High Gloss Finish Recommendations

[mbartlett99]

Hi All

Stepping out into the unknown here as high gloss is not a thing I normally do so pointers would be welcome.

I'm building some speaker stands the centre part or column is made of three laminations of mdf heavily curved and rounded over - the finish has to be high gloss to match the very expensive speakers. As they're a relatively small project I'd prefer to stay away from HVLP or buying 25L of product. Can anyone point me to a good set on finishes (base/colour/lacquer)? Acrylic based stuff seems attractive I think and a friend thought UPOL rattle cans might be worth a punt.

Quite happy (well sort of) to rub down/compound out. There's so much choice out there the mind boggles.

Cheers,

 

[Bingy man]

MDf is not my favourite product to work with but every now and then I’ll use MDf with the view of painting it . It needs sealing of course and the edges will take several coats . Nothing wrong with rattle cans but it can work out expensive on large projects. Personally I’d do a test piece to see if you get the high gloss finish your after. I’d imagine that multiple coats with a 240 or finer grit will work . Or maybe consider a local plastics coatings company could do a better job for you . Hope this helps .

 

[baldkev]

Hello,
Firstly, id suggest you take them to a spray shop.... they'll do the biz.

But if you want to do it yourself, by hand, you'll want oil based to soak in to the edges so you can sand it back to being smooth. If you use water based it'll make the material swell more, but not seal it, so the subsequent waterbased coats still make it swell, whereas oil wont. You can get hi build primers etc, but id still take it to a spray shop

 

[petermillard]

Agree with Kev - get a spray shop to do it. I used to do a lot of MDF work for an interior designer that went out to be sprayed in hi-gloss and the finish they achieved was exceptional. Best hi-gloss finish I had doing it myself with water based paint was a Benjamin Moore Advance hi-gloss; it was really good, but nothing like as good as what a commercial spray outfit can do.

 

[Droogs]

Use automotive paint from Halfords. Use high build primer (a couple of coats) and sand each coat lightly with 240 followed by 320g. Then give 3 coats of base coat again sanding between each at 320 to de-nib. You should get the finish in the image below after the 3rd coat and this is without the following 3 coats of laquer which need to be allowed to cure not just dry between a coats and rubbed down with wet wet and dry and cleaned with a tack rag. then after the 3rd coat of laquer polish with car polish.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!An_F5-xpP08UpAuP9EAvFc-_KrrW?e=4rtzg7

regarding the edges, if they are to have a routered moulding then do the following before painting:
run the profile in the router

Then coat the edge with car body filler and let it cure

then run it through the router again to get a clean profile that the primer can adhere to that is totally smooth

paint along with the rest of the faces.


hth


edit typos

 

[D_W]

Use a good WB finish that's known for good clarity and include the crosslinker additive so that it doesn't scuff easily.

Nitro lacquer would also be a good choice, but not one if you're spraying in a house.

 

[Ollie78]

Its the prep thats important on mdf, many seal coats flatted back etc etc.
I agree with others who suggest automotive products and nitro celulose, an acid cat laquer is an option (you can get this in 5L tins) the good stuff is almost always toxic so you will need the appropriate safety kit.

Have a google on high end audio forums, there is bound to be some good experience on there almost all speakers are MDF

Ollie

 

[GuitardoctorW7]

Hi All

Stepping out into the unknown here as high gloss is not a thing I normally do so pointers would be welcome.

I'm building some speaker stands the centre part or column is made of three laminations of mdf heavily curved and rounded over - the finish has to be high gloss to match the very expensive speakers. As they're a relatively small project I'd prefer to stay away from HVLP or buying 25L of product. Can anyone point me to a good set on finishes (base/colour/lacquer)? Acrylic based stuff seems attractive I think and a friend thought UPOL rattle cans might be worth a punt.

Quite happy (well sort of) to rub down/compound out. There's so much choice out there the mind boggles.

Cheers,

I've just bought some PMC speakers and they recommended. Polyester Lacquer Finishing & Lacquering Specialist - HQLacquer. for custom finishes

 

[thetyreman]

laquer sounds like the best option here, it will be a lot of work though, I'd also suggest getting a pro sprayer to do it, outsource it.