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Topic: Painting plastic JBL Power Speakers? |
Mike Winter
From: Portland, OR
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Posted 2 Jan 2008 12:39 am
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I have a pair of JBL EON 15P's that are scratched and dinged up and am thinking of painting them.
Have any of you done such a thing, and if so, what would you recommend to: 1) fill the dings and, 2) paint? Do the spray paints advertised for plastic work? Are they durable?
They sound great...I just want to make them more presentable...was thinking of covers, but then thought that painting them might be the way to go. I have no problem painting the black metal speaker grille; I just want to know about painting the plastic. Thoughts, suggestions, ideas? |
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Tony Prior
From: Charlotte NC
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Posted 2 Jan 2008 4:30 am
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Spray paints made for plastics are for adhesion purposes only. The physical properties of the speaker cone MOVING will be greatly diminished and eventually the paint will crack and separate from the plastic.
The color of the speaker cone is from the die of the material and I doubt that JBL intended on us painting them ! These plastic cone materials believe it or not were made to act like paper but with a much greater ability to survive the finger pokes !
You might try a liquid die or polish...but for plastic the adhesion issue may still be a factor. |
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Donny Hinson
From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 2 Jan 2008 6:16 am
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Tony, I think he's talking about painting the plastic cabinets - not the speakers themselves. |
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Mike Winter
From: Portland, OR
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Posted 2 Jan 2008 8:55 am
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That's correct Donny. Another question. Could I use the same paint for the metal part as well?
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Tony Prior
From: Charlotte NC
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Posted 2 Jan 2008 9:28 am
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well thank god, thats easy then, mask off very carefully , remove the speakers if at all possible , use a very good primer and have at it..
light gentle coats of spray paint...4 or 5 light coats are way better than 1 or 2 heavy coats...and will yield excellent results.
And yes, you can use the same paint...a hi quality home spray paint rather than a low cost Wallmart brand...the primer is the important key here, once the primer is on and dry, the spray paint see's the exact same surface, that being plastic and metal.
Just be sure the primer is a good base for the spray paint you are going to use, Water base, Acrylic or Enamel etc...keep it all in the same family.
And of course always paint with a mask and in a very ventilated area.
sorry for the confusion..
tp |
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Mike Winter
From: Portland, OR
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Posted 2 Jan 2008 2:07 pm
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Thanks, Tony. I've never painted plastic, I was wondering about what kind of paint and would it be durable, because they get knocked around.
I appreciate your input. Thanks. |
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Doug Earnest
From: Branson, MO USA
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Posted 2 Jan 2008 3:40 pm
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Krylon brand "Hard hat enamel" is pretty good. There are several paints for plastic now. I used some on a couple of nasty white plastic lawn chairs and it worked great! They bend and flex a lot so I would say that is a good test for the stuff....seems to work fine. Wipe the cabinets with something like Naptha first to get off any grease and crud. You could probably fill the worst of the scrapes and gouges if you wanted to, but from ten feet away no one will notice anyway. |
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