Hi I have multiple scopes and my other two are red cats so the ZWO red color on their cameras and asi air and EAF match the scopes however, I just bought a FLT 120 and its space gray and I wanted to pair it with a asi 585mm pro but I want it to match the color. Does anyone have a suggestion to painting the camera and accessories? I know it sounds crazy but I want it all to match I think it will look cool.
Paint job on ZWO camera
The surface is anodized aluminum. It's not easy to paint. You'll need to use an etching primer first. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend it.
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I would use a reflective tape instead.
Why not wrap it in vinyl car wrap film? You can buy small sheets of vinyl in any color on Amazon. Easy to install by stretching with a heat gun. After that you can pop the holes for airflow for the cooling fan. When you come to sell it you can remove the wrap and it should look like new.
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I have painted a bunch of my astronomy gear black, anodized some stuff, and my scope is also wrapped in matte black automotive wrap. I'm dedicated to the villain arc, I guess. Here's the three options I've been down:
- Disassemble it and send it to an anodizing shop to have the old coating removed and a new one put on. This is the most durable of the three options. Most shops charge per part, but they have a minimum price, so you might as well get multiple things anodized to hit that minimum (if you also want your guide camera anodized or whatever).
- Disassemble it, roughen up the surface with some coarse scotchbrite or sandpaper, thoroughly clean it with acetone, spray with 1-2 coats etching primer, 1-2 coats regular primer (if your etching primer calls for it), then 2-3 top coats. Make sure to do light coats each time and to let it fully dry between coats. This is what I did for my Falcon v2 rotator and my two EAFs:
- Automotive wrap is really nice, reasonably durable and, importantly: removable. But cutting clean edges is more or less impossible. Automotive wrap shops get around this by tucking the edges in behind body panels. With a ZWO camera, I don't think you have this option. I wrapped my (formerly white) Esprit 100 ED in automotive wrap:
Spray paint will scratch and chip away, so don't use this method on anything that gets touched. I am sending in my EAF to get anodized soon because it protrudes from my scope and gets scuffed up as a result and looks ratty now.
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Spending almost 42 years in the aircraft industry, I can tell you what most people don't know. If an aluminum part needs to be painted, it gets Anodized or Alodined first.
If you look at anodized aluminum under a microscope, it looks like it's covered in crystals, this gives the paint something to hold onto, but you need to be carful using the
right paint, and a very thin coat.
If you look at anodized aluminum under a microscope, it looks like it's covered in crystals, this gives the paint something to hold onto, but you need to be carful using the
right paint, and a very thin coat.
Helpful Concise
+1 vote for vinyl wrap…
Dissassembling and anodising would be my second and final choice for anything that could potentially misalign the optical axis.
I know how its cool to have a full matchy-matchy rig, but honestly, I feel like its incredibly unnecessary and you're wasting time and money doing it, not to mention, any permanent (non vinyl wrap) solution is GOING to hurt your resale value when you decide to change equipment in the future - and as someone who's been playing with telescopes for nearly 20 years, trust me, you are going to go through a lot of cameras, scopes, mounts, autofocus solutions etc…
I would/have attempted to buy colour matched equipment in the past and it certainly looks impressive, but I currently have a blue camera, red focuser, white scope with gold trimmings on a silver mount with a black control computer, and a grey mini router… It looks like an absolute circus, but it performs and that's really all that matters.
I would stick to vinyl wrap myself, if nothing else, because it's reversible.
Dissassembling and anodising would be my second and final choice for anything that could potentially misalign the optical axis.
I know how its cool to have a full matchy-matchy rig, but honestly, I feel like its incredibly unnecessary and you're wasting time and money doing it, not to mention, any permanent (non vinyl wrap) solution is GOING to hurt your resale value when you decide to change equipment in the future - and as someone who's been playing with telescopes for nearly 20 years, trust me, you are going to go through a lot of cameras, scopes, mounts, autofocus solutions etc…
I would/have attempted to buy colour matched equipment in the past and it certainly looks impressive, but I currently have a blue camera, red focuser, white scope with gold trimmings on a silver mount with a black control computer, and a grey mini router… It looks like an absolute circus, but it performs and that's really all that matters.
I would stick to vinyl wrap myself, if nothing else, because it's reversible.
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Another solution is to design and 3D print an enclosure for the camera.
I had to do that for my 585MC Pro: https://app.astrobin.com/u/macmade?i=jety17#gallery
Since you have the same model, you may download the files and have them printed.
You can choose any color you want or paint the enclosure yourself.
I had to do that for my 585MC Pro: https://app.astrobin.com/u/macmade?i=jety17#gallery
Since you have the same model, you may download the files and have them printed.
You can choose any color you want or paint the enclosure yourself.
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Noah Tingey:
I have painted a bunch of my astronomy gear black, anodized some stuff, and my scope is also wrapped in matte black automotive wrap. I'm dedicated to the villain arc, I guess. Here's the three options I've been down:
- Disassemble it and send it to an anodizing shop to have the old coating removed and a new one put on. This is the most durable of the three options. Most shops charge per part, but they have a minimum price, so you might as well get multiple things anodized to hit that minimum (if you also want your guide camera anodized or whatever).
- Disassemble it, roughen up the surface with some coarse scotchbrite or sandpaper, thoroughly clean it with acetone, spray with 1-2 coats etching primer, 1-2 coats regular primer (if your etching primer calls for it), then 2-3 top coats. Make sure to do light coats each time and to let it fully dry between coats. This is what I did for my Falcon v2 rotator and my two EAFs:
- Automotive wrap is really nice, reasonably durable and, importantly: removable. But cutting clean edges is more or less impossible. Automotive wrap shops get around this by tucking the edges in behind body panels. With a ZWO camera, I don't think you have this option. I wrapped my (formerly white) Esprit 100 ED in automotive wrap:
Seeing how anything goes, can I just say that your Benchmade is very slick looking too.
I would worry with any wrap or even paint over the anodized aluminum would have a small impact on the thermal performance. While the majority of the heat is removed by the fins/fan, I'm sure some is lost through the body.
I'm on the no-mods camp because I only care about performance and I don't want to hit resale value. Of course, I do the same with cars…no-mods camp. Call me boring
I'm on the no-mods camp because I only care about performance and I don't want to hit resale value. Of course, I do the same with cars…no-mods camp. Call me boring
70mm Petzval or 110mm triplet?
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