint called "Tough Coat" so if you want to also paint the mounting and pole you might want to do that if rust is an issue.
Good Luck !
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Re: Mesh Antenna Repaint ???
I've painted my KU band 1.2 meter dish a few times already and have never noticed any signal degradation.
10' Tek C-band dish, 1.2 meter KU band dish, ASC1 mover, Octagon/Zgemma/Edison dual band STB's. Running OpenPli on all.
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Re: Mesh Antenna Repaint ???
What type paint did you use?
I would point out that its a bit different for small dishes like for (Dishnet or Directv) as they are not mesh and those Ku Satellites transmit their beams at a lot higher power than C-Band Satellites do (for BUD dishes) and small dish Ku satellites run a much smaller more focused beam which is why you cannot keep the signal on a small Ku dish if you bump it like you can when moving or bumping a big Bud C-Band dish with its motor. C-Band Bud is lower power and larger beam thus requiring a large dish.
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Re: Mesh Antenna Repaint ???
Gloss black spray paint works great for our mesh antennas and will make it look like new. The paint will not cause performance issues since the thickness of the layer of paint on the reflector is minuscule and will not absorb much energy.
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http://www.tek2000.com
#1 Supplier of TVRO Satellite Equipment in North America
[email protected]
(I am not on this forum often and don't check forum PMs, so please email me for faster service)
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Re: Mesh Antenna Repaint ???
Thanks for your input. I painted it white last Saturday. It turned out to be my MASTERPIECE. Beautiful. It turned out MUCH BETTER than expected.Captain Ron wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 1:42 amA thin coat of flat (non gloss) paint won't hurt reception but from what i've read it won't help it a whole bunch either, a dish of bare metal would reflect more signal as a rule than a painted one but you need to protect it from rust. If your dish is damaged or badly rusted you want to affect repairs first before painting.
I've read that its best to use a flat or non gloss paint as its said that glossy paint and metallic paints can actually cause stray satellite signals to bounce around and enter the feedhorn causing extra noise and may even damage the LNB if the sun blinds it, not sure if that is true but its what I read somewhere. I also read that you don't want to paint the cap or (scaler ring) around the LNB that faces towards the dish as its said that can hurt reception (reflect signal away from the LNB). Again don't know if that is true but sounds logical.
**** You want to take a garden hose, bucket and dish soap and long broom to scrub and wash the face of the dish, the paint will stick and seal better and last longer if it doesn't have to fight a 20 year layer of dirt and bird poop. Rinse and let dry for a day before painting.
Aerosol paint is going to be a smoother coating than a brushed on paint. I would use spray on cans of ((Krylon brand)) flat black paint (if thats the original color) as Krylon is made to fight rust and most of it can be used without first painting with a primer and you want to have a smooth coat. (Should be able to find Krylon at any hardware store or maybe even a Walmart and they might be cheaper.)
Both spraying and brush on paints - one or two light coats are always better than one thick heavy coat.
Krylon also makes cans of (brush on) paint called "Tough Coat" so if you want to also paint the mounting and pole you might want to do that if rust is an issue.
Good Luck !
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Re: Mesh Antenna Repaint ???
Thanks for your input. I painted it white last Saturday. Beautiful. It turned out MUCH BETTER than expected.
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Re: Mesh Antenna Repaint ???
Thanks for your input. I painted it white last Saturday. It turned out to be my MASTERPIECE. Beautiful. It turned out MUCH BETTER than expected.
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