Solar Parabolic Mirror Direct TV Dish Satellite Concave Mirror

Follow up Direct TV Satellite dish conversion to solar. This is another option to the adhesive material. It takes some time but the results are promising for a Solar Parabolic Reflector.

[GREENPOWERSCIENCE]

Was a test of attention. You are the second person who noticed throughout the video:-)

Good Job.

Every notices the end only.

[GREENPOWERSCIENCE]

The mirrored film is great and highly recommended especially because we sell some on our website:-) But, some people want other options. If they have the time and equipment stripping and buffing is an option. I think the tape is much faster and produces the same results. I have 3 hours invested in this project and only half way done. The tape only took 45 minutes from sanding to taping. Most powder coats are chemical resistant, so heat is the new approach. Using a Fresnel Lens.

[Jory]

Hi dan,
we polish metals all day long where I work. I would say go with the initial grit of paper you used already to strip the paint, then "step up" your grit progressively to 500, then 1000 using an orbital sander. the compound and buffing wheel will knock out the 1000 grit swirls from the sander. I know that sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but its what we use to polish all the motor parts of Harley Davidson. We also use it for Ford, GM, and Dodge side steps (running boards)

[Nanan]

* I have used this several times to polish Aluminum car parts such as valve covers, heads, blocks, transmissions etc.

The oven cleaner also works well for stripping Anodized coatings on aluminum. This was discovered when I was trying to strip the black coating off of an R/C 10T frame which I later polished.

Once done with the polish I would suggest using Mothers Mag aluminum wheel polish and sealer to help cut down on the oxidization that will occur on the raw aluminum surface.

[webberman]

I stripped a 36 inch dish using Rust-oleum "AIRCRAFT REMOVER" bought at Autozone for $7.99. The results were an extremely clean removal of the baked on finish. It's an 18 oz. can and took about half a can to strip the dish. Once saturated and after about 15 minutes the finish came off as a single sheet leaving bare metal, which had a flecked finish like normal sheet metal. I don't have a buffer to use, but had some "Never Dull" cleaner, used mainly for polishing Mag Wheels which works well.

[Trunkneck]

The BEST thing aI found for metal striping when you do not want abrasions, as in your case as you said you made more work for yourself with the grinder is naval jelly. Will strip it all off very fast with no scratches and very little effort at all, almost melts off.

[GREENPOWERSCIENCE]

I just added a link to the more info area. fresnel Lens will do the trick fast.

[piwright]

If you are on a budget you can use Scotch Brite green pads and Mothers Mag Polish, those and some elbow grease can get pretty close to a mirror finish on aluminum. That was how we used to polish our aluminum motorcycle frames. Takes allot of work to get through the powder coat though.

[ARMOROID]

Those 1000b unit dishes are cool for this, but a better dish to use is the big oval shaped Superpro series that were used for aditional channels. instead of being round they are a curved oval and thus concentrate a larger surface to the focal point. It was so much more effective that the dishes actually corroded the "EYEBALL" reciever more than a regular dish. They would cloud up the plastic cover because it basicly cooked em'.
Used to be a field tech.

[MinTrinidad]

Dan!!! This was on a Mythbusters episode(either first season ep 3-4). Very simple, Cola and foil paper. Pour the cola on and rub it in with a ball of foil paper.

[GREENPOWERSCIENCE]

I added a link under the more info area

[ARMOROID]

Hey, heres a tip for folks. Right now for the last year or so, Dish network has been upgrading their old Superpro dishes and a few smaller older products to a more standardized unit. They are taking lots of old dishes down and chucking them. After installing new produce they bring back the old material. Give them a call and they will give you one for free.
Also the coating on the surface of those model 1000b single eye units like that is a powdercoat. It has reflective qualities for their use

[jadesharpe]

Hello Dan, This is Lloyd from greenenergyconcepts. chemical strippers can sometimes remove some of the paint from the satellite dish and you have to still sand it. what I have done with my first dish is go from 80 grit to 3000 grit wet sand then different metal polishes to achieve a mirror finish.

[Robert]

Brasso works real good for polishing metals, and even plastics. In ROTC and the military, it's what we used to polish all our metals - belt buckles, insigneas, etc.

[jmincher]

Character limit....

Heat is a bad idea. Aluminum is extremely thermally conductive & has a low elastic limit. You will probably permanently deform the dish long before the finish comes off.

This is my first post, so....great projects! Keep up the good work :)!

[ARMOROID]

The best way to get the coating off is to use a power wire stripper first to cut off the powder and primercoat. Then use a buffer and a polishing agent.
After getting a super shine going on treat the surface with a coating to protect it from oxidising, or it won't stay shiney for long. Carnuba works well.

[thomasreddick]

try using the works toilet bowl cleaner at dollar general to take off the paint on the dish. use gloves and respirator for fumes and leave on for no more than 5 mins at a time.. love the vids...

[ytobe]

The information is good. The only comment I have is for you to work on the lighting of the video.

[dryairsystems]

Dan,
You can buy a kit from Walters abrasives for $100.00 that fits grinders /buffer that will bring that up to 98% in about fifteen minutes.
Check with your local Welding Distributor.
The kit is amazing.

[jmincher]

I've been hunting some forums, and the most cost-effective and widely suggested solution I've found is aircraft stripper, available at an auto parts store. I can't vouch for it's effectiveness, as I haven't tried it, but it's probably cheap enough to experiment with. If that doesn't work, peruse automotive forum for methods of removing powder from Al rims (where I found this). They discussion typically avoid abrading & heating, and lean towards chemical treatments.