My PFB moment...

nooshinjohn

Well guys, I finally had a PFB moment I will not soon forget. We have been struggling with cell reception here at the house for some time, so I finally got a signal enhancer from our service provider and set about plugging it into our network. I set everything up and it worked well.

The device was placed on top of our fireplace mantle as it needs to be up high to function correctly. While we were asleep, the cat and dog decide to chase one another around the house, and one of them gets tangled up in one of the cords, pulling the device off the mantle.... and onto one of my amps!

I lost a couple tubes, which were easy to replace, but the transformer cover will need to be repainted by a local body shop. I will lose the inscription Bob signed on the back, but thank god I built them as strong as I did or the damage would have been much worse. It does not show in the picture very well, but there are two small dents in the cover, otherwise I would just buff this out, because the damage never got through the clear coat....

F1nut

Ouch!

jbooker82

I would probably just clean them up as best as you could and keep the Carver inscription rather than loose it in the repainting.

headrott

Sorry about the accident John.

tonyb

Sorry to hear that John.

See, Emo Kitty strikes again. Dogs are good judges of character, and yours just happened to see right threw that Emo kitty pretending to be a regular house cat.

boston1450

Hopefully a easy repair. Things just happen. Even when trying to avoid

newbie308

I hear that cat skin transformer covers are the next big thing! Just a thought!

EndersShadow

John, here's the important question...

You had both a cat and a dog when this happened. Do you still have a cat and a dog, or is one of them MIA all of a sudden

Speedskater

Anyway a brick fireplace mantle is a poor place for a signal booster. High frequency radio waves struggle to get through thick brick walls.

drumminman

jbooker82 wrote: »

I would probably just clean them up as best as you could and keep the Carver inscription rather than loose it in the repainting.

^^^ Seconded - with the clear coat intact a little dent or two + Bob's sig gives it character.

tonyb

I don't know guys, John and Bob Carver hook up every Sunday to take in an afternoon show, share a bucket of popcorn. It would be easy for him to get another sig.

newbie308

All kidding aside. I think that a professional auto detailer could fill the nicks with paint (hopefully you have some left over from the build) and buff it out so that the scratches would be tough to see without close up inspection. They use a single hair brush to fill small scratches. They build it up a little at a time until they have enough material to match the thickness of the original paint. Then they wet sand with 1000 grit followed by a buffing process. The dent may be popped out to some extent as well using paintless dent removal methods. I had this detail work done to my truck, and the results were fantastic! Door dings were gone, and many of the nicks, scratches, and chips were not detectable.

codyc1ark

newbie308 wrote: »

All kidding aside. I think that a professional auto detailer could fill the nicks with paint (hopefully you have some left over from the build) and buff it out so that the scratches would be tough to see without close up inspection. They use a single hair brush to fill small scratches. They build it up a little at a time until they have enough material to match the thickness of the original paint. Then they wet sand with 1000 grit followed by a buffing process. The dent may be popped out to some extent as well using paintless dent removal methods. I had this detail work done to my truck, and the results were fantastic! Door dings were gone, and many of the nicks, scratches, and chips were not detectable.

+1 If not this they may be able to do a partial paint, and either burn in the clear at one of the curves or just clear over the sig. I'll think you should be able to save the sig one way or another...

tonyb

Maybe it's an opportunity to customize even more. How about a nice piece of cherry wood on the top with the word "Carver" burnt into the wood.

nooshinjohn

tonyb wrote: »

Maybe it's an opportunity to customize even more. How about a nice piece of cherry wood on the top with the word "Carver" burnt into the wood.

Ummmm... No, but thanks for the suggestion.

Two estimates so far put the price at 400.00 to repaint. At this time , not really an option. Paintless dent removal is also out due to the thickness of the material. I am thinking about using a two tone approach that would use a contrast color on the tops of both covers. This was I don't have to rework the whole thing, but any descision made will be a ways off and done with extreme caution.

tonyb

Ok, big guy....another idea. Have someone airbrush your favorite album cover on the top. Now that might look cool.

EndersShadow

tonyb wrote: »

Ok, big guy....another idea. Have someone airbrush your favorite album cover on the top. Now that might look cool.

How about a portrait of Bob Carver instead .... that would make it even better....

Besides the album cover for "Whenever You Need Somebody" by Rick Astley wouldn't look good, nor would "Playing with Fire" by Kevin Federline

newbie308

nooshinjohn wrote: »

Ummmm... No, but thanks for the suggestion.

