[bdp24]

Show off!

[Outofthewoods]

 

[Ron]

  Thanks guys for all your input. Ruben is correct that darker colors are unforgiving in showing flaws like unevenness or seams, especially glossy black. I have found by my mistakes that a lot of proper prep work is essential in achieving a good final paint finish free of flaws. There  is  nothing wrong about painting, but if I ever build another pair of speakers I will be veneering instead of painting since that is what I do best.

 BTW Ruben, the finish on your speakers is absolutely beautiful ! 

[lacro]

Hey Ron,

Another thing to consider when working with a high gloss is the darkness of the colors. Lighter colors hide unevenness as they don't reflect like a mirror except at a steep angle.

There is no absolutely no forgiveness on black!

Ruben

Even that little bit of lint/dust on the finish sticks out like a sore thumb.

 OK Ruben...
Now that you've joined this thread, you have got to give us some insight on your superb finishes.. PLEASE!

I am not asking for trade secrets, just a few yes/no questions:


1: Are you using catalyzed automotive finishes? 
2: Are you post processing the finish using compounds, polishes, and waxes?
3: If answer to 2 is YES, do you use rotary or DA buffer?

Thanks for the eye candy. It gives me something to aspire to

Larry

[lacro]

  The Zinsser is a sealer which is good for hiding scratches but not for covering seams. It is best to use several layers of epoxy to cover and hind seams. The Zinnser sealer can be used over the epoxy prior to applying the paint. I did experiment with the Brightside urethane marine paint, but wasn't happy with the results. Nothing wrong with the paint, it was just me not being experienced using this type of product. Originally I had planned to use the marine urethane paint on my X-LS Encore speaker cabinets  but ended up using several coats of sealer and then spray painting with  Rustoleum Universal satin black paint. Other than the fact that the seams are showing through they do look pretty good. If I had it to do over, I would definitely use several coats of epoxy resin first prior to painting which would definitely have covered the seams and kept them from showing through.



Ron

 Ron,
  Sorry to hear the marine enamel didn't work out My experience with it has been very positive. I am curious about what failed 
 I know what you mean about painting compared to other finish methods (veneer/laminate). Painting requires many, many steps to get an acceptable finish. Did you completely give up on the red with white stripe speakers?

Larry

[Ron]

Larry,

  The main problem was that I had hoped to achieve a smooth, glossy finish using the roll and tip painting method, but it didn't work well for me. Part of problem was the result of improper surface preparation on my part and the fact that I am not experienced in using marine enamel paint. Ended up spraying my X-LS Encore cabinets with Rustoleum Universal satin black spray paint which looks pretty good. Since I still have the fire red marine enamel, I might try it again later on, but not anytime soon. So for how the idea of building speakers finished in red paint with white stripes is on hold.

Ron

[mlundy57]

Somewhere I read that another way to seal MDF was to apply 2 coats of watered down glue. I forget the proportions recommended. Does this method work for painting or is it only for veneering?

[Outofthewoods]

OK Ruben...
Now that you've joined this thread, you have got to give us some insight on your superb finishes.. PLEASE!

I am not asking for trade secrets, just a few yes/no questions:


1: Are you using catalyzed automotive finishes? 
2: Are you post processing the finish using compounds, polishes, and waxes?
3: If answer to 2 is YES, do you use rotary or DA buffer?

Thanks for the eye candy. It gives me something to aspire to

Larry

Hi Larry,

Yep, I use a rotary buffer. A DA is much too slow to make money with.

Those were finished using a 2 stage urethane.

Thanks!

Ruben

[Outofthewoods]

BTW Ruben, the finish on your speakers is absolutely beautiful ! 

Thanks, Ron!

Ruben

[lacro]

Hi Larry,

Yep, I use a rotary buffer. A DA is much too slow to make money with.

Those were finished using a 2 stage urethane.

Thanks!

