bremen Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 Good day. Someone here recommended paint for cabinets that you apply with a roller, and it comes out like Tolex. Sort of Hammerite for wood. I made a note of the brand but unfortunately I wrote it on a pie which I later had to eat. Can anyone remind me? Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 Tuff Cab is the main one, but looks like there are some others on the market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 I've used Warnex Structure paint before and been really impressed. I believe HK use it for their cabs. Applied with a sponge roller and build up with light coats and it gives a really nice uniform finish. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 I've just finished painting a cab with TuffCab. Blue Aran sell it and also sell honeycomb rollers which give an effective finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueMoon Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 Another satisfied Warnex user here. Not cheap, but has a more industrial vibe going on compared to some DIY alternatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted October 11, 2023 Author Share Posted October 11, 2023 Thanks, all. I'm sure the one i was recommended was available in smaller quantities... and it had options of glossy or matt, matt being more camouflaged for theatre applications. A kg of tuffcab would last me several lifetimes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 I think both TuffCab and Warnex are very similar high build acrylics and you can regard them as interchangeable. Warnex from thomann and TuffCab is Blue Arans own brand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted October 11, 2023 Author Share Posted October 11, 2023 Hi Phil, if it wasnt you that recommended the imaginary* paint I was thinking off, I dont know who it was. It's for my build of your Fane 8" beast. *must be a pigment of my imagination... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 6 hours ago, bremen said: Thanks, all. I'm sure the one i was recommended was available in smaller quantities... and it had options of glossy or matt, matt being more camouflaged for theatre applications. A kg of tuffcab would last me several lifetimes! Gives you an excuse to make more cabs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alien Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 My self-built PA cabs are painted with Tuffcab, applied with a sponge roller. it gives a textured finish, a bit finer than Tolex, but fairly attractive and, as the name suggests, tough. Generally one coat is enough on the front surface of ply, but on the edges a first coat should be applied before the finish coat, as the endgrain soaks up the moisture in the finish. A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 11 hours ago, bremen said: smaller quantities Duratex comes in plastic pouches, if available UK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted October 13, 2023 Author Share Posted October 13, 2023 Blue Aran have 1kg pots of tuffcab for a good price. Not in stock yet but im not in a hurry. Thanks all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted October 13, 2023 Share Posted October 13, 2023 1 hour ago, bremen said: Blue Aran have 1kg pots of tuffcab for a good price. Not in stock yet but im not in a hurry. Thanks all. Get the honeycomb rollers from them when you get it, they work very well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted December 8, 2023 Author Share Posted December 8, 2023 (edited) I bought the Tuffcab. And the rollers. Fast servive from BlueAran. Thanks for the recommendation. Any top tips before i slap it on all over? I'm reasonably confident it'll sound ok, ive built a few cabs but never done more than a bit of blackboard paint. I should put an extra coat on the plywood edges as they're more porous, thanks Alien. Edited December 8, 2023 by bremen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted December 9, 2023 Share Posted December 9, 2023 Be careful with the rollers, they have a bit of a tendency to stop rotating and you get drag marks instead of stippling. You get the hang of it after a bit and it's not a disaster when it happens. TBH I was quite surprised, given what a clumsy git I am, that it was so easy to get a great finish. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted December 9, 2023 Share Posted December 9, 2023 Its surprisingly easy, and by that I mean I had no problem with it, and the result was excellent. Covers a multitude of sins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted December 9, 2023 Share Posted December 9, 2023 8 hours ago, tauzero said: Be careful with the rollers, they have a bit of a tendency to stop rotating and you get drag marks instead of stippling. You get the hang of it after a bit and it's not a disaster when it happens. TBH I was quite surprised, given what a clumsy git I am, that it was so easy to get a great finish. Yes, I had a couple of points where the rollers stopped, but the nice thing about Tuffcab is that its wet time is quite long, so you can go over it again and again. In my experience., a light touch helps, the weight of the paint and roller is enough, you do not need to press more. On the raw edges, on one cab I watered down some to get good penetration, but I do not think that was neccesary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted December 9, 2023 Author Share Posted December 9, 2023 Thanks all. Im going to paint diluted pva onto the edges, and the various bits of filler. Bit more sanding today... I wish id done a build diary now, but at the start it looked like it was going to be an embarassing bodge. Amazing what filler can do (though there's still a bit of a shortage of right angles) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted December 10 Author Share Posted December 10 A year later... ...cabs still look great. Thanks for the various top tips. