Received and Installed my BTA10250D Today....

[Louis6507]

The install went super smooth. These things really are so easy to install. The hardest part was running the power wire on my '07 Kia Spectra.

Apparently my car has a double insulated firewall and no grommets or openings through it. My mechanic/friend, who was giving me advice on things, told me not to go through a firewall like mine, because it obviously deals with a lot of heat in that area.

Well, with his help, we got around it just fine. (If anyone else has a problem with this, I'll be glad to give advice and explain how we did it.)

Anyway, here's my question:

I purchased my BTA10250D through one of the retailers you link to on it's product page (not sure if I should mention names or not). The packaging was fine, everything was included that should have been, and after installation, everything worked fine. However, are these tubes shipped with any kind of protective coating "designed" to flake off?

I mean, the entire outer "paint job" of my tube is a disintegrating, flaky mess of black "paint." It's horrible. It got all over me, my shirt, and my trunk, since I'm not sure if I should rub this totally off of my tube or not. Should I?

This doesn't affect the sound quality of my tube at all. But, does this mean my tube is going to age early or damage prematurely in the future?

If so, what should I even do about this? Am I going to have to send my tube back, and wait for a replacement that might have the exact same issue? After all, the box and bag it came shipped in, were totally sealed. How can anyone know this had this problem without opening the package?

If you need pictures of this mess, I'll gladly upload some. And, if it matters, I placed my order on 09/14 and just received it via FedEx today, 09/15.