JBL GTx10

[Alex2507]

Any depression or ridge that you can feel with a finger nail will show, always.

I actually know that.

The weird thing is that I scuffed the enclosures before and after the primer in sunlight so that I could see exactly what I was agreeing to live with before shooting color. My thought is that the wood and the various fillers reacted differently to the water base primer and paint. In the interest of forward progress I honest to goodness just went with the 'go with what you know' approach.

A couple of skim coats with this stuff ...

and a light sanding with 320 grit on a rubber block got me to a point where just didn't care anymore. I also picked up some deep base primer from Sherwin Williams because I decided that I don't want to give these to Doug and my primer must be more manly. I shot that yesterday ... two coats ... looked good.

Today I made the faces. After the paint is finished and the drivers are in again I will cut the port mouth into the African Mahogany portion of the face.

The mitered piece you see on the corner is just a gauge. In it's place trimming out the entire perimeter will be some curly maple I am going to mill up.

Here are some shots of the one coat of color ...

... and the top sans visible screw holes. The orange peel lays down as it drys and to lessen it on subsequent coats I can either thin it out a bit more or give it more air. This is the better of the two enclosures ... you didn't expect me to show you the worse of the two, did you?

Here's both faces so you don't think I only made one and I only put the differing multiple radii in there because I didn't want GO-NAD! to think I was taking the easy out.

 

[Rickster71]

Huh...even I know that is only the primer coat....

You are correct sir.
Doug specifically requested mauve.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

You are correct sir.
Doug specifically requested mauve.

It really doesn't matter what color ("colour" for Dave...) they are...

































...my eyes are always closed anyway.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Here's both faces so you don't think I only made one and I only put the differing multiple radii in there because I didn't want GO-NAD! to think I was taking the easy out.

Buddy, from your first post in this thread, it was quite clear to me that you were not going to take the easy way out. I'm quite impressed with what you've done so far. So, don't muck up the rest of the job, or I'll be on you like flies on po*....or Doug on a twister game.

 

[Alex2507]

I had a couple of set backs with the paint. It turns out that the EZ Sand doesn't adhere too well as a skim coat, latex paint doesn't like being wet sanded and a second coat of paint will blister the first coat after the first coat has been wet sanded and probably some other sh!t went wrong like I didn't allow enough dry time in between whatever steps I was taking. The f^%&ing wheels came right off this pig.

So ... after some sanding, digging and gouging I am back to having one coat of color on top of 3 coats of primer and two coats of regular brown bag Durabond which is suppose to stick better as a skim coat according to something I read online..

Also I added Floetrol to my primer and paint.

No more wet sanding ... no more sanding, just paint. In the form of progress I can say that I have my amp wiring, enclosure wiring, binding posts, maple trim for the face, Mahogany cladding for the base and port hole cut out in the face all squared away.

What's left is the making of the magnetic grill, more coats of paint, polyurethane on the Mahogany and installation of the face and Mahogany cladding on the base. It looks better than ever, not free of flaws but at least the wood isn't swelling up around the screw holes. Between the Durabond and 3 coats of primer I think I have enough of a moisture barrier in place where the paint isn't making the wood swell.

The next build won't be like this.

Oh yeah, running a flush cut router bit on the inside of the port mouth for the hole in the Mahogany portion of the face caused a huge chunk of wood to go flying off making it necessary for me to route a line of wood out with the use of a guide and glue in a 'Dutchman' and then route that back with the flush bit again.

pic's tomorrow.

 

[Alex2507]

Okay, here's the worst of it. That little spot on the left pops up with a fresh
coat of paint but settles back down. That's 2 coats of color now. I'm gonna
stick to my guns and not sand for coat 3. We'll see where we're at then but
I'm gonna try to not sand.

Here's a more forgiving shot of the both of 'em.

Here's the part of the faces that gets gloss black paint out of a spray can. I
have them primed black now and I have the grill framework cut and primed as
well. No pic's of that yet though.

They got the router love.

The ply end grain will get little 1/2"x1/2" maple trim pieces like the ones on
the Mahogany portion of the face with the cut out for the port mouth.

Here's the maple sticks along with the cladding for the base with the holes
for the binding posts in the piece that goes in the back.

