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Rank: Kit Apprentice
Groups: Member
Joined: 1/5/2008
Posts: 23
Points: 69
Location: Sydney
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So I finally have everything together and started on these. Assembled the S350 first, which I had issues with :( But one of the reasons I did it first was to iron out any problems on something that I can hide if I screw up really badly :p Oh, and it's heavy, so made me less nervous trying my hand at using a router for the first time.  All the kits, that's the C6 in the white box down the bottom.  Clamping an M6  S350.. Rather larger than I expected.. The temptation to try and use it as a coffee table is high, but resistable ;-)  I *really* hope I don't have a rent inspection until this is all done...  Raised edge on the S350 :( Fortunately it's on the bottom. I've smoothed over the edge by sanding, but it's not flat. Hopefully won't be too noticable.  The corresponding gap.. I fixed this up today. I started with wood putty, which was awful. Takes forever to set, doesn't set very hard (crumbly), and clogs up sanding discs something chronic. Moved onto plasti-bond today, which works better, but the two part thing is annoying. For the remainder of the kits I think I'll try pva glue and mdf dust. May take longer to set, but i suspect it will be less hassle in the long term.   Bare M6. Will get some photos of the mess that is my balcony tomorrow. Today I got much of the prep work done on the S350. Needs cleaned up with some finer grade sandpaper. Want to get the M6's and the C6 prepped by the end of the weekend too. Hopefully sand/fill/sand/route/fill tomorrow, finishing sand tomorrow. Then clean clean up the work area to get started on painting. I've not even assembled the TL6 yet. Figure they can wait until I finish this lot. Only so much room in a studio apartment ;-)
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Rank: Kit Apprentice
Groups: Member
Joined: 1/5/2008
Posts: 23
Points: 69
Location: Sydney
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BTW, for the finish, I've selected Montana hardcare Cherokee red. Using a brush on undercoat/primer. Also ordered some polish/glaze/wax to do after the wet sand stage. Deciding to forgo a clear finish, on a test bit of MDF I did the part I sprayed with the clearcoat ended up with some lines on it after a while, and the uncoated area seems fairly hard after it's set for a while, so will see how I go. I figure if I put down a good few layers of paint I can always polish out any minor imperfections that gather along the way.
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Rank: Kit Master
Groups: Member
Joined: 1/5/2008
Posts: 35
Points: 105
Location: Brisbane
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blaedd wrote:BTW, for the finish, I've selected Montana hardcare Cherokee red. Using a brush on undercoat/primer. Also ordered some polish/glaze/wax to do after the wet sand stage. Deciding to forgo a clear finish, on a test bit of MDF I did the part I sprayed with the clearcoat ended up with some lines on it after a while, and the uncoated area seems fairly hard after it's set for a while, so will see how I go. I figure if I put down a good few layers of paint I can always polish out any minor imperfections that gather along the way. Good man. :) Where did you wind up getting the paint? None of the Brisbane stores stock Spanish any more, they just give me excuses about how hard it is to get... I'll be interested to see how some polish works. So you're sanding to bare MDF, then coating with glaze, then the spraypaint? And yeah, I found that the paint is pretty hard on its own, so if you're gentle and don't chip it, you'll get a nicer finish without the polycoat on top. I went with polyurethane because I know my speakers will wind up getting bashed around a bit in moves and so on. :) Edit: Oh, and as for the filling of gaps, yes, try the PVA glue. Just gloop it in there (thin it with some water if you want it to run in well), then sand while it's half-dry and tacky, to get the MDF dust all mixed in. Works beautifully, its what we did all through high school because they wouldn't give us putty. It actually looks a hell of a lot better than putties on pine too, because the colour is the same as the surrounding woodgrain, and the wood particles in the MDF actually take stains - unlike a putty, which is always at least two shades off-colour.
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Rank: Kit Apprentice
Groups: Member
Joined: 1/5/2008
Posts: 23
Points: 69
Location: Sydney
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Yorick wrote:
Good man. :) Where did you wind up getting the paint? None of the Brisbane stores stock Spanish any more, they just give me excuses about how hard it is to get...
Isenbergs hardware on Oxford St Paddington (I'm in Sydney) have a small range, and have offered to order anything I want in. They also keep a selection of caps, german montana, and one of the other brands you mentioned in your guide. Helpful lot, and fairly convenient for me :-) Yorick wrote:
I'll be interested to see how some polish works. So you're sanding to bare MDF, then coating with glaze, then the spraypaint?
So the glaze is an automotive glaze/sealer. I was looking to get some 3M stuff but can't find it for order, and I have no car, so ended up getting http://www.waxit.com.au/proddetail.asp?prod=MO8100&cat=7. So plan is the usual sand, primer/undercoat, spray. Wet sand the final coat to 2000, apply the polish (actually "swirl remover", a bit more cut than a polish. I may end up having to do a polish phase as well, but the guy at waxit said I shouldn't need it). After that, over the next 30 days (while the paint fully cures) apply the sealant/glaze, which has some fillers in it, to enhance the shine. Finally, once the paint is fully cured, finish up with some Carnauba wax. This is pretty much what the guys that do case mods do for their ultra high gloss/wet look panels. Just hope I have enough patience to see it all through. Getting sick of sanding already and I'm not even at the paint stage! Yorick wrote:
Edit: Oh, and as for the filling of gaps, yes, try the PVA glue. Just gloop it in there (thin it with some water if you want it to run in well), then sand while it's half-dry and tacky, to get the MDF dust all mixed in. Works beautifully, its what we did all through high school because they wouldn't
What I actually did is just mix dust from my sanders collection basket with PVA and applied it like putty with my hands. Much easier than a spatula and nasty plastic stuff. Will see how it dries by tomorrow. I've spent way more on this finish than I had planned. In retrospect a nice veneer may have been fidly, but so much quicker ;-) give us putty. It actually looks a hell of a lot better than putties on pine too, because the colour is the same as the surrounding woodgrain, and the wood particles in the MDF actually take stains - unlike a putty, which is always at least two shades off-colour.[/quote]
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Rank: Kit Apprentice
Groups: Member
Joined: 1/5/2008
Posts: 23
Points: 69
Location: Sydney
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So today I finished the filling, sanded back to 180, and got out the router. Ironically my trial with the S350 was much more successful than my luck with the M6/C6. The M6 can be fixed with a bit of sanding, the C6 I managed to gouge the front (hint, the guide bearing will happily drop down into the rebate), and also managed to chip a corner.  Will be getting out the putty and seeing what I can do. Was hoping to get all the wood sanding done this weekend. Bugger (neighbours also started getting tired of the noise. Good excuse to stop for the day). As for the chip, I found the bit that chipped. Am I better off trying to glue it back, then putty, or just putty it up (for this I think plasti-bond will be good). The other problem I had was my router mat stopped adhering to the tiles. Guess too much wood dust *cough* Full gallery here http://picasaweb.google.com/blaedd/SpeakerKit
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Rank: Kit Apprentice
Groups: Member
Joined: 1/5/2008
Posts: 23
Points: 69
Location: Sydney
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blaedd wrote:So today I finished the filling, sanded back to 180, and got out the router.
Ironically my trial with the S350 was much more successful than my luck with the M6/C6. The M6 can be fixed with a bit of sanding, the C6 I managed to gouge the front (hint, the guide bearing will happily drop down into the rebate), and also managed to chip a corner.
Finally sanded down the putty repair job this evening (was going to wait until the weekend when I had better light, but I got bored. sad, yes I know). Looks pretty good. there may be a little nick left right by the rebate, but I doubt it will be noticable once everything is installed. Pretty happy with the repair job all told :-) Tomorrow I do the final sand with 240 grit on all the speakers (particularly the routed edges, which are pretty rough), clean up the work area and get started on primer, which will hopefully be finished by the end of the weekend. One thing I came across was the recommendation to wait 1-2 weeks after spraying before wet-sanding :( So quite probably end of May before these speakers are ready (and I've not even started on the TL6 yet). Limited painting hours sucks a bit too. That being said, don't have drivers (or feet for the S350) yet, so suppose finish delays aren't a bit deal right now. -David
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Rank: Kit Apprentice
Groups: Member
Joined: 1/5/2008
Posts: 23
Points: 69
Location: Sydney
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Just a quick update.. I haven't died, but rent inspection(s) has put a big hold on the painting/finishing.
That being said..
1) I've decided to do a clear coat.. Weeks after painting, the paint is still very soft.Picked up some gloss estapol today.(Which is annoying,I'd actually wet sanded two of the speakers, including the S350.. ugh, but read below).
2) Micro-mesh discs are a godsend if you decide to go the wet-sand route. I found them on activeabrasives.com.au. They're cloth backed, so you can use them wet (hmm. hope the motor in my ROS is well insulated), last forever, and give a *very* nice scratch pattern. They start at 400 grit equiv, and go well past 3000. I did up to two before the top two, and was getting really nice reflections. A quick test with some automative glaze and it brought the colour up nicely. They claim the top two should give you a full on gloss. They're about $2.50 a disc, but they seem to last for quite a while, and is much less effort/mess than wet sanding by hand.
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