jeepguylv
CarAudio.com Elite
just received my box the other day and it looks and sounds awesome, build quality is the best i have seen. i decided to paint the box myself a metallic gunmetal gray with silver accents, i am posting this to show the process and how to get the glossy finish like the paint on your car.
this is time consuming so do not try and rush it, there is a lot of sanding, priming sanding priming.... you get the picture.
so i started this today and here is where i'm at.
first i took a soft bristle brush ( like a bench brush, shoe polish brush is what i used) to the box and rubbed it in the areas that were cnc'd to remove some of the fine particals in the groves.
then i went thru and sanded all the corners and edges with a fine foam sanding block ( i did this by hand because i did not want the corners really round but just a slightly soft edge so the paint does not chip so easily and with a hard 90 deg. corner )
next i cleaned the lexan window with a microfiber towel and some plastic cleaner spray ( i have some for work, its a foam spray and i love it because it is anti static).
after that i blow it off with a compressor .
i then used frog tape ( yellow because they were out of green ) and taped off window.
then i sprayed the inside with flat black and inside the port.
after that i taped the inside back an inch of the port and taped off sub cut out. (should have done this step and next step in reverse but i was on the phone while i was at this stage and not paying attention )
now i sprayed the outside of the box with kilz primmer sealer, the good thing about kilz is it is an oil based primmer stain block so it will seal the outside of the wood from moisture for those of you in humid climates, and it will allow paint to not soak in the wood allowing for fewer coats, otherwise the wood will just keep soaking in the paint.
once the kilz is dry i take my DA palm sander with 220 grit paper and very lightly sand the whole thing ( you must wait for it to dry completely or your sandpaper will gum up and leave deep scratches that will be a pain to sand out )
repeat this process until you are happy with the finish, i am usually happy after my third sanding.
then on the last coat of primmer i do it light to medium coat and let dry overnight.
i will then go over that last coat with a sanding block wrapped in 400 grit paper.
now once that is done and wiped down with a very slightly damp lintless cloth and blown off with the compressor again you are ready for your first coat of paint.
same steps apply for the paint as was done for the primmer, only difference is on the paint i do lighter coats not so heavy, and instead of the sander i use the block with 400 paper.
then once you are happy with the last coat of paint and everything is dry and your last coat is sanded and clean you are ready for the clear ( i use clear always for the reason that you can wet sand and buff it to a shine using 800 then 1000 then 2000 then polishing compound, and a good carnauba wax )
i know you might be reading this and thinking it's a waist of time or too much work for a speaker box, but, if you like the painted look then you must follow the proper steps to make it look its best, besides, cherrymans boxes imo deserve nothing less //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/thumbsup.gif.3287b36ca96645a13a43aff531f37f02.gif
i will be posting more photos once it is complete but for now i will post what i have.
thank you for reading, and please no wars in this thread, but if you see something i have forgotten, or have any suggestions on what has worked for you then please feel free to add your comments.
mike
box before anything was done.
flat black inside box and port
taped the inside of the port and stuffed with paper towel
primed
notice the edge how it is slightly softend
more photos to come, stay tuned.
this is time consuming so do not try and rush it, there is a lot of sanding, priming sanding priming.... you get the picture.
so i started this today and here is where i'm at.
first i took a soft bristle brush ( like a bench brush, shoe polish brush is what i used) to the box and rubbed it in the areas that were cnc'd to remove some of the fine particals in the groves.
then i went thru and sanded all the corners and edges with a fine foam sanding block ( i did this by hand because i did not want the corners really round but just a slightly soft edge so the paint does not chip so easily and with a hard 90 deg. corner )
next i cleaned the lexan window with a microfiber towel and some plastic cleaner spray ( i have some for work, its a foam spray and i love it because it is anti static).
after that i blow it off with a compressor .
i then used frog tape ( yellow because they were out of green ) and taped off window.
then i sprayed the inside with flat black and inside the port.
after that i taped the inside back an inch of the port and taped off sub cut out. (should have done this step and next step in reverse but i was on the phone while i was at this stage and not paying attention )
now i sprayed the outside of the box with kilz primmer sealer, the good thing about kilz is it is an oil based primmer stain block so it will seal the outside of the wood from moisture for those of you in humid climates, and it will allow paint to not soak in the wood allowing for fewer coats, otherwise the wood will just keep soaking in the paint.
once the kilz is dry i take my DA palm sander with 220 grit paper and very lightly sand the whole thing ( you must wait for it to dry completely or your sandpaper will gum up and leave deep scratches that will be a pain to sand out )
repeat this process until you are happy with the finish, i am usually happy after my third sanding.
then on the last coat of primmer i do it light to medium coat and let dry overnight.
i will then go over that last coat with a sanding block wrapped in 400 grit paper.
now once that is done and wiped down with a very slightly damp lintless cloth and blown off with the compressor again you are ready for your first coat of paint.
same steps apply for the paint as was done for the primmer, only difference is on the paint i do lighter coats not so heavy, and instead of the sander i use the block with 400 paper.
then once you are happy with the last coat of paint and everything is dry and your last coat is sanded and clean you are ready for the clear ( i use clear always for the reason that you can wet sand and buff it to a shine using 800 then 1000 then 2000 then polishing compound, and a good carnauba wax )
i know you might be reading this and thinking it's a waist of time or too much work for a speaker box, but, if you like the painted look then you must follow the proper steps to make it look its best, besides, cherrymans boxes imo deserve nothing less //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/thumbsup.gif.3287b36ca96645a13a43aff531f37f02.gif
i will be posting more photos once it is complete but for now i will post what i have.
thank you for reading, and please no wars in this thread, but if you see something i have forgotten, or have any suggestions on what has worked for you then please feel free to add your comments.
mike
box before anything was done.
flat black inside box and port
taped the inside of the port and stuffed with paper towel
primed
notice the edge how it is slightly softend
more photos to come, stay tuned.