The Mahogany got one coat of satin polyurethane brushed on. I'm not going to spray that in the same room with the painted enclosures but the next coat of poly won't be out of a shaken can. I read the directions saying not to shake but to stir the poly after I shook it up real good causing the pretty bubbles.

Here's another pretty bubble.

I'm contemplating using grain filler to take the Mahogany to the next level
but hate the idea of dragging this out any further. Ugh ... I wish Eddie's shop
wasn't 40 miles away but I sure am glad he has a shop that he lets me use.

 

[TLS Guy]

I just hate paint jobs. Even the smallest sin does not go unpunished!

I would paint the varnish with a good varnish brush. Use 7 or 8 coats and rub lightly with very fine wire wool between coats.

 

[Alex2507]

I just hate paint jobs. Even the smallest sin does not go unpunished!

The paint being a semi gloss shows the flaws quite readily but the lighting condition in my room are much dimmer than the shop. I can accept less than perfect on this first build. The next time I go at this I would like to drop the enclosure off at a shop my brother in law has used to refinish stuff.

I would paint the varnish with a good varnish brush.

Got me a Purdy black china bristle.

Use 7 or 8 coats ...

No, man. That's like 560 miles of driving and 7 more days. No can do, Dr. Mark.
... three coats tops, maybe just two.

and rub lightly with very fine wire wool between coats.

Polyurethane wants to be sanded with nothing finer than 220 grit paper to allow for a tooth that the next coat can mechanically bind to. A mineral spirits wipe and tack cloth dust removal is in order after sanding. With shellac you can go super smooth as the alcohol reactivates the dry coat and the new coat melds with the old one. This is something that I've read up on in the past and I've tried my hand at refinishing a few pieces. There still is plenty for me to learn about various finishes however I like to stick with poly and I sort of know what to expect from it.

 

[TLS Guy]

The paint being a semi gloss shows the flaws quite readily but the lighting condition in my room are much dimmer than the shop. I can accept less than perfect on this first build. The next time I go at this I would like to drop the enclosure off at a shop my brother in law has used to refinish stuff.



Got me a Purdy black china bristle.



No, man. That's like 560 miles of driving and 7 more days. No can do, Dr. Mark.
... three coats tops, maybe just two.



Polyurethane wants to be sanded with nothing finer than 220 grit paper to allow for a tooth that the next coat can mechanically bind to. A mineral spirits wipe and tack cloth dust removal is in order after sanding. With shellac you can go super smooth as the alcohol reactivates the dry coat and the new coat melds with the old one. This is something that I've read up on in the past and I've tried my hand at refinishing a few pieces. There still is plenty for me to learn about various finishes however I like to stick with poly and I sort of know what to expect from it.

I have got on much better with a 0000 wire wool than fine sandpaper when using varnish. The next coat seems to adhere much better. A light hand rub works well, I have found. The varnish must be dry, or you will get bits of wool on the surface. I use Prep All between coats.

 

[Alex2507]

I have got on much better with a 0000 wire wool than fine sandpaper when using varnish. The next coat seems to adhere much better. A light hand rub works well, I have found. The varnish must be dry, or you will get bits of wool on the surface. I use Prep All between coats.

I re-read what my book had to say about brushing varnish and it supports what you're saying.
The product I am using is a Fast Dry Min Wax.

I used the 'Floor' formula on a few things before and seem to remember them saying 220 grit but to be honest I haven't read this can's instructions.

It sounds like you're using the wax remover/degreaser the same way I am using mineral spirits. I wonder what's in the Prep All ... just looked it up, toluene. Interesting stuff. I don't have any experience with it but it looks like it might evaporate more quickly than mineral spirits. You're just using it to remove dust, right?

 

[TLS Guy]

I re-read what my book had to say about brushing varnish and it supports what you're saying.
The product I am using is a Fast Dry Min Wax.

I used the 'Floor' formula on a few things before and seem to remember them saying 220 grit but to be honest I haven't read this can's instructions.

It sounds like you're using the wax remover/degreaser the same way I am using mineral spirits. I wonder what's in the Prep All ... just looked it up, toluene. Interesting stuff. I don't have any experience with it but it looks like it might evaporate more quickly than mineral spirits. You're just using it to remove dust, right?

