Copper Foil or Conductive Paint?

[BassicJohn]

Which do you think is better for shielding and why?

[Phalex]

They both work. You can solder on copper foil, and you can't solder to paint.

Foil.

[napalmito]

My choice is copper foil, 'cause there's no waiting for it to dry, no need to cover the paint before application, it's easy to place and you can remove it if you misplaced it.
Aluminium foil is not bad either, here in France it's easier to find in fact but I've heard that copper makes better shielding so I stick with copper

[jay800]

I used the tape(foil) as well. Try to get tape with conductive adhesive so the overlapping pieces of tape still carry the potencial. Some folks use a solder tack between each overlap but my muli-meter proved otherwise.

A multi-meter is imperative to make sure there is 0 ohms potential between each piece of tape and between each cavitiy and bridge etc. And a solder tack might be nessesary if you can't find conductive adhesive tape.

[PilbaraBass]

GOLD FOIL IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO!

and silver interconnect wire!

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I like copper foil (with conductive adhesive), maybe not as easy to use as paint, but i like it

[centralharbor]

you could paint the cavity then use foil if you believe in overkill...

[WarriorJoe7]

Originally Posted by centralharbor

you could paint the cavity then use foil if you believe in overkill...

Then you might build a large capacitor LOL

[LoveThatBass]

Originally Posted by Phalex

They both work. You can solder on copper foil, and you can't solder to paint.

Foil.

You don't need to worry about the fact you cannot solder paint. You put a screw with lug and wire in the cavity, screw it down then paint over it. Use cue tip to coat the insides of the holes that connect the cavities (if any).

Advantages of paint: shields well, looks more professional and does not affect the tone at all.

Disadvantages of paint: relatively expensive ($30 a pint) and you will not use but a small amount of the can for a bass (will do at least 5 basses). You have to let it dry 24 hours between each of 3 recommended coats.

Advantages of copper tape: inexpensive, can remove it easily enough if needed, quicker to apply, shields well.

Disadvantages: must solder to link sections.

[Greenman]

I use both. I couldn't get a perfect 0 reading from the paint alone so I added the copper plates and star grounding.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by LoveThatBass

Advantages of paint: shields well, looks more professional and does not affect the tone at all.

Disadvantages of paint: relatively expensive ($30 a pint) and you will not use but a small amount of the can for a bass (will do at least 5 basses). You have to let it dry 24 hours between each of 3 recommended coats.

Advantages of copper tape: inexpensive, can remove it easily enough if needed, quicker to apply, shields well.

Disadvantages: must solder to link sections.

I dont think copper or any ground/shielding will effect the tone at all.

And you dont need to solder the copper sections together if you spend a bit more for conductive adhesive