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What paint for front and rear baffles?

89grand

89grand

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I'm going to start restoring my odd ball (one of a kind?) towers with the Philips drivers. I want a satin, or maybe semi-gloss black finish, but not really like you get from standard spray paint.


I want that smooth Boston Acoustic A series sort of look. Is that something that should be purchased in a can and then rolled on with a small roller, or is it something that would be sprayed on, but not regular paint?


They look like this now:

IMG_0256.jpg
 
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I think you'll love Duplicolor Engine Enamel with Ceramic in Low Gloss Black. The product code is DE 1634. I love it for its very smooth finish, low gloss that feels less like paint than most. Very similar to what you describe on the Boston A series. Very commonly available at Oreillys auto parts and other auto parts stores that carry Duplicolor.

Here's a photo of a pair of Alesis Monitor Ones that I modified and painted from another thread. Doesn't quite do it justice but I think it's what your looking for.....

Photo3.jpg


Cheers
 
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I've used Dupli-color black "Trim" Paint aerosol, on my restorations. Has a nice, smooth finish, and just a hint of a lustre without being too shiny.
 

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dosto233 said:
I think you'll love Duplicolor Engine Enamel with Ceramic in Low Gloss Black. The product code is DE 1634. I love it for its very smooth finish, low gloss that feels less like paint than most. Very similar to what you describe on the Boston A series. Very commonly available at Oreillys auto parts and other auto parts stores that carry Duplicolor.

Here's a photo of a pair of Alesis Monitor Ones that I modified and painted from another thread. Doesn't quite do it justice but I think it's what your looking for.....

Photo3.jpg


Cheers
Click to expand...

Beautiful! I'm thinking this wouldn't replicate an older JBL baffle ... would it?
 
Yep, the Duplicolor Engine Enamel matte black has an excellent appearance. However, it should be noted that one should not expect the sort of scratch resistance one normally associates with factory black finishes. It's pretty good, but you can scratch it if you're not careful.

- Michael
 
The Duplicolor TRIM paint is pretty good to, but I think the Engine Enamel in Low Gloss is a bit closer to the look the OP was going for. tomlinmgt is right that its not the toughest enamel I've used but its reasonably tough particularly if you prep your surface well and use a great quality primer. Heres a photo below of a desktop Humidor that I redid and actually used the same paint. It was sanded down and primed with Zinsser Cover Stain Primer/Sealer which I really like. Also note, with some of the Duplicolor stuff, coverage is pretty thin so you usually end up needing more coats than you usually estimate. If you think one can will be plenty, buy 2.

Cheers

Photo1.jpg
 
I've found the part about not being tough is applicable in the first few weeks or so, but after time it gets pretty tough. It drys fast, to touch, but I doesn't properly cure for weeks. If left in the sun you get an almost baked finish.

Used it for years on my cars for the engine compartment and other areas. Damn fine stuff.
 
I'd agree with that.^ Duplicolor states that all their enamels have a 1 hour recoat window and and reach 100% cured in one week, but once cured its pretty tough.
 
Now that I think about it, I may have used that Duplicolor engine paint on my Egyptian Maadi AK-47 when I redid the finish on it. That stuff is tough, but I baked it in the over afterwards. Then again, it may have been header paint.
 
Their bake on paints are a whole other league of tough, the standard engine enamels are pretty tough but are only meant for intermittent heat up to 500 degrees when properly primed with their engine primer.
 
I don't mean to sound like a know it all guys, but this is very much in my wheelhouse as I own a specialty coatings business that specializes in powder coating, polymer coating, and high temperature ceramics. Now, all you cats are giving great advice and I agree about baking and allowing time for a full cure but if you want really tough you're going to have to go two-part/catalyzed (meaning you add a hardener) though I have worked with some water borne single-component coatings that are wicked tough. Downside to those is cost and for a DIY guy it might be prohibitive. If you're restricted to a rattle can then you're performance ceiling is going to be limited. But if you have a paint gun you have some excellent options and if you don't an inexpensive paint gun can be picked up from Harbor Freight that will work just fine. A commercial paint supply store (like a Sherwin Williams, Pittsburg, Kelly Moore, etc. stand alone store) will have matte-black catalyzed coatings that look great and are plenty tough and some of these won't require a primer but no coating allows you cut corners with surface prep....that's mandatory. So if you want something that will last, endure an accidental bump here and there, and is an order of magnitude better than rattle can quality investigate my recommendation and see if it's right for you. :D

- Michael
 
Better to BE a know-it-all than just sound like one :)

Your absolutely right, a 2 part catalyzed finish is definitely the way to go, let's be clear about that and if you'll be doing more than an occasional restoration of audio products, it's worth the investment (which is why I'm planing on these purchases), but I think for a lot of what makes up the average AK'er it's very cost prohibitive. A compressor, a decent gun (even HF's), and paint? The knowledge required and possible learning curve simply aren't worth it for some. Remember, were mostly painting speakers and components; not engine parts exposed to heat and vibration. If its worth it to you, it CAN'T be beat, but otherwise the Duplicolor stuff is wonderful if you truly go the extra mile on prep with the right products.

Cheers
 
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That sounds like it's definitely better, but I bought these speakers for $25, and while they sound very good, I've never seen another pair anywhere on the net, and no one here seems to have any idea what they are either, so their resale value is probably low simply because no one would know what they were.

I want them to look better for my own reasons, but it's simply not worth the effort to go much beyond some sort of spray paint. Now, if they were sought after JBL's for instance, that would be a different story.
 
What's wrong, in your opinion, with how they look?
If I were to consider a cost effective way of improving the look, I'd do multiple coats of a sanding sealer type paint , wet sanding in between coats and finishing with a black lacquer spray.
Sort of like a piano finish, preferably flat or satin.
 
tubed said:
What's wrong, in your opinion, with how they look?
If I were to consider a cost effective way of improving the look, I'd do multiple coats of a sanding sealer type paint , wet sanding in between coats and finishing with a black lacquer spray.
Sort of like a piano finish, preferably flat or satin.
Click to expand...

They look like the front and rear baffles were just spray painted straight into the wood with flat black paint with no prep work at all, it looks pretty cheesy for a speaker that sounds as good as these do..

I just want a nice black uniform finish on the baffles instead of the mostly black, but not uniform flat appearance they have now.

If I can do some basic prep work, and then get the baffles a uniform black, with a low level sheen, they'd look much better, more "high end" if you will.

I may even replace all of the screws with black ones as well. I'm in the process now of removing the dried up shredded foam that was used as stuffing and replacing it with fiberglass.

I'm willing to spend some time on these, but not a ton of money.
 
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