Painting a Hydra 26

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Raptor72

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I am setting up a RS 170 and would like to paint the light and bracket white to match the stand. Would this void the warranty and if not, would a Krylon type spray work?
 

stacksoner

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I'm not sure about the warranty, but I sprayed my 3 AI Twentysix lights white with Rustoleum High Heat Ultra and they look super fresh. I have a white RS Peninsula 500 and I was super ticked off when it arrived. When it first came out, they didn't disclose the fact that the interior was completely black (as if it wasn't a big deal when you just paid more for the white version). I painted the interior white with Rustoleum Cabinet Transformation paint as well.

Here is the disassembly video for the lights, which makes it super easy to separate the outer shell from the components.
 
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Raptor72

Raptor72

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I'm not sure about the warranty, but I sprayed my 3 AI Twentysix lights white with Rustoleum High Heat Ultra and they look super fresh. I have a white RS Peninsula 500 and I was super ****** off when it arrived. When it first came out, they didn't disclose the fact that the interior was completely black (as if it wasn't a big deal when you just paid more for the white version). I painted the interior white with Rustoleum Cabinet Transformation paint as well.

Here is the disassembly video for the lights, which makes it super easy to separate the outer shell from the components.


Thanks. This helps a bunch.
 

TheHarold

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@Raptor72 painting the light will without a doubt reduce cooling, as you are covering the aluminum fins/heatsink. For that reason I would personally not do it; LED lifespan is defined by how hot they get.
 

stacksoner

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@slewrock1 Any pics of the painted light?

Setting up ATI T5 hybrid as we speak. Here are pics of the caucasians.
20190112_020907.jpg


20190112_020042.jpg

20190112_020656.jpg
 

stacksoner

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@Raptor72 painting the light will without a doubt reduce cooling, as you are covering the aluminum fins/heatsink. For that reason I would personally not do it; LED lifespan is defined by how hot they get.

What evidence do you have to show that metal paint acts as insulation? If paint had any significant impact on thermodynamics, AI wouldn't sell these lights painted in black or white. The fins are a design feature for increased surface area, which aids in heat transfer.
 

TheHarold

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What evidence do you have to show that metal paint acts as insulation? If paint had any significant impact on thermodynamics, AI wouldn't sell these lights painted in black or white. The fins are a design feature for increased surface area, which aids in heat transfer.

I did not claim that it would be a "significant" increase in temperature. Adding another coat of paint on the heatsink- adding ANOTHER insulating layer of paint on top of the aluminum- would be frowned upon in many industries. Look at your computer's internal heatsinks. Or your AC condensor. You dont want to be painting those :). Aluminum's thermal conductivity is the reason it is used as a heatsink, and coating it in paint would decrease the net emissivity. More heat. Reduced LED lifespan. Perhaps by a nominal amount, one would need to look at many more factors to determine significance.
 
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jsker

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Looking at the 52s on BRS, it appears that the light is painted white but the heat sink is left silver. [emoji848]

Yes they are. I have two of the hydra 26 hd's in white.
 

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