djcity
Just like the title says.
How can I PROPERLY but easily paint my speakers.
I want to have my EV ELX115's match my QSC KW181's. One of my EV's is looking kind of rough due to it falling down some stairs so I need to paint them and since I need to paint them, I might as well have them match my subs. My questions are..
How do I paint them?
What kind of paint do I use?
What prep do I need to do?
A little help and guidance would sure be appreciated.
How can I PROPERLY but easily paint my speakers.
I want to have my EV ELX115's match my QSC KW181's. One of my EV's is looking kind of rough due to it falling down some stairs so I need to paint them and since I need to paint them, I might as well have them match my subs. My questions are..
How do I paint them?
What kind of paint do I use?
What prep do I need to do?
A little help and guidance would sure be appreciated.
geposted Tue 28 Feb 12 @ 4:30 pm
DJMC1994
What I would do is try sanding them down really well then using some spray paint primer then whatever color spray paint you want after that, i know the spray paint sounds bad but they sell it for metal finishes and plastic finishes i see it at the hardware store all the time. When you sand make sure you sand evenly too. When your done you will probably want to finish it with a nice sealer/gloss finish I'm not sure what to use for that (specifics) but ask your friendly home depot employee he will help you.
Hope that helped..if not feel free to hit me back up
Hope that helped..if not feel free to hit me back up
geposted Tue 28 Feb 12 @ 6:56 pm
synthet1c
if you want to keep the texture you can use scotchbrite pads instead of sanding, they are flexible like the one's you use to clean dishes but a little more coarse, they can get in all the little nooks and cranny's and wont fall apart like steel wool leaving metal peices everywhere,
If your repairing any dents in the surface you need to use a coarse sand paper like 80 grit so filler will adhere to the area. fill the dents and allow the filler to set, then shape the filler with a firm plastic or wood block, its best to start with 80 grit then finish off with 120 grit paper. when you are happy with the result you should apply a couple of coats of primer (acrylic should be fine for this).
When that has set you need to applly a thin black guide coat over the primer, this will ensure when you are sanding you remove all the roughness and will have adhesion with your top coat, as paint wont stick to anything shiny like unsanded primer. sanding can be done wet or dry... dry should be done with 320grit initially and finished with 400grit. Wet should start with 400grit and finish on 600grit, they are both different types of sandpaper so make sure you buy the correct type for what you want to use.
Once you have done that blow off your speakers with compressed air and clean with "prepsol" to remove any silicon residue on the plastic (if you dont do this when you paint the surface you will get a fish eye effect where the silicon bursts through the paint surface leaving the reminants of a bubble.... Give it a coat of plastic primer (not regular primer it used to be called plasic adhesion primer when I used it), let that dry for a couple of minutes and apply some bumper paint, make a thick batch first and apply over the repaired area, you should use a low air pressure to do this so the gun spits the paint out, to give you the texture you desire (make sure you let this dry before applying more coats, a hairdryer should do the job fine), then you can apply the thinned paint over the whole speaker, apply moderately wet coats evenly over the whole speaker, you dont want it dry as it will feel like sandpaper, but you don't want it too wet as it will fill the txture you are trying to preserve.
If you want to do the job properly that's how I used to do bumper bars when I was a spray painter.. but it may be worth going into a body shop and seeing what they would charge, as if you put together the price you would pay to buy all the paint, sandpaper, solvent and hire a gun and compressor it would probably cost about the same. A good body shop would probably do something like this is 2 man hours not including drying times if you pull them apart before hand. so prob $80 for labor and $40 for materials. you would be looking at $20 of paper $10 solvent, $20 - $30 paint, $10 acrylic primer, $10 plastic primer, $15 body filler + hire and your time.
If the speaker have a smooth surface you can just sand the whole surface, cover in acrylic primer, sand smooth, then apply paint over the top, it is much easier to do, however without the texture you need to be really carefull as if you drastically change the color from the original you will notiice any scratches easily. This metod although much easier to explain is more work, the first method would be the hardest wearing option as long as you use plastic primer otherwise the paint may flake off due to it not adhering to the surface properly.
Once again plastic is a bitch to get anything to properly adhere to, but if you treat it with respect and prime it, it will last a long time.
