Refinishing Speaker Cabs

E

Evan F. Hunter

Junior
Jan 11, 2011
350
0
0
34
Houston, Texas
Ive got a pair of QRX115s that Id like to sand down and recoat with some fresh duratex.



How do you get the old duratex off? It peals in some of the damaged area, And Ive done some sanding by hand. But Id like to have this project done by this month, and its takin a while. I could easily get a power sander from a few places if anyone things that will make a difference.





Any other tips or recomendations? Im looking to add Some nice rubber strips for feet on the monitor side and a general brand spankin new look/clean to these for corporate work etc.



 
Re: Refinishing Speaker Cabs

Solvent based paint strippers work fairly fast and should allow you to complete the project in 1 or 2 days.



Freshly applied Duratex is a bit soft so allow a few days curing time before tossing them around in the truck!



Personally I wouldn't remove all the old Duratex. I would sand with 220 grit the entire exterior to break the glaze and poke around and find the chipped spots, remove any loose material and then brush some fresh stuff into those locations.After the fresh Duratex dries then re-coat the entire box.Duratex doesn't need a primer so the old stuff is just a bit of extra protection.



As long as you get the loose stuff off you should be fine.



I prefer using spray grade with a hopper gun but I've gotten very good results with a heavy nap roller as well.
 
Re: Refinishing Speaker Cabs

Ron Kreiger wrote on Sun said:
Solvent based paint strippers work fairly fast and should allow you to complete the project in 1 or 2 days.



Freshly applied Duratex is a bit soft so allow a few days curing time before tossing them around in the truck!



Personally I wouldn't remove all the old Duratex. I would sand with 220 grit the entire exterior to break the glaze and poke around and find the chipped spots, remove any loose material and then brush some fresh stuff into those locations.After the fresh Duratex dries then re-coat the entire box.Duratex doesn't need a primer so the old stuff is just a bit of extra protection.



As long as you get the loose stuff off you should be fine.



I prefer using spray grade with a hopper gun but I've gotten very good results with a heavy nap roller as well.
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Thanks Ron, As I was working today I was thinking about about leaving it on and how it would have the extra protection. I dont want to have too many layers on there! I want to do 3 coats sprayed on of the new. My QRX boxes tend to take a beating but so far I love em. Just need a face lift.
 
Re: Refinishing Speaker Cabs

Power sander is the way to go. Get a random orbit sander, even if you have to buy a cheap one for $20 from Harborfreight or craigslist. Then use some 60 or 80 grit paper to knock the duratex down, followed by some 100 grit to smooth the cabs out a bit. Wear a dust mask and work in a well ventilated area. Forget about hand sanding, you'll be there all day.
 
Re: Refinishing Speaker Cabs

Tom Manchester wrote on Sun said:
Power sander is the way to go. Get a random orbit sander, even if you have to buy a cheap one for $20 from Harborfreight or craigslist. Then use some 60 or 80 grit paper to knock the duratex down, followed by some 100 grit to smooth the cabs out a bit. Wear a dust mask and work in a well ventilated area. Forget about hand sanding, you'll be there all day.
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Cool man thanks. I will go get my buddies sander tomorrow and knock em out.
 
Re: Refinishing Speaker Cabs

I would start with the 80 grit until you get the hang of it. You'll have to play around with it to get a feel for what grit of sandpaper takes the finish off quickly but not so aggressively that you start to wear down the wood of the cabinet. If you go too fine of a grit it may gunk up the sanding discs or not be aggressive enough. From what I remember of the EV QRX finish, 80 grit is probably a safe starting point. Get the big 15 or 20 pack of NORTON discs from Home Depot or Lowes, they're a much better value than buying the small 3 packs.
 
Re: Refinishing Speaker Cabs

Tom Manchester wrote on Sun said:
I would start with the 80 grit until you get the hang of it. You'll have to play around with it to get a feel for what grit of sandpaper takes the finish off quickly but not so aggressively that you start to wear down the wood of the cabinet. If you go too fine of a grit it may gunk up the sanding discs or not be aggressive enough. From what I remember of the EV QRX finish, 80 grit is probably a safe starting point. Get the big 15 or 20 pack of NORTON discs from Home Depot or Lowes, they're a much better value than buying the small 3 packs.
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Yeah I will get a big pac of 80 and then a big pack of 100 too. In the near future I may have 7 more cabs that I want to match up nice. I may do a slightly off color to identify my gear and my company. Nothing abstract at all. Who knows.
 
Re: Refinishing Speaker Cabs

Evan;

Could you have some before and after pictures to share as well? I have some rat fur cabinets I would like to redo and would like to see yours after with the new finish.



Douglas R. Allen
 
Re: Refinishing Speaker Cabs

Evan Hunter wrote on Sun said:
Ive got a pair of QRX115s that Id like to sand down and recoat with some fresh duratex.



How do you get the old duratex off? It peals in some of the damaged area, And Ive done some sanding by hand. But Id like to have this project done by this month, and its takin a while. I could easily get a power sander from a few places if anyone things that will make a difference.





Any other tips or recomendations? Im looking to add Some nice rubber strips for feet on the monitor side and a general brand spankin new look/clean to these for corporate work etc.
Click to expand...



A belt sander with 60 grit on the flats, random orbit or regular orbital sander on the rounded edges. Touch up with 60grit with the random orbit sander. Any gouges? Fill with bondo and level out with same.



A random orbital sander with 60grit or coarser if you're not comfortable with a belt sander.



I would then take them to a Line-X shop and have the sprayed there. The rough sanded surface is desirable for adhesion. The final product will be thicker and offer more protection.



