Finishing speaker cabinets in spray paint?

[Paul Welsby]

Gentleman.

As my speakers are nearly complete they are going to need finishing somehow.

They are constructed out of MDF.
I have rounded over all the corners with a router.
They have to look 99% professional finish.

Ive heard that because ive rounded over the corners that veneering is not an option anymore. This makes sense because i dont think im going to be able to get a peice of veneer of sufficient size to cover the whole speaker and i dont have anywhere to make a neat join anymore (i.e. not at a corner).

If i go back to my original route and have then spray painted by a professional car painter will i be able to reach the same sort of finish thats on a new car? Does that require 24 layers of laquer etc? Can this be acheived on an MDF base?
I know this is going to cost me a few hundred pounds.

Any ideas?

Paul

[david counter]

if you go down the painted route, there are plenty of sealers and high build primers available that will allow someone to get a very high finish on mdf, you should be able to equal if not better the finish you get on cars,

[vitalstates]

Hi Paul

from experience I can tell you that car lacquer(2 pack) can give a piano finish on MDF. There is a downside though.......The MDF may look finished but as soon as you get the laquer on you will realise the imperfections.....got to be ultra finniky about the joints and look for large diameter dimples in large panels(they appear flat but they aren't). Its hard work but youve got to use filler liberally to avoid these issues.

Also I've found that expansion where there are 90 degree joints will cause the lacquer to split after time so seal every available surface.

rgds

Ed

[BOONDI]

A pro finish will be just that, professional.
The guy who paints them will be able to get a finish so glossy that you wont be able to pick them up by placing your hands on the sides, they should just slip through.

Watch out they don't come back with go faster stripes tho.....

[Paul Welsby]

OK so its looking like spray painting.

Now will i be expected to do all the filling and sanding myself?

What i mean is do i find some car body filler (or something else ? Wood filler?) and fill all the imperfections myself before i hand them over to be painted.

Im guessing the best way (the cheapest) would be to hand them over at the ready to be primed stage.

What would be best to use for filler?

Paul

Plastic Padding, you wil need a good mdf sealer, you will need to use a brush (to fill imperfections) and emery paper between coats, a roller for final coats.
I found a roller at the start lifts the mdf gives a hairy finnish.
Find a body shop and talk to them.
Will.

[Rupert]

Yes, as said above, you can get a terrific finish spray painting mdf.

Make sure you use a soft wood filler, or cellulose based primer/putty filler like you get in tins for car body work repair, not a hard resin based car body filler.

If the filler is harder than the mdf you will have problems sanding it down as the mdf will sand away quicker than the filler!

You could also use a high build filler primer from an aerosol applied in several thin coats and sanded down in between coats, lots of work though. Its used for removing scratches and imperfections in car body work.


Rupert