If your repairing any dents in the surface you need to use a coarse sand paper like 80 grit so filler will adhere to the area. fill the dents and allow the filler to set, then shape the filler with a firm plastic or wood block, its best to start with 80 grit then finish off with 120 grit paper. when you are happy with the result you should apply a couple of coats of primer (acrylic should be fine for this).
When that has set you need to applly a thin black guide coat over the primer, this will ensure when you are sanding you remove all the roughness and will have adhesion with your top coat, as paint wont stick to anything shiny like unsanded primer. sanding can be done wet or dry... dry should be done with 320grit initially and finished with 400grit. Wet should start with 400grit and finish on 600grit, they are both different types of sandpaper so make sure you buy the correct type for what you want to use.
Once you have done that blow off your speakers with compressed air and clean with "prepsol" to remove any silicon residue on the plastic (if you dont do this when you paint the surface you will get a fish eye effect where the silicon bursts through the paint surface leaving the reminants of a bubble.... Give it a coat of plastic primer (not regular primer it used to be called plasic adhesion primer when I used it), let that dry for a couple of minutes and apply some bumper paint, make a thick batch first and apply over the repaired area, you should use a low air pressure to do this so the gun spits the paint out, to give you the texture you desire (make sure you let this dry before applying more coats, a hairdryer should do the job fine), then you can apply the thinned paint over the whole speaker, apply moderately wet coats evenly over the whole speaker, you dont want it dry as it will feel like sandpaper, but you don't want it too wet as it will fill the txture you are trying to preserve.
If you want to do the job properly that's how I used to do bumper bars when I was a spray painter.. but it may be worth going into a body shop and seeing what they would charge, as if you put together the price you would pay to buy all the paint, sandpaper, solvent and hire a gun and compressor it would probably cost about the same. A good body shop would probably do something like this is 2 man hours not including drying times if you pull them apart before hand. so prob $80 for labor and $40 for materials. you would be looking at $20 of paper $10 solvent, $20 - $30 paint, $10 acrylic primer, $10 plastic primer, $15 body filler + hire and your time.
If the speaker have a smooth surface you can just sand the whole surface, cover in acrylic primer, sand smooth, then apply paint over the top, it is much easier to do, however without the texture you need to be really carefull as if you drastically change the color from the original you will notiice any scratches easily. This metod although much easier to explain is more work, the first method would be the hardest wearing option as long as you use plastic primer otherwise the paint may flake off due to it not adhering to the surface properly.
Once again plastic is a bitch to get anything to properly adhere to, but if you treat it with respect and prime it, it will last a long time.
geposted Tue 28 Feb 12 @ 7:47 pm
djnutz
If you are planning to paint your cabinets, then one could assume you aren't concerned about voiding a warranty...soooo
Grab a screwdriver and get all the electrics and speakers out of the cabinet, then take the cabinets to a place that does spray in bedliners on pickup trucks. I know of guys who have done this. The bedliner stuff has held up wayyyy better than just paint. One tip, I have seen guys who have painted speakers and the paint got on the foam surround and had an affect on the sound by limiting the flexibility.
Grab a screwdriver and get all the electrics and speakers out of the cabinet, then take the cabinets to a place that does spray in bedliners on pickup trucks. I know of guys who have done this. The bedliner stuff has held up wayyyy better than just paint. One tip, I have seen guys who have painted speakers and the paint got on the foam surround and had an affect on the sound by limiting the flexibility.
geposted Tue 28 Feb 12 @ 7:55 pm
Caliente123
Whats Good City. This is what you need. For anyone wanting to paint a wooden cabinet & also Sound Damping.. Click on the link.
http://store.acrytech.com/Speaker-Cabinet-Coatings/
http://store.acrytech.com/Speaker-Cabinet-Coatings/
geposted Tue 28 Feb 12 @ 11:35 pm
djcity
Caliente,
The Duratex is the answer I needed. I called them and they said I don't need a primer. All I have to do is lightly sand the existing paint, Get ALL the excess dust off and paint the cabs.
PERFECT!!!
Thank you all for your help and advice. I will post pics when i'm done.
The Duratex is the answer I needed. I called them and they said I don't need a primer. All I have to do is lightly sand the existing paint, Get ALL the excess dust off and paint the cabs.
PERFECT!!!
Thank you all for your help and advice. I will post pics when i'm done.
geposted Wed 29 Feb 12 @ 10:28 am