Painting a speaker cabinet

[J.]

I figure a lot of you guys on this board have painted your fair share of speaker cabinets before. I'd like to know what paint I should use - something that will provide a hard covering and not scratch off easily like most latex paints.

 

My 2x10 bass cab got wet and moldy but the wood is still good underneath. I pulled the rat fur off and was originally going to stain and poly it, but the wood isn't the prettiest. What do you recommend?

[tlbonehead]

Originally posted by J. I figure a lot of you guys on this board have painted your fair share of speaker cabinets before. I'd like to know what paint I should use - something that will provide a hard covering and not scratch off easily like most latex paints. My 2x10 bass cab got wet and moldy but the wood is still good underneath. I pulled the rat fur off and was originally going to stain and poly it, but the wood isn't the prettiest. What do you recommend?

Go to a real paint store and get some oil based sandable primer and put on 2-3 coats with light sanding between them. Then use an oil based paint. That's what I usually do anyway. Or you could try the bed-liner stuff.

[J.]

Okay, sounds like a plan. Thanks.

[flanc]

You could try Duratex...kinda like bedliner.

 

http://www.acrytech.com/DuraTex.htm

[Guest Anonymous]

I believe most good quality cabinet paints are a catalyzed polyurethane. I believe Columbia Paint is one of the more commonly used brands. This type of paint is not DIY friendly, and it's big bucks.

 

Anything that I'm familiar with available in foo-foo cans or a bucket at your local hardware store is gonna yield obviously amatuer results.

 

I strongly suggest having your speaker cabinet professionally shot at a truck bed liner shop (Linex being my brand of choice) after you've prepped the cabinet. Generally you can have a medium sized cabinet professionally finished with truck bed liner for about $50 - $100.

[Mogwix]

Yeah, truck bed liner is awesome.

 

At my work they have a giant box with all kinds of cans of that rubberized undercoating spray. I might refinish my marshall cab with this because the tolex is hideously destroyed.

[Tony S.]

Polane is another name brand of a polyurethane paint like Mark mentioned. I've never used it but heard it was very durable and very expensive.

I'd look at the bedliner too.

[agedhorse]

Duratex seems to be pretty good and realtively easy to work with. I have some samples that yielded good results.

 

Much of the look is in the detail of the prep work.

 

You could always Rat-Fur it again???

[J.]

That's true. I don't like rat fur, but I also don't know if I want to spend a lot of money on this cab. I bought it for $200, so it might not be worth spending half as much for a refin.

 

Maybe I could buy several cans of plasti-dip and dunk it?

[Guest Anonymous]

 

Originally posted by Mogwix Yeah, truck bed liner is awesome. At my work they have a giant box with all kinds of cans of that rubberized undercoating spray. I might refinish my marshall cab with this because the tolex is hideously destroyed.

 

Re-Tolexing a cab isn't all that difficult, or expensive compaired to other options which stand an equal chance of producing nice results.

 

Of-course, much depends on your craftiness and personal level of satisfaction. I have a neighbor here who re-painted his daily driver pick-up truck a few years ago. He used a roller brush and a witch's brew of 10 to 20+ year old $1/gal auction special machinery enamel he had laying around. The resulting paint job looks like he used a broom and partially frozen house Latex on a windy day during a horse turd storm... the color is sort-of pinkish, sort-of brownish. I think his pick-up looks like a rolling chicken shed ready for a demolishion derby. He thinks it looks great... and is egar to tell anyone within ear shot how much money he saved over a professional job... and how quick and EZ painting a rig is. His homemade dually trucker stacks are an appropriate finishing touch though... along with his "mermaid" mudflaps... and his "no fat chicks" bumper sticker.

 

I should talk though... my pick-up truck project is still primer grey... except for the few parts that are finish color.

 

FWIW: I've tried various rubberized automotive undercoatings on speaker cabinets. I suggest trying it yourself... on a piece of wood, or even a speaker cabinet... but pick a piece of wood or speaker cabinet that you intend to pitch in a dumpster.

[J.]

Maybe tolex is the answer - inexpensive and won't soak up liquids as readily as rat-fur.

[Craig Vecchione]

 

Originally posted by J. Maybe tolex is the answer - inexpensive and won't soak up liquids as readily as rat-fur.