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted December 11 Share Posted December 11 One tip I forgot, paint the bottom first. It means your mistakes are hidden and allows you to get match fit before tackling the visible surfaces. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted December 11 Share Posted December 11 FWIW, My technique is to apply a base coat with a paintbrush so that I have a good solid covering and no wood can be missed and show through. You can touch up bits you've missed easily enough. I apply my top coat with a brush too. I apply the Tuff Coat generously but only spread it loosely, a bit like spreading butter. Just making sure each panel is equally loaded with paint. At this point pick up the rollerand spread the paint evenly over all the panels taking care with the edges. Once you are satisfied about the even coating you are ready to texture the surface. The texture depends upon the roller you use , the pressure you apply and the speed you roll at. You need light, even pressure. Just enough to make full contact with the paint but not enough to dig into it which creates skid marks. Once you are happy with the finish on one panel you should try to work your way evenly arond all the panels at a nice steady pace. This all sounds more complex than it is in practice. Tuff Cab dries very slowly at first and in my shed which never gets very warm you can re-work the paint for at least half an hour. If it goes wrong it's simple to flatten it out and have as many 'goes' as you like. I've tried all sorts of rollers from the fine short-pile gloss rollers to the official Blue Aran corse foam ones. They all give a different finish but all work well with the fine rollers giving a 'linen' texture and the Blue Aran ones the closest to the sprayed 'splatter effect' you get with professional cabs. I use eiher the BA rollers or a long pile emulsion roller nd get a similar finish from both A couple of tips. you don't need a texture on the baffle which will be behind the grille so support the speaker on this side with the back of the cab uppermost. Make sure you have access to the whole cab before you put any paint on. If you can't walk round the cab freely then an even texture is difficult to achieve. Do the final coat in one go, it's hard to get an even coat if you let one side dry before doing the next. Don't do your first cab on a hot dry day as the paint will set too quickly if you get it wrong. If you aren't happy you shouldn't worry, doing a third coat isn't the end of the world. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted December 14 Share Posted December 14 I've only put Tuffcab on one cab - I was very apprehensive about it but in the end it was quite plain sailing. A few times I got either the pressure or the speed wrong and skidded the roller (the Blue Aran special one) but reworked the area with no problem. IIRC the worst bit was doing the front edge, bringing it round to the side. It wasn't so bad going over the rear edges onto the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chienmortbb Posted December 14 Share Posted December 14 (edited) You may have noticed that it has rained a lot recently. A week or two ago I came prancing tough the back door carrying my LFSys 10. No cover but what could go wrong? A saturated pile of leaves could go wrong. As I stepped out, my right found found no grip, I went woofer over tweeter and the cab went several feet in the air (the drawback to lightweight cabs?). I really hurt my back but the cab seemed to bounced several times and laugh at me. It is testament to to how @stevie builds his cabs that the cabinet was wholly intact. Not only that but there was not a scratch on the Tuffcab. Of course the corners used on the LFSys cabs are very absorbent, probably helping the bounce, metal corners may not have helped in this regard, but the Tuffcab was unmarked. I had to try the cab after such abuse and immediately noticed a buzz but after moving the cab to the other side of the room, the buzz was in the same place. Full marks to @stevie and Tuffcab. Edited December 15 by Chienmortbb 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie Posted December 15 Share Posted December 15 Tuffcab gets tougher the more coats you apply. You can get an acceptable finish with two coats but I'd recommend at least three. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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