Best regards,



John
 
Re: Refinishing Speaker Cabs

+1 to the belt sander... I was re-doing some KF650's ,and tried every sander in my shop. The belt sander that I eventually purchased was the only solution, and made short work of that job (about 30 minutes to get a complete kf650 down to bare wood). Started with a 40 grit, then worked my way up 80 then to 120 then switched to 220 with a palm sander.

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Re: Refinishing Speaker Cabs

Shane Presley wrote on Mon said:
+1 to the belt sander... I was re-doing some KF650's ,and tried every sander in my shop. The belt sander that I eventually purchased was the only solution, and made short work of that job (about 30 minutes to get a complete kf650 down to bare wood). Started with a 40 grit, then worked my way up 80 then to 120 then switched to 220 with a palm sander.

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haha funny thing is that is exactly how my 115 looks where ive started by hand! Belt sander it is.



So What would be your guys preference between duratex or taking them to a shop and getting Line X sprayed on? What is going to last and look the nicest?

 
Re: Refinishing Speaker Cabs

I've found that the Line-X style coatings tend to hold dirt well, and are difficult to get really clean. The finish does last much longer than paint though. If you are looking for the corporate shine, I would paint and keep painting on a regular basis. If you just want it black and looking decent without having to do regular touch-ups, then the truck bed liner is the way to go.
 
Re: Refinishing Speaker Cabs

Marlow Wilson wrote on Tue said:
Jeff Babcock wrote on Mon said:
I miss those 650's, I'm glad you gave them a fresh look Shane.
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Jeff, I'm about to touch up your old LA400's too. Your speakers are living happy lives!
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Glad to hear this. I had lots of fun making noise with both the 650's and the LA400's.



I'm happy in the sub dept now, but still figuring what to do for A rig tops during this slow part of the season. Was going to pull the trigger on Geo S12, but changed my mind. Really not sure what to do at this point - basically want something VERY scalable and good sounding for audiences of up to around 1500 that won't break the bank. At least sonically on par with the 650's I previously used, but more modular/scalable. Any suggestions would be welcome - I don't think the right solution exists for me right now. Maybe I should post this in the JR Varsity....



 
Re: Refinishing Speaker Cabs

Kelly Johnson wrote on Thu said:
I just refinished our QRX 212 boxes and I used the bed liner from Lowes. I brushed it on, roller seemed too sloppy. About 20min per box to paint. Easy to do, and Im happy with results
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I had done the same thing on these before, (its in a can for like 17 bucks right?) and yes the roller was very sloppy so i brushed it on as well. Now im taking off all that and the original duratex. And giving them a totally fresh coat.
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Well I ended up just putting another coat of the truck bedliner, I spent some money on some other new equipment and now I want to recoup that, and do my tops and subs all at once.
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Re: Refinishing Speaker Cabs

Ron Kreiger wrote on Sun said:
Solvent based paint strippers work fairly fast and should allow you to complete the project in 1 or 2 days.



Freshly applied Duratex is a bit soft so allow a few days curing time before tossing them around in the truck!



Personally I wouldn't remove all the old Duratex. I would sand with 220 grit the entire exterior to break the glaze and poke around and find the chipped spots, remove any loose material and then brush some fresh stuff into those locations.After the fresh Duratex dries then re-coat the entire box.Duratex doesn't need a primer so the old stuff is just a bit of extra protection.



As long as you get the loose stuff off you should be fine.



I prefer using spray grade with a hopper gun but I've gotten very good results with a heavy nap roller as well.
Click to expand...

Will Duratex adhere very well to latex paint?



If so, would it require roughening semi gloss paint ?
 
Re: Refinishing Speaker Cabs

It does adhere to Latex's but how that base coat of latex is applied has a lot do do with how tough the finish will end up. If the base coat of Latex (lets assume were talking home exterior Latex paint)is not applied very well the weakest point of course would be the initial adhesion of the Latex to the primer or the primer to the bare wood.If the base coat is applied well then sanding that should yield a very good bond to the Duratex even on oil based paints.



I would definitely sand any fully cured base coat you apply the Duratex on top of.



The roller grade works well and yields very good coverage.



I know a few guys who like to stretch the soup so to speak so they always primer with a water born primer prior to using Duratex.They sand the primer and then they usually get away with one thick coat using a hopper gun and spray grade Duratex.



I have oil heat in my home and one room in my basement has the Oil Burner/Tanks etc. along with a stack heater vented to that room.After painting cabs I place them in there for 2-3 days as it stays pretty toasty (around 78F)and is generally nice and dry.



I use a standard 72 hrs. till handling the cabs.



 
Re: Refinishing Speaker Cabs

Ron Kreiger wrote on Fri said:
It does adhere to Latex's but how that base coat of latex is applied has a lot do do with how tough the finish will end up. If the base coat of Latex (lets assume were talking home exterior Latex paint)is not applied very well the weakest point of course would be the initial adhesion of the Latex to the primer or the primer to the bare wood.If the base coat is applied well then sanding that should yield a very good bond to the Duratex even on oil based paints.



I would definitely sand any fully cured base coat you apply the Duratex on top of.



The roller grade works well and yields very good coverage.



I know a few guys who like to stretch the soup so to speak so they always primer with a water born primer prior to using Duratex.They sand the primer and then they usually get away with one thick coat using a hopper gun and spray grade Duratex.



I have oil heat in my home and one room in my basement has the Oil Burner/Tanks etc. along with a stack heater vented to that room.After painting cabs I place them in there for 2-3 days as it stays pretty toasty (around 78F)and is generally nice and dry.



I use a standard 72 hrs. till handling the cabs.
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Ron,



In your case, I'd put a sanded and prepped cabinet in the furnace room for a few days to drive any moisture out of the cabinet-typically the final products adhere better that way.



One really nice thing about Line-X, it's mostly cured when it cools, and fully cured in a day or so.



Best regards,



John
 
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