Another Ultimax Stand Question

[UltraBeat Entertainment]

At the moment I'm trying to do the little things to tidy up my setup before i start investing again and its time to give my stand abit of well earned attention.

Question 1:
The base part of my stand is coated in a black protective paint that after the years is now starting to come off is there anyway i can just get some paint and repaint the stand to make it look all shiny and new again well giving it back its protective layer?

Question 2:
I'm on a mission to find a way of hiding all those dam cables trailing up my stand and along the crossbar. So i was thinking the thing that makes them stand out so much is the silver crossbar along with the black cables. Could i paint the crossbar and upright parts of my stand so the black cables can hide behind them without looking out of place. It would also help hide my black Velcro cable ties.

Has anybody ever done either of these? If so have you got any pictures of your handy work so i can get some ideas.

As noted before I'm no handy Andy when it come to DIY so nothing to challenging please.

Thanks in advance:)

[djsteve10]

To make the stand look like it's new again maybe get a tin of Hammerite paint or if you really want to go full on with it take the whole stand to a local powder coating centre and get it done.

[UltraBeat Entertainment]

if you really want to go full on with it take the whole stand to a local powder coating centre and get it done.

I was afraid you would say that:(

So what paint should i use?:)

[ppentertainments]

I would avoid touching the upright poles as the paint / powder coating will quickly wear off with use.

[djsteve10]

I would avoid touching the upright poles as the paint / powder coating will quickly wear off with use.

I just meant the base stand not the uprights or the top bars.

[UltraBeat Entertainment]

As you have said not to paint the lighting bar is there any other way i can use them to help hide the cables? how do you hide the cables going up and down to your lighting bar?

[JAMdisco]

As you have said not to paint the lighting bar is there any other way i can use them to help hide the cables? how do you hide the cables going up and down to your lighting bar?

You could always buy different coloured cables - not ideal but do-able. They come in all sorts of colours now - can probably even get silver ones if you do a google search.

The other option is to get something to route them in, i.e. a length of u-shaped angle iron (or similar).
Depending on how many cables you have, you can get cable-tidy strips like you can use for compuer wires or tv wires. You'll probably only get 2 or 3 cables in though.

The last option (I can think of) is to make a loom (presuming you use the same cables at every gig) and either tape them all together or use cable ties at small intervals.

[pagan_flame]

Take the lot to a powder coater in January after the Xmas season, and have all of it black.

I've got to wire my overhead bar, but won't need it until November though; I will be putting a 6 way extension up there and running the IEC leads from that along some U-shaped trunking (old rope light routing!) to hard wire it all in there, just one power lead to run down an upright and secure behind.

Switching on and off is achieved with remote control sockets if too high up to reach.

[UltraBeat Entertainment]

Take the lot to a powder coater in January after the Xmas season, and have all of it black.

I've got to wire my overhead bar, but won't need it until November though; I will be putting a 6 way extension up there and running the IEC leads from that along some U-shaped trunking (old rope light routing!) to hard wire it all in there, just one power lead to run down an upright and secure behind.

Switching on and off is achieved with remote control sockets if too high up to reach.

How much did that cost to get done?

I won't to stay away from prewiring my bar as i keep changing what i put on it and where everything goes.

[pagan_flame]

How much did that cost to get done?Don't know, I haven't done it yet... :D

Find your local firm, call them up and ask them how much for bead blasting and powder coating.

[Vectis]

Have you considered the PowerLite bar? Recently obsoleted by Ultimax but there are still some around if you look.

I liberally spread switched and unswitched mains IEC sockets along it along with several DMX and 6.5mm Jack "patch looms" to act as passthru along the length of the bar.

Input to the bar arrives via a single Bulgin plug, a single DMX feed and a single CA8 feed - so just 3 wires up the silver pole - easy to hide and then tied with 2 or 3 clear releasable cable ties. Very neat & tidy solution - and really quick to rig/de-rig. Bought a dozen 50cm IEC pre-moulded extension leads (about £1 each) and each effect is linked to a socket just above it.

At ground level the Bulgin is split off into 3 separate branches - one is permanent power (up to 10A) and the other two are switched (up to 5A each) allowing for non-DMX effects such as lasers and mood bar etc. to be hung.

I'm well happy with mine :beer1: Only took an afternoon out in the shed with a drill, hacksaw and a couple of files to do the machining (although you can splash out on an IEC-shaped punch if you prefer) then a couple of hours soldering up, heatshrinking and PAT testing.

I think mine has about 20 IEC outlets along its length and sufficient patching for about 12 effects. I regularly change my gear around and as yet I've not found a combination that wasn't provisioned for.

[Excalibur]

Have you considered the PowerLite bar? Recently obsoleted by Ultimax but there are still some around if you look.

I liberally spread switched and unswitched mains IEC sockets along it along with several DMX and 6.5mm Jack "patch looms" to act as passthru along the length of the bar.

Input to the bar arrives via a single Bulgin plug, a single DMX feed and a single CA8 feed - so just 3 wires up the silver pole - easy to hide and then tied with 2 or 3 clear releasable cable ties. Very neat & tidy solution - and really quick to rig/de-rig. Bought a dozen 50cm IEC pre-moulded extension leads (about £1 each) and each effect is linked to a socket just above it.

At ground level the Bulgin is split off into 3 separate branches - one is permanent power (up to 10A) and the other two are switched (up to 5A each) allowing for non-DMX effects such as lasers and mood bar etc. to be hung.

I'm well happy with mine :beer1: Only took an afternoon out in the shed with a drill, hacksaw and a couple of files to do the machining (although you can splash out on an IEC-shaped punch if you prefer) then a couple of hours soldering up, heatshrinking and PAT testing.

I think mine has about 20 IEC outlets along its length and sufficient patching for about 12 effects. I regularly change my gear around and as yet I've not found a combination that wasn't provisioned for.

Something along those lines is on the cards for my gear, though with a greater DIY input. ;)
Powder coating is the best option, but if it has to be paint for cost reaons, then Smoothrite is what you want. It's a smooth Hammerite. ;) :D If you're going to give it two coats, put the second one on while the first one is still just tacky. Don't paint it all at once, if possible try a discreet bit to see if it keys on OK.

[UltraBeat Entertainment]

Don't know, I haven't done it yet... :D

Find your local firm, call them up and ask them how much for bead blasting and powder coating.

I wouldn't even know where to find by nearest shop. It's not something I've ever looked for myself.

The DIY idea is good but if possible i don't want to alter the bar in anyway (e.g drilling or cutting) and i want to keep it as simple as possible.

I was thinking if theres no way of hiding the cables would it be safe to cover them up? I was thinking would it be safe to create a cover to go over the pole and cables? Maybe a piece of material similar to star cloth with Velcro to keep it in place.

[Vectis]

How about making up a loom with IEC plugs at regular intervals, say 50cm, and then use short extensions (50cm, 75cm, 100cm) to bridge any gaps? Should cater for virtually any configuration. Then you'll have a nice pre-tied tidy 'snake' to tiewrap to the upright rather than lots of individual cables. At ground level you can either have them individually switched for StL effects or combine all into a single 'permanent' feed.

Alternatively what about one of the "Show Director" type products or a DMX Dimmer box? Then you'll just have the one power and one control cable going up the pole?

[pagan_flame]

I wouldn't even know where to find by nearest shop. It's not something I've ever looked for myself.

Don't you have Google in Bristol? :D

http://www.onlinecoating.co.uk/

http://www.abcenamelling.co.uk/

http://www.bristolmotorcyclepowdercoating.co.uk/