Two estimates so far put the price at 400.00 to repaint. At this time , not really an option. Paintless dent removal is also out due to the thickness of the material. I am thinking about using a two tone approach that would use a contrast color on the tops of both covers. This was I don't have to rework the whole thing, but any descision made will be a ways off and done with extreme caution.

$400 for a repaint is just crazy! I had my whole truck detailed as described for just under $200 and that included steam cleaning the interior! This should be less than $100 (IMHO) based on my experience with detailers. Prices like $400 are "We aren't interested" numbers! Keep looking, and you will find someone who needs and wants the work.

nooshinjohn

The cover is in the shop now.... after careful consideration, I have decided to restore it, and if it needs to be sent to Bob for a new signature, so be it. I have way too much blood, sweat and tears in these amps to NOT get it fixed. The shop that does the work for my dealership is going to do it for the princely sum of pay the painter a hundred bucks and a 12 pack of Corona and all is good.

I compare this to finally getting your dream muscle-car fully restored and some kid dings the door with his bicycle or something. On the surface, you would try and be cool, but inside every time you look at that spot, it would drive you nuts. I get it back in a week.

treitz3

Shoot, I would have just put a potted plant on it to cover it up.

Tom

newbie308

nooshinjohn wrote: »

The cover is in the shop now.... after careful consideration, I have decided to restore it, and if it needs to be sent to Bob for a new signature, so be it. I have way too much blood, sweat and tears in these amps to NOT get it fixed. The shop that does the work for my dealership is going to do it for the princely sum of pay the painter a hundred bucks and a 12 pack of Corona and all is good.

I compare this to finally getting your dream muscle-car fully restored and some kid dings the door with his bicycle or something. On the surface, you would try and be cool, but inside every time you look at that spot, it would drive you nuts. I get it back in a week.

That is awesome! Definitely the right decision. I'd hate to see you settle, knowing that it was not right.

You should send the other cover, too! This way the painter can compare his results to the original. The paint appears to be a metallic finish, and as such, it matters how it is applied for the metallic flakes to reflect in the same direction. If it is not applied the same, it may appear lighter or darker as compared to the original paint job. Good luck!

nooshinjohn

Great news... I made the right call in getting the cover fixed. The shop expertly matched the color so that even I cannot tell what was original and what was not. They were able to use the curves on the front and back to feather the new paint into the original color, as well as perfectly match the mica content of the paint and the way it lays down so light refraction is an exact match.

The best part is the original signature and pinstripe are untouched!

Will post a pick or two before I put the cover back on.

newbie308

That is great! Now you need a way to keep it from happening again! Cat repellent?

EndersShadow

newbie308 wrote: »

That is great! Now you need a way to keep it from happening again! Cat repellent?

No cat.... or no dog.... whichever you love more

cnh

No pets here, boys! No worries, no duties, no walking anything, no feeding, no cleaning up after, no accidents. PRICELESS!

I must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed today because every post I've made is that of a crotchety old man?

cnh

tonyb

cnh wrote: »

I must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed today because every post I've made is that of a crotchety old man?

cnh

Know what ? Your allowed my friend. God knows I have those days too and more than I care to admit.

I guess John is now an official member of the PFB fan club. A t-shirt John, is right up your alley. Put in your order and color preferences early, I have a feeling they'll sell like hotcakes.

boston1450

cnh wrote: »

No pets here, boys! No worries, no duties, no walking anything, no feeding, no cleaning up after, no accidents. PRICELESS!

I must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed today because every post I've made is that of a crotchety old man?

cnh

now that there is funny ROLMAO. Carry on. Glad you were able to save the signature

nooshinjohn

tonyb wrote: »

Know what ? Your allowed my friend. God knows I have those days too and more than I care to admit.

I guess John is now an official member of the PFB fan club. A t-shirt John, is right up your alley. Put in your order and color preferences early, I have a feeling they'll sell like hotcakes.

I was going to join actually until I found out I would have to dress like Elton John for the annual PFB weenie roasts...

soundfreak1

Just courious, where is that cat now??? The dogs stomach perhaps!

tonyb

The cat was shipped off to Lightman's new pad.....apparently he eats these things.

treitz3

So let me get this straight. You are saying that Lightman eats pus...?

Tom