How to "Re-Finish" your Silver APC H10 or H15 without voiding coverage - Blu-ray Forum

DeadDog · 09-01-2009, 04:50 AM

Like many people on this forum I took advantage of the great deals the APC power conditioners. I picked up a H10 for the low price of just $74 from TigerDirect on Ebay. The only problem was that the silver finish doesn't go well with my other black components.

A lot of people on the forum have painted their units with really good results. My issue with that was that I didn't want to have an issue with filing a clam with APC if the unit ever failed and I lost my equipment. They offer a $500,000 protection policy and I find that to be more important than painting it black. So I figured out how to still "re-finish" my unit in a way that if anything ever happened I could simply remove the new finish and no-one's the wiser

I attached some before and after pics and explained what I did below. I figured some other users might find this helpful.

I started by following directions online on how to remove the front faceplate and top cover. I didn't worry about the sides as they would be hard to do with all the air vents, plus it really isn't that noticeable left silver.

I decided to use Black Vinyl Adhesive that I purchased at Michaels Craft Store. It is very similar to electrical tape in color and texture and pulls off easily and cleanly (if for some reason it lives a little sticky residue a little goo-gone or similar cleaner will easily remove it, but I don't anticipate that happening). This pack came with 2 - 12"x24" sheets and was the brand CriCut. This was more than enough for the parts I covered.

I cleaned the surfaces and cut out enough of the adhesive to adequately cover the part I was working with. If you have ever done anything like this you know that getting it smooth with no air bubbles is VERY difficult. It does pull off and repositon just fine though if you need to start over or fix a mistake. I worked slow and steady starting with one edge and applying it while making sure airbubbles weren't appearing.

Once I had the front covered the REALLY tricky part became apparent, I had to remove the excess around the edges and center. I didn't just cut out the hole for the center. I removed some excess leaving enough to fold over onto the back side. I always left extra vinyl to overlap all the way around the edges and onto the back side. This way it made a nice surface. The really tight corners were hard to get clean but enough smoothing and trimming made it work. Take your time with this as it will make the difference between a messy finish and a nice one.

When it came to covering the top I found that the textured surface posed a little issue with the adhesive not really sticking to well. It stuck well enough but not as secure as the front panel. It wasn't a huge issure for me as it is below my receiver so nothing would be noticable anyway. It still worked but required a little extra overlaping on the back of the panel to keep it really secure so keep that in mind.

Finished product in place! If for some reason this unit ever fails (knock-on-wood) I will be able to send my silver unit in for warranty! The surface is easily removeable.

Hopefully someone finds this useful and I will gladly answer any questions anyone may have.

Jwilly019 · 09-01-2009, 05:31 AM

Awesome Job!

One question though: how did you get cut out the APC logo?

DeadDog · 09-01-2009, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jwilly019

Awesome Job!

One question though: how did you get cut out the APC logo?

Thanks,

The logo will come out/off the front panel. I very carefully pulled it out moving very slowly as to not break the logo. It logo has three plastic "legs" that are inserted into the front panel. You have to be careful to not break anything but if you move slow enough and with a lot of care it pulls right out.

BluBrown · 09-01-2009, 01:01 PM

That looks GREAT! Nicely done...

uniquetreatone · 09-01-2009, 03:06 PM

Nice! I should try this on my silver cable box.

aramis109 · 09-01-2009, 03:37 PM

This question may be answered in your pictures (which unfortunatly are blocked at work) but how did you work with the ventilation holes? I hope you didn't just cover them up!

As I always do when the APC warranty is mentioned- a big

to APC and the warranty. Definitely make sure you don't void it as they are very strict on what you do and how you use the APC, but their process is very fair.

DeadDog · 09-01-2009, 05:26 PM

No, I didn't cover the holes on the side. Infact I didn't even cover the sides. The ventilation holes would be tricky to work around anyway plus you can't really see the side when it's on the shelf so I just left them alone. I just covered the front and top.

seigneur_rayden · 09-01-2009, 05:52 PM

Excellent job. I'll try to do that on my H15. Thanks.

Drew664 · 09-01-2009, 09:56 PM

Looks great from a distance, but does it look cheesy or modded up close?

aramis109 · 09-01-2009, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeadDog

No, I didn't cover the holes on the side. Infact I didn't even cover the sides. The ventilation holes would be tricky to work around anyway plus you can't really see the side when it's on the shelf so I just left them alone. I just covered the front and top.

