Plywood enclosure coatings (paint, carpet, tolex, etc.)

[cyclecamper]

Originally Posted by Top Shelf

Have you tried Duratex? I love it

Well, having used it now, it is...an unusual paint. Only the future will tell how durable it is. It is shinier than I expected; I thought it would be really flat. I decided to brush on the first few coats. It is thick! It certainly does cover a lot, doing all the baffle boards didn't use up much; a gallon will go far. If you tried to invent a paint to show all brush marks, this would be it. On the other hand, it does hide any imperfections. I probably should have thinned it out before brushing on.

I'll have to look into some spray equiment or perhaps try the roller for final coats. ` The brush was great for getting complete coverage, but this is definitely meant for some kind of more randomixed texturing.

The smell isn't bad outdoors, but at first I was brushing in the garage and that's not safe. The brush cleaned easily with just water (and a dab of soap)! Dries very fast.

[pinkmouse]

Use a short pile roller, apply relatively thickly over one entire face, then roll out all the marks. I refurb five or six cabs a month like that.

[cyclecamper]

A roller would certainly be neater than spray. But I was looking at some cheap Wagner piston-pump spray equipment, and all-in-one big pistol with a screw-on bottle. Start at about $60. Then again I have a big air compressor if I could figure out what Harbor Freight gun might spray such thick goop. Can't run youtube from work, but I'll look at some of those videos again tonight.

[pinkmouse]

You want a large-ish nozzle and low pressure for compressed air spraying. Never seen any of the Wagner type stuff used, so can't comment on that.

[scameron78]

i've used a hopper gun to spray truck bedliner on my cabinets. works great. i've seen guys use this same gun to spray duratex.

for example

http://www.harborfreight.com/texture...gun-66103.html

[cyclecamper]

Thanks SCAMERON78, that's definitely the ticket for just a little over $20 and there's a Harbor Freight store right down the street. It's going to make a real mess though, so I need some big sheets of disposable dropcloth to protect the driveway. Love it here in sunny SoCal though, I can paint on Christmas...couldn't in Chicago area 'burbs where I used to live.

Now I'm concerned about raised texture on the front baffle boards where the drivers' cardboard gaskets mount. I've been brushing the Duratex on them, sanding between coats. Maybe I should just thin down the Duratex with some water for the last coats on the baffle boards, and try to brush it on smooother.

And I remember how we had to pry some drivers off the old cabinets, so I'm going to let the duratex dry COMPLETELY before I try mouting the drivers.

[cyclecamper]

I bought the harbor-freight hopper gun. It holds a gallon and a half, and I only have 1 gallon. I'd better be all set up with the cabinets in a row on drop cloths before I start. But I've still got more handle holes and jackplate holes and internal braces to install, and then brush the first coat of duratex on, inside and out.

[nigelwright7557]

I always use a thin carpet for covering my disco and guitar speakers.
Thin carpet is not only cheap but bends better around corners and leaves you with a hard wearing finish.

[moresound]

Friend of mine used the paint with grit/sand (don't know the name) in it for some bass bins. Sure did last but would take the skin fight off your knees while moving them.

[cyclecamper]

Originally Posted by nigelwright7557

I always use a thin carpet for covering my disco and guitar speakers.

And carpet damps vibrations and even absorbs some of the surface reflections. But most of all it can hide even a major dent.

But this time I really wanted a hard coating. If that gets beat, I can always carpet over it later.