Members Howie22 Posted March 31, 2014 Members Share Posted March 31, 2014 I have a set of Yorkville NX35s that are looking pretty rough after a couple hundred gigs. I want to try to make them look a bit more presentable. They need it anyway, but I may sell them soon and definitely want them to look their best. Easy enough to pull the grilles off, sand them, and paint them with a hard enamel paint. However, I'm not sure what I can do to make the cabinets look better. They are molded plastic, and are scuffed and scratched up. I've seen people talk about vegetable oil and ultrafine sandpaper. I've seen people talk about using a heat gun on molded polypropylene. I've seen talk of ArmorAll. I've seen people talk about Pledge furniture polish. I've seen talk of acrylic polishing compounds.Given the rough texture of the plastic, I don't think sanding would be a good idea. Anyone have any experience with what works well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 31, 2014 Members Share Posted March 31, 2014 Pretty much everything you try with plastic cabinets ends up looking like you tried to do something unsuccessful IME. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Howie22 Posted March 31, 2014 Author Members Share Posted March 31, 2014 That's kind of what I figured. Perhaps the grilles will make a nice difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WynnD Posted March 31, 2014 Members Share Posted March 31, 2014 What about that polymer paint that bonds to plastic? Anyone try that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 31, 2014 CMS Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 What about that polymer paint that bonds to plastic? Anyone try that? I've used several brands of "made for plastics" paints (you know the brands) on other items, and can't recommend anything in a spray can. I've also used brush/roll-on bonding primers for plastic, and they were *very* messy and not for this use. The speakers are what they are, and IMO you're better off saving the time and money and should simply sell them as-is. As a buyer I'd be put off by a refinish...I'd rather buy speakers knowing they are used and decide if I want to refinish them than wonder: 1. How bad they looked before refinishing 2. How long the finish will last before it fails 3. How bad they'll look when the finish fails If you absolutely must refinish them, strip the cabinets completely and take them to an auto body shop for prep and spray. Be prepared to pay a few hundred bucks. That's what it takes to properly prep and paint something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sibyrnes Posted March 31, 2014 Members Share Posted March 31, 2014 Clean them as well as you can and ArmorAll them. It will help a little. I would not bother painting them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted March 31, 2014 Members Share Posted March 31, 2014 They make that truck bed liner paint that's very durable on cabs. The question would be weather you are going to strip thetolex off first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonthomas Posted March 31, 2014 Members Share Posted March 31, 2014 They make that truck bed liner paint that's very durable on cabs. The question would be weather you are going to strip the tolex off first. I have a feeling that nothing will stick to a plastic cab. May be able to "buff" it out with the right compound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Howie22 Posted March 31, 2014 Author Members Share Posted March 31, 2014 I have no intention of painting the cabinets, just the metal grilles. Rather, I was just looking for what might shine it up/polish/remove some minor scratches and make it look overall more presentable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wesg Posted March 31, 2014 Members Share Posted March 31, 2014 Have you tried buying new grilles from Yorkville? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted April 1, 2014 Members Share Posted April 1, 2014 Nothing will stick to the PVC or polypropylene, and there's not going to be any Tolex on them to remove either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Howie22 Posted April 1, 2014 Author Members Share Posted April 1, 2014 So, I pulled the grill from one, sanded with 120, then sanded with 220. Washed and dried it. Gave it three coats of a hard enamel black appliance paint. While the paint was drying, I wiped the cabinet down pretty well with Armor All. That seemed to clean up a lot of the dirt, dust, and grime and restore a bit of the black color. The result? It looks a lot better. It doesn't look new or anything, but a definite improvement. Cost $4.00 for the can of paint. I already had the sand paper and Armor All. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wesg Posted April 1, 2014 Members Share Posted April 1, 2014 Sounds like the same paint I used to make iron pipe nipples look like they belonged with my light rig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted April 1, 2014 CMS Author Share Posted April 1, 2014 So, I pulled the grill from one, sanded with 120, then sanded with 220. Washed and dried it. Gave it three coats of a hard enamel black appliance paint. While the paint was drying, I wiped the cabinet down pretty well with Armor All. That seemed to clean up a lot of the dirt, dust, and grime and restore a bit of the black color. The result? It looks a lot better. It doesn't look new or anything, but a definite improvement. Cost $4.00 for the can of paint. I already had the sand paper and Armor All. That's a very reasonable way to go. Once the Armor-All has had a chance to "dry" (or whatever space-age polymers do within a few days), a second going-over will make the appearance more even if it got blotchy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Telecruiser Posted April 1, 2014 Members Share Posted April 1, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted April 2, 2014 CMS Author Share Posted April 2, 2014 Oh sure, that contact paper looks nice when it's new. But you have to ask yourself, after a few shows, how's it gonna hold up? And is the pattern pretty enough to keep the roadies happy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted April 2, 2014 Members Share Posted April 2, 2014 I have four Yorkville NX350's and three NX84's - all purchased very used. Just about all the cabs had places where the paint had worn off, and there was a kind of yellow showing through. I needed the cabs to look a little better, so I bought a can of flat black spray paint that was supposed to be okay for plastic. I painted the cabs and was happy enough with the results. Some of them needed two coats because the plastic seemed to soak up the paint. That was two years ago, and the cabs haven't melted into a pile of plastic jelly or anything similar. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted April 2, 2014 Members Share Posted April 2, 2014 Yellow plastic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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