Ruben

Ruben,
 Thanks for the info. I do understand what it takes to get the superb finishes you achieve Also, I know what you mean about Black having no forgiveness. Oh... do I know about black paint. I have a BLACK truck, and my wife's new BLACK SUV was delivered by the dealership with swirls and scratches, probably washed with brushes:x I spent a whole weekend correcting the paint with a slow DA!
Gloss Black is beautiful on cars (and speakers), but it's a full time job keeping it that way on cars  

Thanks,
Larry

[Ratman]

I agree black finishes are killer

[Captainhemo]

Ruben,
 Thanks for the info. I do understand what it takes to get the superb finishes you achieve Also, I know what you mean about Black having no forgiveness. Oh... do I know about black paint. I have a BLACK truck, and my wife's new BLACK SUV was delivered by the dealership with swirls and scratches, probably washed with brushes:x I spent a whole weekend correcting the paint with a slow DA!
Gloss Black is beautiful on cars (and speakers), but it's a full time job keeping it that way on cars  

Thanks,
Larry

As Gino  says, "Black Cars Look Better In The Shade" 


-jay

[Danny Richie]

I agree black finishes are killer

Welcome to AC Ratman.

[Outofthewoods]

Ruben,
 Thanks for the info. I do understand what it takes to get the superb finishes you achieve Also, I know what you mean about Black having no forgiveness. Oh... do I know about black paint. I have a BLACK truck, and my wife's new BLACK SUV was delivered by the dealership with swirls and scratches, probably washed with brushes:x I spent a whole weekend correcting the paint with a slow DA!
Gloss Black is beautiful on cars (and speakers), but it's a full time job keeping it that way on cars  

Thanks,
Larry

Yes, Sir. Black is tough one, but it sure is nice to look at!

You have got to get yourself a rotary buffer. With a little practice you'll have the beast tamed in no time. Of course, you don't want to figure it out on your cars!

Best,

Ruben

[Ron]

  Finally finished building a pair of X-LS Encores today, except for the grill frames. They turned out fairly nice, but I did have some issues with the seams showing through which was my screw up. Originally my plan was to paint them with a marine type urethane paint, but I was unable to achieve the type of finish that I wanted. So I decided to paint them with multiple coats of Rustoleum Universal satin black spray paint. I built these with the full performance upgrades ( No-Rez, Sonicap capacitors, Mills resistors). Also, I used a 1/2" roundover on all the edges. They sound great being very smooth, transparent with excellent sound stage imaging and depth. Vocal reproduction and bass response are both sound great too. Fortunately I already have a buyer for them.

 The following pictures show how they look. Note- Due to some automatic focus problems
with my camera the pictures are not as clear as they should have been:











 

[Captainhemo]

The 1/2" round over and satin black  look sharp Ron.
Looking forward to seeing them with the grills 

-jay

[Outofthewoods]

Nicely done, Ron! (as usual)

Ruben

[Ron]

  Thanks Jay and Ruben for your positive comments.

 One thing that I forgot to mention about the performance upgrades is that in addition to replacing the stock capacitors with Sonicaps that I also used a .1 uf Gen.2 Sonicap bypass capacitor on the large shunt capacitor in the woofer low pass filter. In my opinion it does make a noticeable improvement. Bass transient response seems to be faster and more dynamic. Since the capacitors only cost approximately $5.00 each, I recommend them to anyone building the X-LS Encores with the performance upgrades.

Ron

[bdp24]

Nice satin finish Ron! I want to paint my GR and Rythmik subs in eggshell (between satin and flat in reflectivity, like the vintage car guys do their hot rods in---which is why the finish is also known as hot rod black) charcoal. I know there are eggshell paints in gallons, but is there a spray paint that has the eggshell finish? Maybe the Chalkboard Black by Rustoleum and Krylon?

[Ron]

  You might want to check out the paints offered by Duplicolor: http://www.duplicolor.com/
They offer a wide selection of paint colors in spray cans which are available from a number of automotive parts store chains. Also, you might want to check the websites for Rustoleum and Krylon too to see what paint colors they offer. Hope this helps you.