Def Tech end cap re-finish

[00cbirdw 195]

OK, so I know this isn't really a 'DIY' speaker.....but it is 'DIY' speaker 'finish' job LOL!!!  So I had purchase some old Def Tech speakers about 8 months ago (pair of BP30's & a CLR2000) from a guy that had recently replaced all of the drivers/tweeters, crossovers, and internal wiring.  UNFORTUNATELY he forgot to mention that he didn't have all of the grille socks and end caps for the speakers......and to make things worse these speakers were originally made back in the early '90's and haven't been in production since the LATE '90's .  So needless to say, it's almost IMPOSSIBLE to find replacement parts for them......except the crossovers and drivers/tweeters are still readily available since they are the same as their still current flagship models !!!

 

After lots of searching and contacting Def Tech directly, I was able to track down the original grille socks and the top caps for the BP30's in black from a guy on eBay.  For the life of me I could NOT find the bottom caps for the BP30's.  After some research on Def Tech's current speakers, I found that their BP7001SC's have almost EXACTLY the same footprint as the BP30's (like 1/8" off or so), so I ordered a pair in black directly from Def Tech and they worked out great !!!  The CLR2000 proved to be a MUCH harder speaker to find the parts I needed.  Def Tech no longer had either the grille socks OR the end caps.  However, the same guy I found on eBay did have a pair of the end caps for it.......but in cherry !!!  I figured what the hell, I'll just order them and I can re-lacquer them in black !!!  So the following are some pictures of my progress:

 

 This is what the end cap ORIGINALLY looked like with the cherry finish.....

 

This is what the original BLACK caps look like, and what I was ultimately shooting for.......

 

 

So the process I used was simple......take some 600 grit sand paper to the existing cherry finish, and then take some good old rattle can black lacquer over it.  I would have LOVED to use by buddy's spray gun, but black lacquer only comes in gallons which run about $60-$80 !!!!

 

So this is what I ended up with.........

 

Now I know what you're thinking.......'that actually looks pretty good'!!!  Well, from a distance and from certain angles it does actually look pretty good.......but what this picture DOESN'T show is the orange-peel texture and all of the run marks I made trying to get the really smooth and glossy texture LOL!!!  If I just did even lines over it I would get REALLY bad orange-peel texture.  So I would lay it on pretty heavy which would give a MUCH better smooth finish, but I couldn't find that happy medium between getting the glossy finish and NOT getting runs LOL!!!  I'll post some better up-close pictures later to try and show you what I'm talking about, but thought I'd just share my experience with you !!!  I DEFINITELY won't be quitting my day job to become a professional spray-painter LOL!!!!

 

Cheers

[Bean 384]

As long as it looks good from the LP who cares.  Kidding, Kidding, I know how OCD can drive you mad about something no one else but you would notice or care about.

 

 

A suggestion would be to see if there are any auto body shops that will spray it for you with their stuff next time they redo a black colored car.... They could also clear it I would think.

 

I know the former owner of my LSi 15's had them re-sprayed after doing some cabinet work as a result of shipping damage.

 

And without me telling you, no one would ever know.

[dennismiller55 4,824]

Nice!

[00cbirdw 195]

 

 

As long as it looks good from the LP who cares.  Kidding, Kidding, I know how OCD can drive you mad about something no one else but you would notice or care about.

 

 

A suggestion would be to see if there are any auto body shops that will spray it for you with their stuff next time they redo a black colored car.... They could also clear it I would think.

 

I know the former owner of my LSi 15's had them re-sprayed after doing some cabinet work as a result of shipping damage.

 

And without me telling you, no one would ever know.

 

Thanks for the suggestion Bean!  I've been meaning to do that.....but I live in such a small town and for some reason all of the auto body places around seem to be real A**HOLES about it.  I think one place I asked said they would do it for like $150 !!!

[Bean 384]

 

 

 

As long as it looks good from the LP who cares.  Kidding, Kidding, I know how OCD can drive you mad about something no one else but you would notice or care about.

 

 

A suggestion would be to see if there are any auto body shops that will spray it for you with their stuff next time they redo a black colored car.... They could also clear it I would think.

 

I know the former owner of my LSi 15's had them re-sprayed after doing some cabinet work as a result of shipping damage.

 

And without me telling you, no one would ever know.

 

Thanks for the suggestion Bean!  I've been meaning to do that.....but I live in such a small town and for some reason all of the auto body places around seem to be real A**HOLES about it.  I think one place I asked said they would do it for like $150 !!!

 

True, but given how small they are, reach out to folks on the forums you visit and see if one of them cant help ya out if you find a place near em to do it for cheaper.  They dont look like they would be that expensive to ship if the price for the painting is right.

[00cbirdw 195]

True, but given how small they are, reach out to folks on the forums you visit and see if one of them cant help ya out if you find a place near em to do it for cheaper.  They dont look like they would be that expensive to ship if the price for the painting is right.

 

Man, you're just full of good ideas today Bean LOL!!!  I may have to resort to that.....right now my buddy is contacting his suppliers to see if he can just get a 'sample size' of black lacquer so I can do it with his gun !  Plus, he's a cabinet maker by trade so he knows all the ins and outs for sanding/prepping to help me get that smooth finish I'm looking for.  If it's a no-go with him I may see if anyone on here has any good leads .........I live in SW Colorado BTW in-case someone happens to be 'close' and knows a place to get this done.

