Machining a new aluminum chassis for a music streamer build. Finished coating opinion??

[Tipton1965]

My plan with this chassis was to have a polished aluminum finish on the front bezel and a combo polished/brushed finish on other areas. I got half way into this and made the mistake of stopping by a local powder coating company and looking over their color selections. Powder coating has come a long way. They had a wheel on display that was powder coated lollipop red over a metallic aluminum powder. It was really nice....see pic below. It made me think about staying with the polished aluminum front bezel but having the remainder of the chassis powder coated this lollipop red. What do you think? Thus far I only have the front bezel and one of the side pieces finished. So there is a time investment already paid for but man that lollipop red looks really cool. Opinions? Thanks!

 

[Tipton1965]

Something similar to this look.

 

[ddillman]

Nice color

 

[francist]

I think some of what makes those wheels so appealing is that there’s a whole lot of really sensuous curves and shapes that make the coating take on different values and depth. A flat surface may not give as much intrigue, but I still think it would look pretty killer. I think a lot of people are afraid to use colour, even just in combination, so if you’re getting the feeling you want it red then I say do it!

 

[C-Bag]

I think some of what makes those wheels so appealing is that there’s a whole lot of really sensuous curves and shapes that make the coating take on different values and depth. A flat surface may not give as much intrigue, but I still think it would look pretty killer. I think a lot of people are afraid to use colour, even just in combination, so if you’re getting the feeling you want it red then I say do it!

You are right about the curves but the other factor is the base finish and a luminescent powder coat. They are semi clear so the shine of the metal comes through. If you don’t have super shiny base metal it has no depth.

 

[ConValSam]

Case work looks fantastic already!

I'd vote for natural with red like the Rogers phono preamp. Yours will end up even nicer because the flutes in the aluminum will add depth to the color that a sheet metal case can't achieve.

Curious, what kind of streamer are you building?

 

[Navy Chief]

You are right about the curves but the other factor is the base finish and a luminescent powder coat. They are semi clear so the shine of the metal comes through. If you don’t have super shiny base metal it has no depth.

Some of the clear over polished aluminum powder coats are amazing looking.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Tipton1965]

Case work looks fantastic already!

I'd vote for natural with red like the Rogers phono preamp. Yours will end up even nicer because the flutes in the aluminum will add depth to the color that a sheet metal case can't achieve.

Curious, what kind of streamer are you building?

Thanks for the compliment!
The streamer is being built around a Raspberry Pi 4B. It will use an Allo Boss 2 DAC which I dissected from their player since that's the only way to buy the Boss 2 right now. It will have a built in Linear power supply and will be running pi core player with everything being displayed on the built in 5" touch screen.

 

[Tipton1965]

You are right about the curves but the other factor is the base finish and a luminescent powder coat. They are semi clear so the shine of the metal comes through. If you don’t have super shiny base metal it has no depth.

Right....the color on the wheel has an aluminum base coat but they can use a super chrome first then the red to make more of an anodized look.

 

[Tipton1965]

Some of the clear over polished aluminum powder coats are amazing looking.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

Do you mean they use a polished aluminum powder and then clear it? Or do you mean clear powder coat over a hand rubbed polished aluminum like I have on my front bezel?