Warning, Don't Try This At Home

[toddalin]

Last Sunday I painted the dome of the W15GTI black using Rustolium semi-gloss black. (I just couldn't take all that advertising continually looking at me through the grill cloth.) There were really no problems other than the first coat was a little blotchy..., but it was too shiny. After 96 hours I applied a second coat (can says 48 hours), but switched to an OSH ultra-flat black.

This covered all of the white printing just fine without problem and looks good. HOWEVER, the orange !JBL square is a DECAL! This second coat created a reaction with the decal causing it to rise and crinkle. It's not too bad, (and won't show through the grill), but in a few day, I'll try to use a light brush to remove the crinkle and give it another shot.

The lesson is don't paint the orange decals!

[norealtalent]

Rustoleum is great paint for rust proofing and extreme environmental conditions where cosmetics are a secondary issue at best. That's what it was made for. It takes a long time to dry, goes on thick and permeates previous finishes. It either blends with them or orange peels. I've used it in less "industrial" applications where cosmetics are paramount and had devastating results. I've found cheap, high thinner/low pigment content spray paints to be much more useful in audio touch up and cosmetic applications. I also laughed when Gonzo kept telling me "use the hair dryer" but I'd say "I'm not in a hurry." The heat helps blend the old and new finish, it smoothes out the new surface finish and promotes proper catalyzation. I'm not a painter or a chemist, I wouldn't know the intricasies, but I see heat makes a HUGE difference in MY end results, as well as speeding up the process a little bit. Thank you Steve!

[Mr. Widget]

It is the Bose of paint.... never, never, never use it!!!! Years ago, before I trusted myself over Madison Avenue, I ruined many a project with that slow drying sticky goopy crap. Of course a fine establishment like the Home Despot features Rustoleum as their principal brand. Go to an independent Ace hardware store and get Krylon or even the generic. In general Krylon produces the nicest finish.

For difficult to paint materials, like many of the newer plastics you can get aerosols from professional automotive paint suppliers... they cost a bit more, but are a superior product and you can ask an expert behind the counter which product will work best for your project.

Widget

[norealtalent]

Yeah, I even tried the hair dryer on the Bose but they still ran when I fired up the L40's...

[duaneage]

I use Rusto for a primer for motorcycle parts but I don't like it either. Drying requires a lot of heat, I park a kerosene heater under the parts and it cures the paint. Once it fnally dries it is pretty good stuff, but I coat with Krylon.
I found pretty good gloss paint at an auto parts store. It looked like an off brand but was actually quite good. Those companies probably spend less on advertising and more on quality control

[norealtalent]

I use brush on gloss black Rustoleum for the under carriage whenever restoring a car. Goes on thick, sticks to ANYTHING and lasts forever (not really but...) Most importantly, does the job well but "does not affect sound," I mean value. Takes AT LEAST a week in heated garage to really dry though. Spray on undercoating just hides flaws, creates moisture traps and detracts from value. I gave up on Rustoleum spray for anything. I can't count how many times I had to strip off and start over because of fisheye or runs. When cosmetics count I'm sold on the Krylon for small stuff. Big stuff breaks out the HP/LV gun.

[Phil H]

IIRC Krylon is a laquer whereas Rustoleum is an enamel. So, it is like comparing Coors to Folgers.

[jandregg]

Rustoleum does a fine job on farm equipment. If you use it on anything else your experimenting. Only use rustoleum primer. Put it on heavy with a brush, then brush on the color. Will wear very long time and even quites panels in that old cab so you can hear your transister radio. It helps if you like yellow and green.


John

[toddalin]

IIRC Krylon is a laquer whereas Rustoleum is an enamel. So, it is like comparing Coors to Folgers.

EXACTLY, and that's why the Rustolium didn't lift the decal! The second coat of flat (not the Rustolium) is what raised the decal. Actually, only a part of the decal raised and crinkled..., the part that didn't have hardly any of the Rustolium on it. (I wasn't real happy with the way it was coming out and the Rustolium was applied very sparingly.)

I agree that the Rustolium is not the first choice, but the color was very close to what I wanted (but came out glossier than the cap) and it was enamal base.

Except for the small crinkle in the decal, the light second coat went over the Rustolium leaving a very smooth finish. I would like to give it one more really light coat (the finish over the decal is a little different than the rest of the cap) and at this point, because the decal has been well covered, and the paint has dried far longer than recommended (24-hours), this shouldn't be a problem (I hope).

[Mr. Widget]

IIRC Krylon is a laquer whereas Rustoleum is an enamel. So, it is like comparing Coors to Folgers.

That is true... I'll take lacquer and beer over Folgers any day! I probably should cut back though... recently reading the fine print I discovered I shouldn't be drinking so much lacquer.

I typically don't use spray cans of any type as I have spray equipment and a spray booth in my shop. That said, acrylic enamel is a crappy paint chemistry in any form. That's why any body shop that isn't down a dark alley now use urethanes instead of those enamels.

Don't know anything about painting farm implements, but maybe Rustoleum does work well on steel outdoors on a hot day.


Widget

[johnaec]

... W15GTI ...

So, any chance to listen to this yet in the home audio environment?

I ran some theoretical curves on this a few months ago in BB6, comparing it with the Sub1500, and results were very close to each other. Unfortunately, I don't have a W15GTI to do a real comparison with. And has anyone yet determined how similar the W15GTI is to the 2256G?

John

[toddalin]

So, any chance to listen to this yet in the home audio environment?

I ran some theoretical curves on this a few months ago in BB6, comparing it with the Sub1500, and results were very close to each other. Unfortunately, I don't have a W15GTI to do a real comparison with. And has anyone yet determined how similar the W15GTI is to the 2256G?

John

Sure, no problem. Will probably be installed in the next couple weeks. How close are you to Santa Ana?

[johnaec]

Sure, no problem. Will probably be installed in the next couple weeks. How close are you to Santa Ana?

Oops - what I meant was have you had a chance to listen to them yet? ...but thanks for the invite! Unfortunately, I'm about 30 miles north of San Francisco, a little far for a quick jaunt over...

John