Yes, it removes the dust and dries right away. It does remove any grease that might have come from your hands.

The varnish you are using is fine.

 

[Swerd]

I have been reading these recent posts with some pain. I have developed a profound dislike of painting speaker cabinets. Anyone who thinks it is simpler than using veneer... should be required to read this thread .

Getting a decent looking paint finish is very hard work. Ask Sean .

I agree with TLS about using 0000 steel wool. It works better at rubbing down those varnish bubbles.

Be sure to protect your subwoofer and grill mounting magnets from the steel wool dust particles .

 

[TLS Guy]

I have been reading these recent posts with some pain. I have developed a profound dislike of painting speaker cabinets. Anyone who thinks it is simpler than using veneer... should be required to read this thread .

Getting a decent looking paint finish is very hard work. Ask Sean .

I agree with TLS about using 0000 steel wool. It works better at rubbing down those varnish bubbles.

Be sure to protect your subwoofer and grill mounting magnets from the steel wool dust particles .

Yes, paint is the toughest finish of all!

I have really good spray equipment here, including ceiling mounted Dixon filters, and yet I hate to have to use it.

I use veneered board and don't even veneer anymore. You just have to carefully think the job through so no cut ends show.

These speakers are built from pre veneered oak particle board, just like my speakers here. The quarter round solid oak pieces just round the corners nicely.

 

[Alex2507]

Be sure to protect your subwoofer and grill mounting magnets from the steel wool dust particles .

Yet another reason to not use that stuff.

Here it is:

• Shoot Color
• Black primer on backs of face and grill assemblies
• Sand and coat wood with poly
• Install magnets on face and grill assemblies
• Spray gloss black on face and grill assemblies
• Attach Mahogany cladding to base
• Install driver
• Focus on getting these home

I am all out of love.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

A light hand rub works well,.

He is good a hand rubbing....

 

[Alex2507]

I have been reading these recent posts with some pain.
I agree with TLS about using 0000 steel wool. It works better at rubbing down those varnish bubbles.

You deserve some level of distress for encouraging me in all this.

I used a chisel to slice off the bubbles and used 0000 steel wool even though I said I wouldn't despite the fact that the instructions said to use 220 grit. It was tough getting a thin film to cover on the next coat but I took my time and got it done. I used a technique called 'tipping off' from pg. 179 in that book(item #10). I'm glad I got to talking to TLS and was driven to pick the book up to look up toluene. It led to reading a section called 'Brushing Varnish'.

These speakers are built from pre veneered oak particle board ...

Interesting choice. I saw some white oak veneered plywood that was pretty heavy and $120 /sheet that I would be interested in working with but I gotta say that this build has cured me of building stuff 40 miles away.

He is good at hand rubbing....

I feel like you're watching me ...

 

[Swerd]

You deserve some level of distress for encouraging me in all this.

Every DIYer I've ever known has something he's good at - and more things he's bad at. Now you know .

Those flaws in the paint are small, and few people other than yourself will ever notice them. They are subwoofers. They may sit low out of the line of sight, even in a corner. In normal room light people won't notice. Besides, the visual appeal of those other design features you came up with will draw the eye away from the boring parts. (If TLS Guy is reading this, his blood pressure is already rising.)

Interesting choice. I saw some white oak veneered plywood that was pretty heavy and $120 /sheet that I would be interested in working with but I gotta say that this build has cured me of building stuff 40 miles away.

Veneered plywood requires that the joints be mitred. I'm lousy at getting mitre cuts to join up without being slightly out of kilter. It's another source of frustration that I'd rather avoid. Maybe Eddie is good at that.

 

[Alex2507]

Every DIYer I've ever known has something he's good at - and more things he's bad at. Now you know

I must say that I think I'm pretty good at everything.


... lmao and getting ready to bring them home.

 

[GO-NAD!]

I must say that I think I'm pretty good at everything.

Like reading directions...?

I read the directions saying not to shake but to stir the poly after I shook it up real good causing the pretty bubbles.

 

[Alex2507]

Like reading directions...?

Sarcasm is sooooooo not like you......

I've been waiting ... I knew the time would come ...
My compliments on getting the tone and inflection through even in text.

Now on to the real deal ...

They weigh 105 lbs a piece. I haven't hooked them up yet but they already sound good.