 

 

Rat fur is easier to do if you've never done tolex before. Tolex requires a modicum of skill and planning to get right.

[J.]

I'll have to do a bit more thinking on this one. I don't require nor expect pro results... after all this is a cheap cabinet that's not worth much in the first place. I could probably sell the components of the cab for more than I could sell the assembled cab in its current condition. Anyway, I've got more moldy rat-fur to pull off which will give me more time to contemplate my options.

[preacherman672]

Duratex is water based and is as easy to put on as paint with a roller. Can also be sprayed on with a hopper gun for easier (and more wasteful) application.

 

It looks like truck bed liner, is nearly as thick, is water based, and very simple to put on.

 

HOWEVER, while being much tougher than regular paint, it is not as tough as Linex or similar products.

 

Les

[J.]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'm going to do more work on it in a few minutes, as I've got Goo Gone currently loosening the adhesive residue as I type. I also discovered that my cat has completely shredded the fill material inside. Leave an empty speaker cabinet out, and he'll use it to sleep in and play "sharpen my claws" with as well.

[Dan Magers]

 

Originally posted by flanc You could try Duratex...kinda like bedliner. http://www.acrytech.com/DuraTex.htm

 

 

 

+1 for duratex.

 

Hey , What's the turd brown thing halfway down?

Looks like a BF special.

[Audiopyle Sound]

I rounded up some Sherwyn Williams Polane T catalyzed urethane a few years back and repainted my subs. They say the stuff will kill you (dead, literally) if you spray it without the proper respirator gear.

 

I thinned it a little and applied it with a roller. Turned out well, the roller gave it just about the right textured finish. You have to work fast, though.

[Ear Abuser]

One thing about Duratex , they won't ship it up north once it starts to get cold-apparently it doesn't tolerate freezing, so make your decision before november:)

 

FWIW I had a can of spray on bed liner that I used to spray a small mixer case this weekend and it turned out looking pretty good. Surface prep is important-I should have done more. also, it was definitely an outside job- lots of solvent. It was Duplicolor from wally world in a spray can, although they also have it in a half gallon that you can roll on .

[Craig Vecchione]

Originally posted by J. That's true. I don't like rat fur, but I also don't know if I want to spend a lot of money on this cab. I bought it for $200, so it might not be worth spending half as much for a refin. Maybe I could buy several cans of plasti-dip and dunk it?

 

 

To be honest, I'd spend $4 on some wood filler, $4 on some sandpaper, and $8 on a quart of Rust-Oleum flat black.

[J.]

I could always spray it with adhesive and cover it with cat hair. I'd have no problem collecting enough of it.

 

[Craig Vecchione]

Originally posted by J. I could always spray it with adhesive and cover it with cat hair. I'd have no problem collecting enough of it.

 

Why make the collection a 'passive' activity?

[Rbts]

I like what Craig said about a quart of black paint. The toughest paint I know about that is not an epoxy is a urathane based floor and deck paint that is pretty tough.... at Lowes.

 

Nothing says you copuldn't stick, a cat or two onto it while the paint was still tacky.

[J.]

I think I'm going to go that route. I'm fine with the "I painted my own car with a brush and a can of rustoleum" look for this project. First off I gotta get the glue and carpet residue off, which is proving much harder than I thought it would be. I'm going to get as much done as I can until I visit my parents next week. My dad's got an old orbital sander that he'll let me use.

[Guest Anonymous]

 

Originally posted by J. First off I gotta get the glue and carpet residue off, which is proving much harder than I thought it would be. I'm going to get as much done as I can until I visit my parents next week. My dad's got an old orbital sander that he'll let me use.

 

uh... forget the orbital sander... 'cause it's just gonna smear the glue around, and if you're lucky... it might roll up some boogers of glue... but it's not gonna remove much, unless you use really coarse sandpaper... like 36 grit... and at that point, you might as well take a handgrinder with a cone brush to it.... followed by a gallon a bondo.

 

I suggest:

 

1) A heat lamp and gasket scraper to get much of it off.

 

2) After that, go after it with Goo-Be-Gone.

 

3) When you have the obviously visable glue off, then let it dry good and then go after it with steel wool or Scotch Bright pads.

[J.]

Okay, good to know. I'd hate to buy a bunch of sanding discs for nothing. I've got the good gone working right now, and for the most part it's doing the job. I should try the heat lamp thing next.