Lineforce Painting Questions

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Tyson

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #40 on: 2 Jul 2024, 04:16 pm »
You might want to ask Jay if he has any bits and pieces available to practice on. He may not have but it's worth an ask. It's always a good idea to practice your finishing schedule on scrap pieces before the actual project.

Oh that's a great idea.  I think I'll use the subwoofer amplifier box as my practice, because eventually I'm going to paint it flat black.  That should give me good practice on the MDF areas.  For the composite section, I don't think there's any spares to practice on :(.  But, now that I think about it, maybe I can finish the bottom of the speaker as my practice area, because it won't ever be seen. 

Thanks for the suggestions, that should help me get a good result!

KTS

Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #41 on: 3 Jul 2024, 12:12 am »
Outstanding suggestion!

Tyson

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #42 on: 21 Aug 2024, 05:03 pm »
When flat sanding the mdf (before initial painting), what is the best sandpaper progression?  60 grit > 120 grit > 300 grit?

The subs seem fairly smooth.  Do I even need the 60 grit pass?  Or can I go straight to 120 grit and then 300?

Peter J

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #43 on: 21 Aug 2024, 05:29 pm »
When flat sanding the mdf (before initial painting), what is the best sandpaper progression?  60 grit > 120 grit > 300 grit?

The subs seem fairly smooth.  Do I even need the 60 grit pass?  Or can I go straight to 120 grit and then 300?

Tyson, unless you're trying to flush a joint or really remove some material for some reason the 60 grit is mighty rough stuff. Bear in mind that you're removing the scratches left by previous sanding with each stage. If it's just in prep for primer no need to go higher than 180, possibly 220. With anything higher it's possible to burnish the surface and that actually works against you in terms of coating adhesion. Save the fine papers for later in the process.

For most MDF surfaces, I'd start with 100-120 and then 150-180 prior to primer. Primer will show you what needs attention.

Tyson

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #44 on: 21 Aug 2024, 05:36 pm »
Thanks Peter!

Endo2112

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #45 on: 21 Aug 2024, 08:30 pm »
The lineforces are very precisely made, I don’t believe any sanding will be necessary before priming,I think you will be very surprised.

Don

Tyson

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #46 on: 21 Aug 2024, 10:06 pm »
The lineforces are very precisely made, I don’t believe any sanding will be necessary before priming,I think you will be very surprised.

Don

Are you talking about the midrange/tweeter cabinet or the sub cabinets?

Endo2112

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #47 on: 21 Aug 2024, 10:39 pm »
Sorry, lineforces, I see you gents changed direction.

Cheers,

Tyson

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #48 on: 21 Aug 2024, 10:49 pm »
Hey, if the main cabinets don't need to be sanded, that's going to make me very happy  :thumb:

Endo2112

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #49 on: 22 Aug 2024, 03:35 pm »
They will not, the subs may not either

Don

Tyson

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #50 on: 29 Aug 2024, 10:01 pm »
The sub cabinets are here.  Initial flat sanding is done.  Assembled and glued up.  Will be doing my first coat of Stix primer via the paint gun today.  Wish me luck!

Tyson

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #51 on: 30 Aug 2024, 01:57 am »
OK, initial spray went well, the main cabs have a nice light coat and the amp boxes are also off to a good start.

BUT, the grill frames did not fare so well - I ended up with some drips on them.  How do I deal with the drips?  Just wait for them to dry and sand them out?

BrandonB

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #52 on: 30 Aug 2024, 02:50 am »
The sub cabinets are here.  Initial flat sanding is done.  Assembled and glued up.  Will be doing my first coat of Stix primer via the paint gun today.  Wish me luck!

Did you have to purchase a paint gun or did you already have one?

Tyson

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #53 on: 30 Aug 2024, 03:54 am »
Did you have to purchase a paint gun or did you already have one?

