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How To: Show Quality Paint on an Enclosure


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hey if it's not too much trouble and maybe when you get some free time, you think you could give me/everyone a write up of the steps you did to paint your box? im gonna be painting mine soon and if i can get it even 1/3 of what yours looks like i'll be happy haha

So a while back I was undecided on what I wanted as far as the finish on my box. I did a blow through and didn't think carpet or vinyl was the appropriate material for the enclosure since it was not near anything with carpet or vinyl. I also did not want to bedliner my box because I was going for a more "Show Quality" finish. I decided the finish was going to be painted, but not a lousy rattle can job, it had to look professional.

Tools and Equipment

  • Air Compressor
  • HVLP Paint Gun
  • Regulator and Water trap for air system
  • Various varieties of sandpaper explained below
  • Blue Painters tape
  • Paper
  • Plastic
  • Hose
  • Body Filler
  • Fiberglass Resin (No mat required)
  • Router w/ Round-over bit
  • High Build Primer
  • Base Coat
  • Clear Coat

I first started with the box itself. I built it with the vision of the final product in mind. Every cut had to be pretty much perfect and every screw was going to have to be invisible. I also wanted it to look sleek and show quality.

I countersunk every hole so the screw heads would not stick up. I also belt sanded every edge of the box to ensure a nice flush edge all around.

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Then I put it in the truck for testing because I wanted to make sure I would be happy with the output of the box, before putting time and money into.

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Sure enough I was not happy with the output so I continued tweaking the port and ratio of the box until I was satisfied. Once I got the box to that stage, I began sculpting it to become what I envisioned.

I first started by rounding over all the edges with the router and my round-over bit. I did not getting any pictures of the process, but here is what the edge looks like once finished.

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So in the picture above there were some steps I have not covered yet, but pay attention to the look of all the edges on the box including the port. That is what the round-over bit does. It creates a nice equal round over along the edge and gets rid of the sharp square looking edges.

The next step in the process is to fill every hole on the exterior of the box with body filler. On my box, I needed one removable face so I could access the woofers. I did my best to ensure none of the screws would be seen when looking into the bed of the truck. It took only a couple minutes to figure out how I could do this and fill the rest of the holes without worrying. So the box was completely assembled accept for the one board that I wanted removable. I began filling all the holes with body filler.

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As you can see every hole that needed to be hidden was filled in with body filler, then sanded flush with the box. I looks sort of goody at this stage, but you want try and envision the smooth final product.

The next step was fiber glassing the entire exterior of the box.

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Again I left the removable board off the box so it would not get stuck to the enclosure. I fiber glassed that piece separately. You may also notice I did not use any fiberglass mat on the exterior. The reason only resin is applied is so the paint has something to stick to and the wood does not absorb the paint.

After that I started sanding the box with a long-board sander and 80 grit to get it knocked down and straight. I applied body filler where it was needed.

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All of this "prep" work is needed to get the show quality finish. I have probably over 25 hours into the enclosure.

After you get the box straight and leveled out, you want to go over it with a 220 grit sandpaper. On a block or DA sander will work. Just be cautious not to dig in and create more high and lows spots. Once the box is fully sanded with 220 grit, give it a good wipe down or use an air compressor to blow it off. Again you want to make sure the box is still straight and look for any pin holes. If you do have pin holes or small touch up spots, I recommend using a glazing putty. It is not as thick as body filler and sands easier.

You think you finally have the box straight and perfect right? wrong, go over it again feeling for uneven spots or more pinholes. The process takes awhile to get perfect, but just keep envisioning the final product.

Okay now it is as close to perfect as you can get it. Time to wipe it down thoroughly and shoot some high build primer. I used U-pol 2k urethane high build primer. Follow the instructions of the primer and shoot a minimum of 2 heavy coats. I think I went with 4 coats total on the box.

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Now it is starting to take shape and you are very close to getting your nice finished product. It is now time for more sanding. The point of the high build primer is to try and fill the small, almost invisible, waves from the body work. The primer is nice and thick. So break out the DA sander or sanding block along with the hose and some 320 grit sandpaper. 320 will take to primer down pretty quickly so don't apply much pressure. The point of using 320 is help get a lot of the texture out of the high build primer.

Once the box has been sanded lightly with the 320 grit move onto 400 grit and only use a block sand pad. Go over the entire box wet sanding and get ALL the texture out. The box will really start to shine now. If you want, not required, but you may go over the box with 600 grit also. I did on my box and I could start to see me reflection in the primer.

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In those pictures the box has been dried, but it is so smooth from wet sanding it looks wet and glossy.

Once the box is completely wet sanded and all the small blemishes are out, it is time to start the real painting process. This box was not shot in a professional booth by any means. We laid plastic down on the garage floor, wet it and also put a fan to draw all the overspray out of the garage.

We started with a Honda Black Metallic Pearl for the base coat. With a color like black, you really want to work hard on your prep work because black shows everything.

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That was the easy part and the rest is not really that challenging.

Here is a trick we used to really make the box pop out and also match the truck.

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I went to a printing shop and asked for a reverse cut sticker. If you tell the printing shop what you are trying to do, they will point you in the right direction for this.

So we got the sticker in place and masked off the rest of the box so no over spray would come in contact with the black. Also, the black base coat was completely cured when we applied the sticker. It only took about an hour for the black base coat to cure.

