Can i paint the b5

Applications
#1

We have a number of B5s mounted in trees and on the side of buildings. Although the finish on a B5 is beautifully crafted and is very shiny, it is also stark white. When you mount them in a tree or on a dark building, they are very visible. We have been trying to find a way to hide them.

We bit the bullet and have painted a pair of B5s and they seem to work fine.

Does anyone have any thoughts as to best practices when this is done? Is this okay? Is there a better paint to use? Does Mimosa take colored orders? :wink: Does the paint reduce the distance the link will perform or does it somehow disperse the signal so that it not optimized?

Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

C

#2

It won’t hurt anything so long as you don’t use a paint containing metallic compounds. The vast majority don’t, and those that do tend to be either metallic in color or white, neither of which I suspect you want.

Krylon has a series of spray paints designed for plastics. Rustoleum has a line of camouflage colors that also work very well.

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#3

Personally I have multiple Mimosa radios that have been spray-painted and work fine. I usually go with Hunt Club green for trees and foliage. Blends right in!

But as Jacob mentions, do not use paint with metallic flakes in it.

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#4

Thank you both. We have been using just the plain flat brown/green rattle can paints. We don’t know all of the ingredients but think they don’t have metal in them. We’re thinking they’re mostly acrylic plastic resins, etc.

We’ll have to keep our artistic flare in check and stay away from the shiny chrome metallic colors in the future. Kind of defeats the purpose anyway. :wink:

Thanks again,

C

#5

Mimosa has stated in their support pages that, painting, while probably not detrimental to the equipment does void the warranty.

http://backhaul.help.mimosa.co/backhaul-faq-can-the-b5-be-painted

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#6

Thanks for calling that out, William. I’m pretty lenient on when folks paint their equipment.

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#7

Ya, as long as you are careful when painting and you use the proper paint I would think there really shouldn’t be a problem.

But then again, it’s probably better to warn against it.

Still, I thought it was funny when you did that Solar Link where you were dealing with shooting over water and the video showed the equipment painted.

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#8

You can use vinyl film. It has not metal and can be easily removed:
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/graphics-signage-us/1080-wrap-film-series/

https://www.plasti-dip.es/

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#9

Thank you again for the info.

C