Cheers

[Balok 1,731]

 

 

 

Now I know what you're thinking.......'that actually looks pretty good'!!!  Well, from a distance and from certain angles it does actually look pretty good.......but what this picture DOESN'T show is the orange-peel texture and all of the run marks I made 

 

All of my DIY projects look good from far, but are far from good.    Don't worry about it.

[PDR 1,194]

It looks good in the pic.

 

Try this, sand down your paint so its flat again.

Buy satin black rattle can.....a few LIGHT coats with a little sanding in between.

When your happy with the color apply clear gloss from a can...Many LIGHT coats, with a bit of

sanding if needed.

The problem with rattle cans is people get impatient and put too much on at a time.

 

Heres some subs I did that way, just not high gloss, semi gloss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[00cbirdw 195]

 

 

It looks good in the pic.

 

Try this, sand down your paint so its flat again.

Buy satin black rattle can.....a few LIGHT coats with a little sanding in between.

When your happy with the color apply clear gloss from a can...Many LIGHT coats, with a bit of

sanding if needed.

The problem with rattle cans is people get impatient and put too much on at a time.

 

Thanks for the advice PDR!  I first started out that way with the lacquer, but couldn't get away from the orange-peel texture !!!  So it may be a little different using just plain black paint first?  But I knew if I didn't get the texture right in the first place any clear layer over it was just going to amplify the texture.  Your subs DEFINITELY look good tho!!!  I'm sure I'll go thru at least 2 or 3 more approaches before I get it the way I want LOL!!!  It's just super hard to get that 'piano' gloss black finish.....I even tried contacting Def Tech directly to see what they actually use to get the finish on their end caps and nobody could give me an answer LOL!!!

 

Oh well, here's a pic of my setup with my 'crappy' black caps on.....

 DEFINITELY looks better than those 'eyesore' cherry caps on the center channel LOL!!!  I'm hoping that maybe this weekend I can talk my wife into letting me rearrange everything and put my 3 working Carvers into the stack and finally get things up and running the way I want (until my other 45 is fixed) !  I'll post some pics if I get around to it LOL!!!

 

[Daddyjt 9,846]

Casey,

 

Instead of the spray paint, try the Rustoleum oil based gloss black in a quart.  It's in a gray can, and it's one of the few oil based products that hasnt been shut down.  Put it on with a foam brush, and If you apply it in a warm (>65) enviroment, all the brush strokes will flatten out as it dries.  THEN, rub it down with 000 steel wool, blow it off with a compressor or canned air, and apply another coat.

 

I followed this process for my stand for my NT gear here.

 

Mark

[00cbirdw 195]

 

 

Casey,

 

Instead of the spray paint, try the Rustoleum oil based gloss black in a quart.  It's in a gray can, and it's one of the few oil based products that hasnt been shut down.  Put it on with a foam brush, and If you apply it in a warm (>65) enviroment, all the brush strokes will flatten out as it dries.  THEN, rub it down with 000 steel wool, blow it off with a compressor or canned air, and apply another coat.

 

I followed this process for my stand for my NT gear here.

 

Mark

 

Thanks for the idea Mark......it'll definitely be one of the next things I try!!!

[Maddmaster 1,028]

I would guess most of the parts you found on ebay were from bajawaverunner. I found he has the most def tech parts from what I have found.

[Ratamahatta 437]

I picked up an older pair of Def Tecs BP-6 and the vinyl was coming off so I took it all the way off and then sanded and painted it with automotive paint gloss black, it looked just like the Piano gloss after about 4 coats primer lightly sanded then about 6 coats of black. Good luck and keep us posted. 

[00cbirdw 195]

I would guess most of the parts you found on ebay were from bajawaverunner. I found he has the most def tech parts from what I have found.

 

Yep, I got the top caps for the BP30's from him off eBay......not sure if he is an employee thru Def Tech or what?  Weird tho, because he would have a bunch of stuff that Chet (guy I deal with @ Def Tech) didn't have any more, and Chet would have a ton of stuff that baja didn't have ?  Anyways, I found that Chet was SUPER helpful and he actually gave me REALLY good prices on a lot of the stuff and gave me a few freebies as well !

[Maddmaster 1,028]

 

 

 

I would guess most of the parts you found on ebay were from bajawaverunner. I found he has the most def tech parts from what I have found.

 

Yep, I got the top caps for the BP30's from him off eBay......not sure if he is an employee thru Def Tech or what?  Weird tho, because he would have a bunch of stuff that Chet (guy I deal with @ Def Tech) didn't have any more, and Chet would have a ton of stuff that baja didn't have ?  Anyways, I found that Chet was SUPER helpful and he actually gave me REALLY good prices on a lot of the stuff and gave me a few freebies as well !

 

They both are very helpful. Baja gets all the refurbs directly from DefTech. Some things are new. Boxes damaged during shipping get sent back to DefTech and cannot be sold as new. Baja gets those too. 

[00cbirdw 195]

 

 

They both are very helpful. Baja gets all the refurbs directly from DefTech. Some things are new. Boxes damaged during shipping get sent back to DefTech and cannot be sold as new. Baja gets those too. 

 

That makes sense now   I wish I had the money to buy a pair (or even a COUPLE pairs) of the BPVX surrounds that baja has listed now