Shielding Copper or Shielding Paint??

[needsmorecowbel]

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"Originally Posted on:Sep 16 2010"

Hey guys I'm finishing up an electric guitar at the moment. And have a few guitars lying around that i should really shield against '!!HUM!!'. Has anyone had any experience with conductive shielding paints or copper tape. I hear the paints don't have a very long shelf life (12 months) and you usually have to buy them in large batches which are in excess of $150. Anyone know of any really good shielding paint or tape brands and where to get it in small batches or cheaply...I imagine Jaycar would have copper tape...I only really need enough for 5 guitars all of which have small cavities except for a strat...

[Nick]

Do a forum search Stuart, I believe this topic popped up not so long ago. The copper sheet/tape is good if your cavities haven't got an odd shape to them, whereas the paint will obviously conform and cover any surface. I haven't come across any problems with regards to shelf life of the paint (it is a carbon based solution which doesn't degrade as far as I know). I use the paint available in smaller quantites from StewMac but if you can find that thread on the forum I believe somebody used a copper based product available from suppliers in OZ?

Hang on, done the hard yards for you viewtopic.php?t=3127

[P Bill]

You can also aluminium tape . Buy it at a smash repair supply for $5 a roll .I found some at my local $2 shop as well. The adhesive is non-conductive , use the copper tape to bridge all the joins. This saves miles of copper.

[Bob Connor]

I've just ordered some of this stuff from Stewmac.
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics ... _Tape.html

Mind you I've got some other bits coming as well.

Not really worth it to order it singularly.

[MattB]

I prefer the silver/copper paint as mentioned in the other thread; but recently I've gained a solid appreciation for the stewmac copper tape - it's great when you need a fast turnaround, or for little fixes, comes out looking good if you take care PLUS you can solder to it really really easily when you need to connect cavities etc.

I'll still reach for the paint first though if time permits, it just takes a few coats over a few days to get perfect.

[Stu]

Hmm, the Stew-mac conductive/shielding paint doesn't or shouldn't have a use by date as it is waterbased .
Once it starts to thicken up, you add water to thin down to your desired flow.

I've had the same big can for a few years and stir it up and mix it to the desired flow out each time. If the can isn't sealed properly, it'll thicken up on you pretty quickly.

The paint is much easier to use, at least for what I do.

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