Hi all
I'm mulling over the paint thing for a pair of PA subs I have under construction. These are compact BRs, 80 litre net built from 18mm birch, loaded with Celestion FTR15-4080HDX.
I've built various projects before and tended to go for rat fur to cover the cabs, but this is always a pain to repair if it gets damaged.
On my last project - a refurb of a pair of Peavey Hisys 2XT PA cabs with Fane drivers - I ripped the rat fur off and painted with "tuffcab" acrylic paint - from what I understand this is the stuff made by Aldcroft Adhesives that's been around a while.
It looked great with a textured roller effect but six months of gigging and it's clear this paint is not exactly durable.
So I was looking for paints that might be a little more hard-wearing. I've read lots of recommendations for Warnex and Duratex but both are difficult to get hold of in the UK - Warnex is available but pricey.
I had the idea that epoxy floor paint like the sort used in a garage or commercial premises has to be pretty darn hard wearing - if it has vehicles or machinery driving over it? Opinion on the net seems to be that the two-pack epoxies are the hardest wearing.
So I was looking at something like this:
2 Pack Epoxy Floor Paint | www.epoxyfloorpaint.co.uk
My question is, I've noticed discussions elsewhere about certain chemicals being "toxic" towards speaker drivers, in that the gasseous compounds released on curing can damage them - such as certain silicone sealants. While the two pack epoxy seems like an interesting thing to try out, I wouldn't want to damage my nice Celestion drivers with any nasty chemicals...
Any experts got any thoughts on this? Would stumping up to get some warnex imported from Germany be a safer bet?
Thanks for your replies!
I'm mulling over the paint thing for a pair of PA subs I have under construction. These are compact BRs, 80 litre net built from 18mm birch, loaded with Celestion FTR15-4080HDX.
I've built various projects before and tended to go for rat fur to cover the cabs, but this is always a pain to repair if it gets damaged.
On my last project - a refurb of a pair of Peavey Hisys 2XT PA cabs with Fane drivers - I ripped the rat fur off and painted with "tuffcab" acrylic paint - from what I understand this is the stuff made by Aldcroft Adhesives that's been around a while.
It looked great with a textured roller effect but six months of gigging and it's clear this paint is not exactly durable.
So I was looking for paints that might be a little more hard-wearing. I've read lots of recommendations for Warnex and Duratex but both are difficult to get hold of in the UK - Warnex is available but pricey.
I had the idea that epoxy floor paint like the sort used in a garage or commercial premises has to be pretty darn hard wearing - if it has vehicles or machinery driving over it? Opinion on the net seems to be that the two-pack epoxies are the hardest wearing.
So I was looking at something like this:
2 Pack Epoxy Floor Paint | www.epoxyfloorpaint.co.uk
My question is, I've noticed discussions elsewhere about certain chemicals being "toxic" towards speaker drivers, in that the gasseous compounds released on curing can damage them - such as certain silicone sealants. While the two pack epoxy seems like an interesting thing to try out, I wouldn't want to damage my nice Celestion drivers with any nasty chemicals...
Any experts got any thoughts on this? Would stumping up to get some warnex imported from Germany be a safer bet?
Thanks for your replies!
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If you're worried about damage, i wouldn't risk it, unless you get confirmed reports otherwise !
Adam Hall supplies what you want & ships to the UK 😉
Adam Hall supplies what you want & ships to the UK 😉
Surely you will be removing the drivers to apply the paint? Epoxy reaches full cure within a week and after a day there will be no noticeable solvent release.
Thanks for replies
Yes I will be removing drivers (!) to paint, and would of course wait until epoxy had thoroughly dried before final assembly. Guess I was just concerned that outgassing may last longer than a week and hoping somebody may have had a positive experience with that.
I saw some line x truckbed liner demo'ed on a stand at an agricultural show recently and it's clearly vastly more durable than the acylic I have been using to date. Just trying to investigate similar without the cost.
Yes I will be removing drivers (!) to paint, and would of course wait until epoxy had thoroughly dried before final assembly. Guess I was just concerned that outgassing may last longer than a week and hoping somebody may have had a positive experience with that.
I saw some line x truckbed liner demo'ed on a stand at an agricultural show recently and it's clearly vastly more durable than the acylic I have been using to date. Just trying to investigate similar without the cost.
You mention Aldcroft Adhesives - I have some of their speaker paint. It was supposed to be as tough as truck bed liner. It is not 2-pack though and I never used it so can't comment any further.
U-Pol Gravitex is a tough anti-stonechip coating that is meant to be applied to car sills and underbody. Might be worth looking into.
U-Pol Gravitex is a tough anti-stonechip coating that is meant to be applied to car sills and underbody. Might be worth looking into.
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