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[Tim McCulloch]

While we are on the subject, does anyone want to share their best US source for Duratex?  Both in the 1gal and 5gal size?

Just east of me...  http://www.speakerhardware.com/categories.php?cat=10 

[Josh Millward]

Also available from Parts Express.

Acry-Tech Coatings: DuraTex

[Steve Garris]

I always figured I would just take my stripped boxes to a spray-in bedliner place, and have them sprayed. Here in the Pacific NW it's too cold 10 months out of 12 to paint anything like that.

This is the bedliner stuff - scroll to the bottom of the page and you'll see a speaker box.

http://www.linex.com/pages/2010/light_industrial/

[Tim McCulloch]

Wow can't paint my cabinets until June!

Guess I have to rig up something safer than the torpedo heater for the shop.

Was planning on doing some wedges I just finished upgrading and de-rat furalizing.

Naw, you can paint now.  Your torpedo heater may be sufficient (or this is an excuse to get something new & fancy).  The secret is to have the wood and coating up to temp.  If you can comfortably work in a t-shirt and jeans, the room is warm enough.

[Scott Holtzman]

Naw, you can paint now.  Your torpedo heater may be sufficient (or this is an excuse to get something new & fancy).  The secret is to have the wood and coating up to temp.  If you can comfortably work in a t-shirt and jeans, the room is warm enough.

I wasn't going to buy anything, just use a bunch of those portable oil filled radiator heaters I have at home and the office.

Using a kerosene torpedo heater, in an enclosed space, unattended, even with the thermostat gives me the willy's.

[eric lenasbunt]

You can use my warehouse, it still hasn't dropped below 70 degrees in there as of today! Humidity is so high it may not dry for a month though.

[Scott Holtzman]

You can use my warehouse, it still hasn't dropped below 70 degrees in there as of today! Humidity is so high it may not dry for a month though.

Thanks, I am sure more pleasant weather in the gulf states.  Very odd here for December, was 60 at noon today, when in to Church service at 7:00 PM came out at 8:40 and it dropped 20 degrees and the winds picked up 20+ knots.

Tomorrow supposed to be ice and a dusting of snow.

[Brian Bolly]

1.  Duratex recommends cleaning the cabinets.  Would a simple wipe down with a damp rag suffice or is a cleaning product needed.  Would I also do a light sanding on the current paint job?

My process was to hit the cabinet with a DA sander and low # grit (I think I used 40) sandpaper.  This roughs up the current paint, knocks down the edges of any dings/dents and removes any suspect existing paint.

Now you can prep the boxes. Fill in holes and re-sand.  After you've filled and re-sanded, something you may want to do is use a base coat of flat black latex.  It gives a good even base to start with and helps the Duratex adhere to your filler material.

Before you fill anything, and again before you put any paint or Duratex on, wipe down the entire cabinet with a slightly damp tack cloth.  Neither vacuum nor air compressor can remove all the dust that's sticking to the cabinet.  The tack cloth will pick up a surprising amount and make for a clean surface to apply any repair or coating.

2.  Does painting by roller give a nice finish?  I am assuming a sprayer would be best but I don't have access to one.

Yes, but as with all roller finishes, your technique will help determine how nice it is.  The type of roller cover does make a difference as well.  I can tell the difference between the first couple boxes I rolled and the last couple as I got comfortable with how it covered and rolled out.  It's like painting with slightly watery pudding, but you eventually get the hang of it.  The factory style roller covers from Acrytech work well.

3.  How reflective is the "Satin" finish?

As other folks have said, not very.  No more so than the factory finish of most other boxes, but it's definitely not dead flat either.

4.  How durable is Duratex?  How does it compare to other professionial speaker cabinet finishes?

So far, so good.  The boxes I did this spring went out for 4 months on the road, and I only noticed a couple small dings in the wedges when they came back, which were to be expected.  Overall I am very impressed with the durability of the product.


As mentioned, a decent shop temperature helps dictate how well and how fast the stuff cures, but the real contributing factor is humidity.  I did 2 runs of boxes a couple weeks apart, and the humidity went from in the mid 40%/low 50% range to up around 70%.  That change in humidity increased the full cure time of the second set of boxes by over a week, up from a couple days.  If you're doing 2 coats (recommended for coverage and durability), this is a big deal.  You can get a nice digital thermohygrometer for around $25 to help monitor temperature and humidity in the area where you're painting.

After doing one set of boxes with a sprayer and another with a roller, I am firmly in the camp of using the roller.  Way less mess, less noise, and uses a lot less material.  Roller covers are the only thing I burned through, and those are cheap in comparison.  Unless you have a LOT of boxes to do the 1gal size will probably be sufficient for your needs. 

[John Halliburton]

I would also suggest that sanding past 60 grit is probably not a good idea.  A lot of these products prefer a rougher surface for better adhesion.

Durham's Rock Hard Putty is the full name of the product Tim Mc. suggests, and it is as it says, rock hard.  Let it dry thoroughly-see below.

Also, make sure the cabinets are nice and dry-I'd consider leaving them in a well heated room for a few days prior to painting.

Finally, use compressed dry air to blow the cabinets off of dust before painting, vacuuming won't be enough.

Best regards,

John

[Rob Spence]

I would also suggest that sanding past 60 grit is probably not a good idea.  A lot of these products prefer a rougher surface for better adhesion.

Durham's Rock Hard Putty is the full name of the product Tim Mc. suggests, and it is as it says, rock hard.  Let it dry thoroughly-see below.

Also, make sure the cabinets are nice and dry-I'd consider leaving them in a well heated room for a few days prior to painting.

Finally, use compressed dry air to blow the cabinets off of dust before painting, vacuuming won't be enough.

Best regards,

John

And be sure your air is oil free.



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