Anyone painted a metal whip?

I bought a Wilson Short Load to replace the completely un-stealth 5' whip. It's an improvement, but I think it would look better if it was painted black. If anyone has done this, care to offer any tips?

Specifically..

- Preparation before painting
- Primer?
- Type of paint

And also, how to keep the little vinyl cap at the end on. It came with two. I put one on before I drove to work tonight and it's already gone with the wind - literally. :rolleyes:

I also thought of just forgetting the paint and using some long sections of black heat shrink tubing. I don't even know where to buy it that long or if it would be a good idea...

I painted the whip on a scanner antenna black. I got some very fine grit (don't know the number) sandpaper and gave it a couple minutes worth of light sanding to prep it. Wiped it clean with a clean, dry cloth. Then I sprayed it very lightly with Rust-Oleum metal paint until it was completely covered. Let it get tacky dry, then did another touch-up coat. I haven't had it crack or chip off. It's held quite well. Your results may vary.

Sounds like a plan. :thumb2:

I painted my maxrad black. I just wiped it down with some paint thinner and shot it with some rustoleum.

Been using the very same Wilson short load

Wilson Antenna - Short Load Adapter

on my Wilson 5000 for almost 4 years, why would you like to paint it, black or whatever, is not that it comes in red or white or yellow, but hey, maybe I don't care much about the color of a freaking short load antenna:laugh:

And never had any issues with that little vinyl cap, over 200,000 miles with the short load including in areas with lots of small trees, luckily the short load is very flexible, never broke at all and never lost that little cap, I think it's for stopping getting more static, if you lose it just replace it with anything similar you might have in the house or I guess you can find at any Home Depot or Lowe's store.

Chris

I'll bet a black whip would look good supercowpowers.

I got it painted yesterday. Yes, it looked good, but I still have to sort of start over again...

One of the reasons I got the short load was that I figured a shorter antenna would have less leverage, less wind load, and less weight so it wouldn't stress the mount and the roof as much. Turns out that the short load just uses thick single-width whips that aren't as flexible or light as the tapered stock whip that becomes thinner near the top, so it actually felt heavier at the coil than the 5' whip. :rolleyes:

I had a spare stock whip so I cut, off the top of it, a piece equal in length to the top part of the short load, and another piece a few inches longer than the bottom part of the short load to provide some ability to tune it. Now it's lighter and at least as flexible as the stock whip (because it is one), but I still need to tune it, paint it, and check the SWR again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RoadWarrior

why would you like to paint it, black or whatever, is not that it comes in red or white or yellow, but hey, maybe I don't care much about the color of a freaking short load antenna:laugh:

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Because everyone seems to notice an antenna on the roof. Little kids, passing motorists, even the security guards at work. :angry: Black is less conspicuous. Also, the coil and the little matching thingy in the middle is black, so it looks better if everything is black.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by supercowpowers

Because everyone seems to notice an antenna on the roof. Little kids, passing motorists, even the security guards at work. :angry: Black is less conspicuous. Also, the coil and the little matching thingy in the middle is black, so it looks better if everything is black.

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Holy crap, why are you so fearful man, for God's sake it's just a freaking antenna, whatever:confused::rolleyes:

When people see my antenna, a fully visible camcorder inside the car, GPS on the dashboard, limo tint everywhere except the windshield, got many times this one: are you a private eye, or bounty hunter, or undercover cop? I just :) and ;) and let them know to stay safe and careful out there, the more I'm different than the freaking majority the better I feel, of course nobody knows about my super stealth STI install;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RoadWarrior/RW

Quote:

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Originally Posted by supercowpowers

Because everyone seems to notice an antenna on the roof. Little kids, passing motorists, even the security guards at work. :angry: Black is less conspicuous. Also, the coil and the little matching thingy in the middle is black, so it looks better if everything is black.

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Holy crap, why are you so fearful man, for God's sake it's just a freaking antenna, whatever:confused::rolleyes:
...
the more I'm different than the freaking majority the better I feel

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I've always been an anonymous sort of person. Especially when it comes to equipment that aids in me committing (let's be honest here) illegal activity.

Well I had to put it back together again with the actual short load whips. Even though I cut the bottom part a few inches longer than the original short load's, it still tuned too high. I would have had to cut a new piece off of the thicker, less flexible part of the spare stock whip and it would have ended up only about a foot shorter than the stock whip anyway.

No pictures now because it's too bright out.