Safe to spray paint the casing of a CRT TV

bigjimmyauk · 2 Jan 2012 at 13:03

Well weird one but my room is pretty much all black stuff. I recently got myself a CRT TV to use my gamecube, N64 and other old consoles on. Only problem is it's silver and it's driving me mad mad not being black.

Could i spray the casing black if so is there anything i need to be careful of or any particular paint i need to use. I imagine the casing gets warms so don't want to use the wrong paint and it to crack.

I was thinking a rub down with some 320G paper , i few light coats of flexible undercoat then maybe auto paint on top. I'm after a mid sheen finish somewhere between matt and gloss.

Any advice would be great as I've sprayed my aluminium speakers and they turned out great but a little dubious about doing the CRT.

Ricochet J · 2 Jan 2012 at 13:11

If you're so OCD and want everything black then do a proper job man.

Unscrew the TV, take the casings apart, paint the bits you want to paint, and assemble once everything is dry. Just don't faff about covering bits in newspaper, just get the job done and do it properly.

Why anyone would want to spray paint a CRT TV is bizzare.

Jay794 · 2 Jan 2012 at 13:13

....Just exchange it for a black one?

Deleted member 77746 · 2 Jan 2012 at 13:19

lmao @ this post.

Hades · 2 Jan 2012 at 13:22

And here was me thinking I was the only one who actually still used a CRT.

As above, to do a proper job, you should remove the case, spray it and reassemble. However be aware that the capacitors in a CRT hold a (potentially deadly) charge for up to 24 hours after it is unplugged. So unplug it and leave it a day.

bigjimmyauk · 2 Jan 2012 at 13:24

Ricochet J said:
If you're so OCD and want everything black then do a proper job man.

Unscrew the TV, take the casings apart, paint the bits you want to paint, and assemble once everything is dry. Just don't faff about covering bits in newspaper, just get the job done and do it properly.

Why anyone would want to spray paint a CRT TV is bizzare.

Cause everything in this room is black and then there is some chunky 26 in CRT tv in SILVER damaging my eyes. LOL

i did plan to strip the casings off

I gave my x box to my daughter because it was white and looked stoopid next to my black desk,monitor,haf x , keyboard mouse etc etc . You get the idea

bigjimmyauk · 2 Jan 2012 at 13:25

Hades said:
And here was me thinking I was the only one who actually still used a CRT.

As above, to do a proper job, you should remove the case, spray it and reassemble. However be aware that the capacitors in a CRT hold a (potentially deadly) charge for up to 24 hours after it is unplugged. So unplug it and leave it a day.

Cheers for that my dad did mention it some years ago to me when he was fixing a TV totally forgot about that :eek:

BTW you can't beat a CRT for authentic old school console gaming the N64 on my 42in LCD looks ridiculous but on the CRT it's just how i remember it. Still love playing goldeneye,mario kart, and ocarina of time and majoras mask

J.B · 2 Jan 2012 at 13:25

Hades said:
However be aware that the capacitors in a CRT hold a (potentially deadly) charge for up to 24 hours after it is unplugged. So unplug it and leave it a day.

This is what I came in to say

bigjimmyauk · 2 Jan 2012 at 13:29

J.B said:
This is what I came in to say

Thanks again, i will unplug it and put the heater on in the garage and do it in there out the way of the kids. Last thing i want is one of my litte ones to get electrocuted.

Any ideas on what paint i should use for the top coat.

i think i still have a few tins of flexible primer/undercoat

Hades · 2 Jan 2012 at 13:33

I can't really help with which proper paint but maybe have a go with Plastidip? There's a thread on here somewhere where loads of people tried it on things and it worked out great. I think it's a kind of plastic/rubber coating which is resilient when dry but can also be peeled off if it goes wrong and looks pants.

K.C. Leblanc · 2 Jan 2012 at 14:17

If you keep your eyes open it probably won't take very long to find a black CRT telly for sales for next to nothing.

Usel · 2 Jan 2012 at 14:44

Back in the day I had a 21" CRT Sony monitor. Was white so sprayed it black. I used plasticote rattle cans, 3 coats of black and then 2 coats of clear. Don't use the clear laquer as it was pants. It had a good finish lasted me 5 years till I upgraded.

C.R.A.Z.Y · 2 Jan 2012 at 14:52

Hades said:
However be aware that the capacitors in a CRT hold a (potentially deadly) charge for up to 24 hours after it is unplugged. So unplug it and leave it a day.

NOT true unless you have a very dodgy heart!
Agree the voltage in a CRT (approx 48kV) is pretty high however the current is very low so although it will bite hard and wake you up rapidly it won't last long and will unlikely do any long term damage. (Basically it will feel like a very short burst from low power stun gun / taser
Also these high voltages in CRT are only present on the output of the flyback to the CRT anode.

"andy" · 2 Jan 2012 at 15:04

CRT shock certainly gets the adrenaline pumping.

id just use plasticoat . it will do the job fine and its easy to get hold off(everywhere that sells DIY stuff usually has it)

OpenToSuggestions · 2 Jan 2012 at 15:07

Don't spray the TV, just buy a new one.
You can get a cheap LCD TV that is much better than a CRT TV for £200.
I use my PS2 and Gamecube on my 47 inch TV and they really don't look too bad. The gamecube scaled quite well actually.

:(Rhodri:) · 2 Jan 2012 at 15:11

Hades said:
And here was me thinking I was the only one who actually still used a CRT.

As above, to do a proper job, you should remove the case, spray it and reassemble. However be aware that the capacitors in a CRT hold a (potentially deadly) charge for up to 24 hours after it is unplugged. So unplug it and leave it a day.

I've always just discharged them using a resistor and crocodile clips on the cap, then checked it using a rubber handled screwdriver across the pins. Much faster and I feel safer knowing I've manually checked it's empty.

Flibster · 2 Jan 2012 at 15:13

Hades said:
And here was me thinking I was the only one who actually still used a CRT.

As above, to do a proper job, you should remove the case, spray it and reassemble. However be aware that the capacitors in a CRT hold a (potentially deadly) charge for up to 24 hours after it is unplugged. So unplug it and leave it a day.

I still use CRT monitors. Now running 3 24" Sony FW900's - still nothing touches them.

Rozzy85 · 2 Jan 2012 at 15:27

You could always use Insulating Varnishes which basically works the same as spray paint only that it's safe to use on electrical components. It's typically used to insulate motor and transformer windings. However it might be difficult to get a hold of.

QlimaxUK · 2 Jan 2012 at 15:34

Aod · 2 Jan 2012 at 15:55

C.R.A.Z.Y said:
NOT true unless you have a very dodgy heart!
Agree the voltage in a CRT (approx 48kV) is pretty high however the current is very low so although it will bite hard and wake you up rapidly it won't last long and will unlikely do any long term damage. (Basically it will feel like a very short burst from low power stun gun / taser
Also these high voltages in CRT are only present on the output of the flyback to the CRT anode.

WRONG!

The HV caps that feed the accelerator can easily deliver more than enough current to kill you stone dead in the blink of an eye.

Newer devices with better caps can hold their charge for several months. my recommendation is to unplug it while it's displaying to allow the caps to (somewhat) discharge at the time of unplugging.

Rhodri2311 said:
I've always just discharged them using a resistor and crocodile clips on the cap, then checked it using a rubber handled screwdriver across the pins. Much faster and I feel safer knowing I've manually checked it's empty.

Very good way of going about it. using something like a 50kOhm 5W resistor would be ideal