RUSTING DISH

[gallen]

I've just moved into a new house and I see the powder coating is coming off the satelite dish and it's rusting. The rust seems to be superficial. Can anyone think of a reason why I can't stabilise the rust and paint the dish?
I'm a historian and not technically minded, so I would really appreciate some advice.
Thanks!

 

[demon angel]

Welcome to the forum Gallen.
You can in fact treat the rust and paint the dish unless its eaten through the dish.
Avoid
glossy, shiny or metallic paints. Using these can mess up your dish's ability to work properly. The best kind of paint to use is an outdoor paint with a matte finish, similar paint for a car.
Good luck and do not mess up the dish's satellite alignment[LNB] otherwise you will battle to get a decent signal.

 

[EchoZA]

Matte outdoor paint, preferably one with a dimpled finish.

 

[gallen]

Thanks VERY much for the advice!

 

[ponder]

Have it plastic bead blasted and respray with anti-corosive base coat followed by matt paint.

 

[Sackboy]

Matte outdoor paint, preferably one with a dimpled finish.

Why a dimpled finish. You want the surface to reflect radio waves?

 

[Imoe]

Just buy a new dish, I thinks it will be cheaper in the long run

 

[BLIXEMPIE]

Ya. Dishes, without the LNB (eye) are very cheap to pick up. May be even cheaper than the rust treatment and paint.

 

[BTTB]

I replaced the old Dish with a fibreglass one, took all the bolts and nuts off and swapped what I could with stainless steel.

 

[Palimino]

Why a dimpled finish. You want the surface to reflect radio waves?

I thought this too. Your RF will reflect all over the place instead of at the focal point.

 

[kayvee]

The RF reflects off the metal of the dish, not the paint, it goes straight through it.

 

[Palimino]

The RF reflects off the metal of the dish, not the paint, it goes straight through it.

I disagree. Someone even recommended a fibre-glass dish. The geometry of the dish is critical and precise. Not the material (presumably it should reflect RF). All paints have some metal content (even if they are not metallic). A dimpled paint-job will degrade the signal by random reflections. A non-dimpled paint will be parallel to the surface of the dish. Even if it reflects, it will parallel the function of the dish. The dish is only intended to gather the RF and focus (condense) it onto a point. The bigger the dish, the more imprecise you can be about aiming it and the more robust the signal is to wind etc. Geometry is important. Low quality control in dish manufacture or a bumpy dish (dimpled paint) degrades the signal.

 

[Quantum Theory]

Fibre dishes have a metal mesh inside to reflect the waves, because they pass through the fibre or SMC.

http://www.visiosat.com/home/decouvrez_visiosat/fab_etape3.php

I think they will pass through most paints too...

 

[gallen]

Thank you very much, everyone!

 

[Sackboy]

I disagree. Someone even recommended a fibre-glass dish. The geometry of the dish is critical and precise. Not the material (presumably it should reflect RF). All paints have some metal content (even if they are not metallic). A dimpled paint-job will degrade the signal by random reflections. A non-dimpled paint will be parallel to the surface of the dish. Even if it reflects, it will parallel the function of the dish. The dish is only intended to gather the RF and focus (condense) it onto a point. The bigger the dish, the more imprecise you can be about aiming it and the more robust the signal is to wind etc. Geometry is important. Low quality control in dish manufacture or a bumpy dish (dimpled paint) degrades the signal.

Fibre keeps it's shape better and can be produced more accurately they say. I don't know about metal in all paint. That might have been so long ago.

I would get a big new dish and some good cable. When it rains he will appreciate it.

 

[Palimino]

Fibre keeps it's shape better and can be produced more accurately they say. I don't know about metal in all paint. That might have been so long ago.

I would get a big new dish and some good cable. When it rains he will appreciate it.

The issue is with dimpled paint. If you use non-dimpled paint, it doesn’t matter if it has metal content or not. Any old paint lying around in the garage, of unknown provenance, will do. The dish is not big, so the remains of paint in a tin from years ago (as long as it’s still liquid), will be enough to paint it.