[Fatawan]

I am building 4 of the Rythmik 15" subs. My first one, the test mule, is almost done. I have been trying different techniques on finishing it on the different sides. It's made of 3/4" baltic birch wrapped with an outer layer of 1/2" MDF. It is primed with BIN sealer/primer which was sanded smooth with 220, then 320 grit. I used a black enamel paint over that. Brushing it one doesn't work unless you have gorilla sanding arms. Spray can method works fine, but I needed to do lots of light coats, one after another. I found that sanding and recoating seemed to make no difference. Just using lots of light coats gave me a decent smoothness. I also tried using automotive rubbing compound on the paint, followed by Johnson's Paste Wax. That actually gave the best results. Has anyone used that method for their finish? It makes sense in that enamel was the automotive finish of choice for many years.


What other choices are there for a good satin black finish?

 

[nik1818]

i'll get pictures up in a few days (because i only just recently found someone that wants it this way) of a sub i'm working on right now. in my own experimenting, i tried a latex enamel first rolled on and later i tried brushing. they gave the same disappointing result. so i took a sander to it and got a heck of a surprise. with a 320 grit disc on my random orbital sander, it actually gave a very nice satin black finish. very smooth and uniform, and it buffed out nicely by hand with a red shop rag. i never thought such a thing would turn out favorable. so i thought "what if i go back over it by hand with 1000 grit? or 1500?" and it turned out to be a mistake. not only was it frustrating, but it left scratches that took a lot of effort to remove.


so yeah, take 320 grit on a random orbital sander to some latex enamel and watch what happens. i was impressed even though it wasn't at all what i was looking to do.

 

[Kanaris]

Last year I build a friend of mine a box of his Tempest... one alternative I did was to accent the from baffle with 'bloodwood' trim and cover the rest of the box with satin arborite... he liked it a lot.

 

[wackii]

How about the gloss black piano finish as I mentioned in the DIY Gallery thread

Al,

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fatawan /forum/post/14281353


I am building 4 of the Rythmik 15" subs. My first one, the test mule, is almost done. I have been trying different techniques on finishing it on the different sides. It's made of 3/4" baltic birch wrapped with an outer layer of 1/2" MDF. It is primed with BIN sealer/primer which was sanded smooth with 220, then 320 grit. I used a black enamel paint over that. Brushing it one doesn't work unless you have gorilla sanding arms. Spray can method works fine, but I needed to do lots of light coats, one after another. I found that sanding and recoating seemed to make no difference. Just using lots of light coats gave me a decent smoothness. I also tried using automotive rubbing compound on the paint, followed by Johnson's Paste Wax. That actually gave the best results. Has anyone used that method for their finish? It makes sense in that enamel was the automotive finish of choice for many years.


What other choices are there for a good satin black finish?

 

[Video]

I thought this was a thread about people from Finland. Sorry wrong place.

 

[Fatawan]

That would be "Finnish", wouldn't it?

 

[Fatawan]



Quote:
Originally Posted by wackii /forum/post/14283596


How about the gloss black piano finish as I mentioned in the DIY Gallery thread

Al,

That finish is beautiful, to say the least. I printed it off to keep a copy. I was trying to avoid the glossy look though as I can see reflections off my current glossy speakers behind my screen. Distracting!

 

[malovich]

 Try this out. (rustoleum)

 

[nik1818]

i had to bounce to texas for a few days or i would have put up pictures by now, sorry.


i think my method will work out well for you since there really isnt much of a reflection from it. it was actually a failed attempt at a very glossy finish. i don't think theres much of a glare off of it either, but it won't be as good as using some sort of cloth for the finish. that might get a little hokey, though. i'll get to this soon.