Ah, I see that now that I'm home. Looks nice. I have an open cabinet so that wouldn't work for me, but I ended up with a black one anyway.

Uniquely · 09-01-2009, 10:59 PM

Very nicely done!

DeadDog · 09-02-2009, 03:29 AM

Thanks everyone, I'm really happy with it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drew664

Looks great from a distance, but does it look cheesy or modded up close?

No, I'll try to post some more close-up shots tomorrow. If it looked bad I wouldn't have posted it on this forums for other people to do if they want

.

I really took a lot of care doing it so it came out nice. If someone were to do a quick slap on job then it would probably look bad.

ZedsDead · 09-02-2009, 03:32 AM

Nice work DeadDog, I might give this a shot for myself.

crazyBLUE · 09-02-2009, 03:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeadDog

Thanks everyone, I'm really happy with it.

No, I'll try to post some more close-up shots tomorrow. If it looked bad I wouldn't have posted it on this forums for other people to do if they want

.

I really took a lot of care doing it so it came out nice. If someone where to do a quick slap on job then it would probably look bad.

That look's really good DeadDog !Excellent Job, From the pics you cant tell its the same conditioner !

BluBrown · 09-04-2009, 10:14 PM

Do you happen to have a link you could post for those instructions you found online for removing the faceplate?

DeadDog · 09-05-2009, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BluBrown

Do you happen to have a link you could post for those instructions you found online for removing the faceplate?

Here you go. This is exactly what I did and it worked great.

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showpos...9&postcount=83

BluBrown · 09-05-2009, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeadDog

Here you go. This is exactly what I did and it worked great.

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showpos...9&postcount=83

RIGHT ON!

Thanks man, I just ordered a silver H-10 and I'll be re-finishing it right out of the box.

jruc03 · 09-15-2009, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeadDog

Here you go. This is exactly what I did and it worked great.

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showpos...9&postcount=83

Good job on the APC I just purchased a H10 today and will be doing this as soon as I get it as all of my equipment is black as well. I'm not sure if my results will turn out as good as yours seeing as how I can never get those darn cell phone protectors on my phone without bubbles much less a whole surge protector.

DeadDog · 09-16-2009, 02:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jruc03

Good job on the APC I just purchased a H10 today and will be doing this as soon as I get it as all of my equipment is black as well. I'm not sure if my results will turn out as good as yours seeing as how I can never get those darn cell phone protectors on my phone without bubbles much less a whole surge protector.

Thanks, the only advice I can give you is to be patient. I honestly thought that it wasn't going to work when I first started. It just seemed to difficult to get it smooth. However I HAVE to finish what I start so I was just extremely persistant and with a little time it worked out great.

Good luck and I hope it turns out well for you

.

syncguy · 09-16-2009, 10:55 AM

It looks really good. The black finish is much better than the silver original. Good work... My only concern is the heat. Black absorbs heat while silver transmits heat. Did you notice any difference in that regard?

09-01-2009, 04:50 AM	#1
DeadDog Power Member Top contributor Member since:Jul 2008 Home Theater Gallery:12 Blu-ray collection:355 Digital collection:96 iTunes collection:125 Trading Score:360	How to "Re-Finish" your Silver APC H10 or H15 without voiding coverage Like many people on this forum I took advantage of the great deals the APC power conditioners. I picked up a H10 for the low price of just $74 from TigerDirect on Ebay. The only problem was that the silver finish doesn't go well with my other black components. A lot of people on the forum have painted their units with really good results. My issue with that was that I didn't want to have an issue with filing a clam with APC if the unit ever failed and I lost my equipment. They offer a $500,000 protection policy and I find that to be more important than painting it black. So I figured out how to still "re-finish" my unit in a way that if anything ever happened I could simply remove the new finish and no-one's the wiser I attached some before and after pics and explained what I did below. I figured some other users might find this helpful. I started by following directions online on how to remove the front faceplate and top cover. I didn't worry about the sides as they would be hard to do with all the air vents, plus it really isn't that noticeable left silver. I decided to use Black Vinyl Adhesive that I purchased at Michaels Craft Store. It is very similar to electrical tape in color and texture and pulls off easily and cleanly (if for some reason it lives a little sticky residue a little goo-gone or similar cleaner will easily remove it, but I don't anticipate that happening). This pack came with 2 - 12"x24" sheets and was the brand CriCut. This was more than enough for the parts I covered. I cleaned the surfaces and cut out enough of the adhesive to adequately cover the part I was working with. If you have ever done anything like this you know that getting it smooth with no air bubbles is VERY difficult. It does pull off and repositon just fine though if you need to start over or fix a mistake. I worked slow and steady starting with one edge and applying it while making sure airbubbles weren't appearing. Once I had the front covered the REALLY tricky part became apparent, I had to remove the excess around the edges and center. I didn't just cut out the hole for the center. I removed some excess leaving enough to fold over onto the back side. I always left extra vinyl to overlap all the way around the edges and onto the back side. This way it made a nice surface. The really tight corners were hard to get clean but enough smoothing and trimming made it work. Take your time with this as it will make the difference between a messy finish and a nice one. When it came to covering the top I found that the textured surface posed a little issue with the adhesive not really sticking to well. It stuck well enough but not as secure as the front panel. It wasn't a huge issure for me as it is below my receiver so nothing would be noticable anyway. It still worked but required a little extra overlaping on the back of the panel to keep it really secure so keep that in mind. Finished product in place! If for some reason this unit ever fails (knock-on-wood) I will be able to send my silver unit in for warranty! The surface is easily removeable. Hopefully someone finds this useful and I will gladly answer any questions anyone may have.