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We then began shooting the same process and paint that was on the truck so it would match exactly.

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Then we let that paint cure only a little bit. You want it to be a little tacky when you pull the sticker off.

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Now this is one of the final steps and this is what gives the box that truly amazing finish. A nice glossy clear coat.

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I did not use even close to a full gallon of clear coat. I did three coats of clear coat on the box and used less than a quart of clear coat.

Again follow the instructions recommended on the instructions. Now begin to apply the clear coat.

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There are further steps you can take to improve the final product even more. You wet sand the clear coat with fine grit sand paper to get blemishes and texture out. Then you polish it with rubbing compound and a high speed buffer. It is extremely difficult on things such as an enclosure because it is easy to burn through the clear coat on the edges.

This was my first box build ever and what really made it stand out is all the prep work I put into it. I spent hours sanding on the box and also planning so I could hide all the screws and still have a removable plate. The removable plate is not really needed on standard ported and sealed enclosures so go ahead and fill all those holes.

After completing this project there is only one thing I did during the build and that is to apply fiberglass resin and mat to the interior of the box because the pressure of the subwoofers has made the seams visible.

Good luck with the projects and ask questions. I asked tons of questions at the paint store, printing store and even watching youtube videos. I really wanted the show quality finish and having the perfect final product.

Edit:

Another thing I forgot is I didn't paint the bottom or front of the box. They were both coated in fiberglass resin then I applied a nice black bedliner to them. Again you can do what you like with your enclosure. These are just specific things I did with mine. You may use my ideas and tips and apply them to any application you want.

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Also here it is in the truck

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thanks so much man for this write up! i knew i had to ask you for it when i saw you could see your reflection in your primer!

and doing things right takes a ton of time i agree! i already have over 30 hrs into building my t-line. :P but i guess that's why we do it.

couple questions though. if the edges of the boards don't precisely match up. (t-lines need inner dimensions perfect) how would you go about fixing that? obviously if it's the problem of the side of a board being to high then sand it but what it it's a little shy? try to use body filler to raise up the edge of the lower board? i see one edge like what im talking about on your box in pic 5. but i think in yours thats the removable face :P

also for using a HVLP gun, does it have to be a nice one? cause my friend i live with has one but im pretty sure it's a cheap one from harbor freight -_- lol

and lastly, out of curiosity when you set up your paint booth. did you say you wet the plastic you laid down?

anyways thanks again juiced!

I think you have a bit of truck stuck in your mud bro

~Ford Ranger, ext cab
Kenwood DDX470
1/0ga stinger wiring for big 3
1/0ga ofc flextech wiring

3 kinetik 800's

AQ2200 @1ohm

Sundown Audio X15

in a 27Hz tuned ported box

LE BUILD LOG!!!

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That box looks straight up incredible. I really don't think I'd have the patience to do something like that!

2002 Dodge Dakota 4.7 club cab - Sold 2004 Audi S4 Avant

- Fi and Crescendo - Stock Bose System

- http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/147725-2002-dodge-dakota-end-of-the-road/?hl=%202002%20%20dakota

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137.0 Drivers window open @ 26hz

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thanks so much man for this write up! i knew i had to ask you for it when i saw you could see your reflection in your primer!

and doing things right takes a ton of time i agree! i already have over 30 hrs into building my t-line. :P but i guess that's why we do it.

couple questions though. if the edges of the boards don't precisely match up. (t-lines need inner dimensions perfect) how would you go about fixing that? obviously if it's the problem of the side of a board being to high then sand it but what it it's a little shy? try to use body filler to raise up the edge of the lower board? i see one edge like what im talking about on your box in pic 5. but i think in yours thats the removable face :P

also for using a HVLP gun, does it have to be a nice one? cause my friend i live with has one but im pretty sure it's a cheap one from harbor freight -_- lol

and lastly, out of curiosity when you set up your paint booth. did you say you wet the plastic you laid down?

anyways thanks again juiced!

If it is a little shy then yes I would add body filler and try to get it as straight as possible. One of my concerns would be rounding over the body filler though. I imagine if you tried that it would all just chip away.

As far as the gun, I've seen people shoot with crappy guns and get decent turn outs. Just research your spraying patterns and learn how to adjust accordingly.

And yes the paint booth, I laid plastic down on the ground and wet it. It wasn't drenched, but it had enough. The point of that is so the over spray and dirt stick in the water instead of flying around. It does make for a slick floor so be careful. Good luck.

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  • 2 months later...

finally painting my box and had another quick question. if im painting my box black should i use a white primer?

I think you have a bit of truck stuck in your mud bro

~Ford Ranger, ext cab
Kenwood DDX470
1/0ga stinger wiring for big 3
1/0ga ofc flextech wiring

3 kinetik 800's

AQ2200 @1ohm

Sundown Audio X15

in a 27Hz tuned ported box

LE BUILD LOG!!!

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You can use any primer you want. Black covers better than any other color. To get real "depth" to the paint, spray 3-4 coats of base then 3-4 coats of clear. After it has cured 24+ hours, wet sand the enclosure with 1000 grit, then re-clear the enclosure. After it has cured again, wet sand with 1500, then 2000, then use a DA and sand with 3000 trizak, then 5000 trizak. After all this wetsanding is done you can start the buffing process.

End result should be a "piano black" finish!!!

Pioneer AVH480

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Stevens Audio 6.5" components (passive)

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