Bought this one for $40 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I5W00KE?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

nlitworld

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #54 on: 30 Aug 2024, 06:19 am »
Bought this one for $40

Check your tech sheet for the paint you're using. A 1.5mm tip is pretty big so just double check before you go all in. Most topcoats are recommending a 1.3mm or 1.4mm tip. Also make sure your compressor is up to the task. That is a low air volume gun, but you'll need about 5-6cfm to keep up properly. No pancake compressors allowed. Lol. We're all excited to see how these shape up so keep the progress photos coming!

Tyson

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #55 on: 30 Aug 2024, 04:37 pm »
I am taking many pictures and will start a new build thread documenting all of this in full.  I don’t have a shop so hopefully it will give other people the confidence to take on a build like this.

I think the compressor we have is 40 gallons of air so plenty of pressure.  Dialing in the gun definitely takes some trial and error.  I used the tarp hanging against the wall to practice on before hitting the subs.  And the subs I did in order - grill frames first, then amp boxes and finally sub boxes.  The frames definitely got most of my errors figuring out how to use the gun.  Several drips needed to be sanded out, lol.

nlitworld

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #56 on: 30 Aug 2024, 04:59 pm »
I am taking many pictures and will start a new build thread documenting all of this in full.  I don’t have a shop so hopefully it will give other people the confidence to take on a build like this.

I think the compressor we have is 40 gallons of air so plenty of pressure.  Dialing in the gun definitely takes some trial and error.  I used the tarp hanging against the wall to practice on before hitting the subs.  And the subs I did in order - grill frames first, then amp boxes and finally sub boxes.  The frames definitely got most of my errors figuring out how to use the gun.  Several drips needed to be sanded out, lol.

Yeah tha should skirt by, but just an FYI to yourself and everyone else, air pressure does not equal air volume. Think amplifier power watts (pressure) and ohms rating (volume). A billion watts into 8ohm does nothing to properly drive Maggies >4ohm load. The volume of air you need will be ok since that's an LVLP gun so luckily you're not running an HVLP that require 10-16cfm air volume :o

 As a baseline, I'd guess a baseline starting setup on your gun about 35psi on the gauge at your gun (reading with trigger pulled), turn down your material knob probably 3/4 turn from wide open, and spray distance about 9-12" from surface.

Peter J

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #57 on: 30 Aug 2024, 09:38 pm »
Technique with any spraying is important, but I'm guessing you're already figuring that out! My guess with the frames it that you had a lot of overlap in areas where change of direction was necessary. Too much material in one spot which runs and sags. Much easier to see what's happening on big open surfaces. On narrow things like frames, you can reduce your fan width which concentrates your spray pattern but in turn you need either dial down material flow or move faster. Getting gun further back with narrow fan will be your friend on interior surfaces. It's all about anticipating the "how will I do this" prior to pulling the trigger on your newfound toy.

 Usually, the longer you can make your sweeps at constant speed the better. Smoothness counts. Nice thing about sand-able primer is do-overs are pretty easy. Try and imagine the best way you can accomplish an even coat without excessive material in corners and overlaps. Ideally, getting enough material on but staying just shy of runs and sags will give best results (wet coats). "Dry" coats will leave texture and look uneven. You'll have better feel when you get to topcoats.

Tyson

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #58 on: 30 Aug 2024, 10:28 pm »
One thing I am also trying to work on is my perfectionism.  If the cabinets turn out good but not perfect then I will be happy. 

And if all else fails I still have some duratex, haha.

Tyson

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Re: Lineforce Painting Questions
« Reply #59 on: 31 Aug 2024, 12:37 am »
Yeah tha should skirt by, but just an FYI to yourself and everyone else, air pressure does not equal air volume. Think amplifier power watts (pressure) and ohms rating (volume). A billion watts into 8ohm does nothing to properly drive Maggies >4ohm load. The volume of air you need will be ok since that's an LVLP gun so luckily you're not running an HVLP that require 10-16cfm air volume :o

 As a baseline, I'd guess a baseline starting setup on your gun about 35psi on the gauge at your gun (reading with trigger pulled), turn down your material knob probably 3/4 turn from wide open, and spray distance about 9-12" from surface.

Pretty darn close to where I ended up :thumb: