thats what welding cable is for !! it withstands heat ... welding cable is good for +105C ... i use a mapp as tourch to solder lugs onto welding cable and you cant even touch the wire when done but the jacket doesnt even melt !! this for sure. Not sure why some people think it will melt faster that car audio brands.
yeah just checked out you build log. sweet amp rack btw. but yeah that definitely seems like the deck malfunctioned. you should email alpine the pictures and let them know what happened. your lucky you caught that fast because it could have definitely ended worse.
wow i have never heard of that happening. only way i could think it could happen is if the ground in the rca's somehow found a 12 volt source and shorted out. where the rca' run over any buss bars?
I did it for a friend and it turned out awesome. Just make sure te box is smooth because all imperfections show. And a plus with plastidip and mdf is that it won't peel off
You could also use somthing like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CJ1V4a45zg
I'm using this in a project of mine an it was from an old 3000 watt generator. It has a prety damn good amount of torque for a gas powered. motor
I'm having a hard time finding anything that looks like that vifa. Theres this but they are pretty pricy.
http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/approx-9-subwoofers/scanspeak-revelator-23w/4557t-02-9-aluminum-cone-subwoofer-black-cone/
Mdf sucks to paint. The best way to get a good finish is to coat the box with fiberglass resin and then sand it smooth. Then just paint it like you would anything else