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09-01-2009, 05:31 AM	#2
Jwilly019 Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Oct 2008 Location:Columbus, OH Blu-ray collection:192 Trading Score:9	Awesome Job! One question though: how did you get cut out the APC logo?

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BluBrown Power Member Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Feeling Minnesota! Home Theater Gallery:15 4K collection:50 Blu-ray collection:1201 DVD collection:56 Blu-ray reviews:15 Trading Score:14	That looks GREAT! Nicely done...

09-01-2009, 03:06 PM	#5
uniquetreatone Active Member Member since:Dec 2007 Location:N.Y. Blu-ray collection:560	Nice! I should try this on my silver cable box.

09-01-2009, 03:37 PM	#6
aramis109 Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Mar 2008 Location:Milwaukee, WI Home Theater Gallery:10 4K collection:4 Blu-ray collection:360 Trading Score:18	This question may be answered in your pictures (which unfortunatly are blocked at work) but how did you work with the ventilation holes? I hope you didn't just cover them up! As I always do when the APC warranty is mentioned- a big to APC and the warranty. Definitely make sure you don't void it as they are very strict on what you do and how you use the APC, but their process is very fair.

09-01-2009, 05:26 PM	#7
DeadDog Power Member Top contributor Member since:Jul 2008 Home Theater Gallery:12 Blu-ray collection:355 Digital collection:96 iTunes collection:125 Trading Score:360	No, I didn't cover the holes on the side. Infact I didn't even cover the sides. The ventilation holes would be tricky to work around anyway plus you can't really see the side when it's on the shelf so I just left them alone. I just covered the front and top.

09-01-2009, 05:52 PM	#8
seigneur_rayden Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Feb 2008 Blu-ray collection:1097 Blu-ray reviews: 12	Excellent job. I'll try to do that on my H15. Thanks.

09-01-2009, 09:56 PM	#9
Drew664 Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Oct 2007 Location:South Dakota Home Theater Gallery:28 Blu-ray collection:68	Looks great from a distance, but does it look cheesy or modded up close?

09-01-2009, 10:59 PM	#11
Uniquely Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Sep 2008 Location:Mobile, AL Home Theater Gallery:14 Blu-ray collection:171	Very nicely done!

09-02-2009, 03:32 AM	#13
ZedsDead Senior Member Member since:Jul 2009 Home Theater Gallery:28 Blu-ray collection:94	Nice work DeadDog, I might give this a shot for myself.

09-04-2009, 10:14 PM	#15
BluBrown Power Member Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Feeling Minnesota! Home Theater Gallery:15 4K collection:50 Blu-ray collection:1201 DVD collection:56 Blu-ray reviews:15 Trading Score:14	Do you happen to have a link you could post for those instructions you found online for removing the faceplate?

09-16-2009, 10:55 AM	#20
syncguy Blu-ray Guru Member since:Mar 2008	It looks really good. The black finish is much better than the silver original. Good work... My only concern is the heat. Black absorbs heat while silver transmits heat. Did you notice any difference in that regard?

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