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Seas Idunn DIY Speaker Build Log (FINALLY FINISHED)

rhyseyness
13 hours ago, Dackzy said:

Thank god you aren't like me, I would spend a month just to get it right and it would drive me insane... Yes I have a problem...

Grills can often make speakers look old or boring, but at the same time sometimes make them fit in a bit more...

I am sure they will look just fine and I am sure you wont notice it :D 

Haha, I'll definitely notice it! 

Hopefully it won't drive me insane though :D

I 100% agree on the grills front. I associate grills with old worn out speakers, not beautiful brand new ones. 

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Payday today.

Ordered all the crossover components and drivers :)

Could well be finished by next weekend :D

Spraying the bases with clear coat tonight then starting sanding later in the week (probably Friday).

Bought an electric polisher yesterday too, to make the buffing job a lot easier xD

 

Spoiler

IMAG0579.thumb.jpg.be8980fbb2ee1fd275668cc271b0dd91.jpg

 

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Day 22

 

Took down all the dust sheets yesterday and painted the bottoms with clear coat.

Now the waiting begins.

When all the internals arrive I'll build the crossovers (no ETA yet), and I'll do my sanding on Friday afternoon.

Aiming to be finished on Friday or Saturday :)

 

Photos of the last bit of painting:

Spoiler

IMAG0585.thumb.jpg.c9f8cbe88c62998296986782e9096f0f.jpg

Beautiful.

 

IMAG0587.thumb.jpg.e5d2bcecf41a8a68f95c207410c1ee3b.jpg

Bottoms look a bit shit, not going to lie, but no one is ever going to see the bottoms so...

 

IMAG0589.thumb.jpg.a78bfcc06d76c8508a96cc36607518c2.jpg

Very happy with the finish

 

IMAG0583.thumb.jpg.b752434cbcb0aa44e95c8e3eb9c81633.jpg

Already looking shiny af... Thank god the painting is over

 

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Day 23

 

Sanding began today.

My god it takes forever.

I sanded for about 2 hours today and the photos below show the progress.

I'm really concerned about where the primer appears to be showing through...

I don't know if the compound fixes this by some magic, or if it's caused where there were fewer coats on the edges from the earlier sanding.

I'm really hoping I don't have to sand these back again and re-paint.

One small area, I sanded down to the point of no orange peel and applied some compound to test, and the finish is great.

Hopefully the whole thing will look like this after another week of sanding!!

 

Spoiler

IMAG0590.thumb.jpg.bf1a560a3e5b018bf18fa2837b6cc448.jpg

Sanding commences.

 

IMAG0595.thumb.jpg.879057698c38c5e4f0d96188b3942706.jpg

After 1 run with 1000 grit.

 

IMAG0591.thumb.jpg.65364999b66a8165e352d212f7d2ad90.jpg

Right has had a run with the 1000 grit, and left hasn't been touched.

 

IMAG0596.thumb.jpg.bcf3a8606f7b21982ecb322b05346c19.jpg

Both sanded down with a run of 1000 and a run of 2000, at 90° angles to one another. They're smooth af, but still orange peel visible.

 

IMAG0600.thumb.jpg.17e03c80ca042eaa4675d9b912e3c03f.jpg

Tiny compound test area. Literally only a really small area around my thumb. Still orange peel visible in this photo.

So any advice on what to do about the primer coming through would be massively appreciated.

If I need to sand all the way down and re-paint.... I guess that's what I'll do *cries... a lot*.

If the compound will somehow sort it, let me know. (I have no idea how it would do this, and deep down I know it probably can't, and I don't have another option but to re-paint, but that will kill me inside).

 

Tell it to me straight.

Do I need to strip the edges back?

How bad does it look?

Can I get away with it?

Will compound magically fix it?

 

Hope you lot are still enjoying this, because seeing the primer come through has ruined my motivation, and makes me not want to touch them any more.

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1 hour ago, rhyseyness said:

 

  Hide contents

 

 

 

 

The primer that has shown through will be even more visible after using the polishing compund :(, I had the same thing happen to me when making my frugal horns:

Spoiler

IMG_20170427_163102.thumb.jpg.ee8aad9c7e864e450be23dfdc1dc70b5.jpg

 

This happened on the back, so I didn't bother to fix it because there is a cover that goes over there anyway, but that is what it looks like after polishing compound.

If you want to repaint it, just sand it down until you start to see the primer coming thorugh around the entire speaker, and just re-paint the base and clear. I would do two medium-wet coats of base, and three or four medium-wet coats of clear. The more clear that you put on, the more material that you have to work with; But that also means the effects of the orange peel may increase as well.  Also make sure that you are wet sanding the clear coat, up to 1500 grit or finer.

       I had to redo an entire speaker because It slid off the table while I was sanding, I had to redo the filler material in the corners, then repaint the whole thing, starting with primer. It definently prolonged my project.

`

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11 hours ago, klh2000 said:

-snip-

Thanks very much.

Knew this would probably be the case.

Looks like I better get back down the shop and buy some more paint.

So annoyed 4 coats of clear and it's still coming through.

I have been wet sanding, but I'll start with 1500 next time rather than 1000...

At least mine didn't fall off a table xD

I'm gonna go cry a little now.

I'll report back later with "progress," lol.

 

EDIT: Now I've kind of accepted there's only one solution, I've had a bit of a change of plan.

I'm going to finish sanding down the orange peel on the front face and see how it looks.

If primer is coming through all over the place I'll sand down the whole lot and re-do it.

If it's only a couple of small areas, I'll finish them off entirely, and I'll mask and touch up the small areas at the end.

(Mask, sand, paint, clear, sand, compound, etc.)

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure I have the motivation to remove ALL the paint and clear, then re do it and wait another week for it to dry etc.

Who knows. I'll make a judgement call this afternoon/evening.

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Day 24

 

More sanding today.

I've done almost one quarter of the front face now... This takes longer than I could have ever imagined, lol.

I tried out the compound on it again on a larger area this time, and it's got me excited again... What a roller coaster xD

Planning to touch up the areas where the primer has come through after I've finished the entire rest of the finish.

Not a lot else say, so here's some photos:

Spoiler

IMAG0608.thumb.jpg.9b7682d72bb145828c11e49161154866.jpg

This is pretty much how they looked at the start of today.

 

IMAG0609.thumb.jpg.d991628f2dfd94d9ce469c2739d35b21.jpg

A lot of progress, only a little orange peel left on this section.

 

IMAG0610.thumb.jpg.0ae516a44bc91cf154908eddeca71a1f.jpg

Almost there, just a couple of little high points.

 

IMAG0606.thumb.jpg.e2660fbb624cf478d10c6e7c0aa98fe8.jpg

Test compound on the flat area. Dat mirror finish tho.

 

 

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Day 25

 

More sanding today (seeing a theme here?)

I'm hoping to get at least the front face of one speaker done today.

I'm going to buff it too if I get it done.

Get an idea of how it's going to look.

I'll add some photos later, but currently taking a break after about 2 hours of sanding this morning.

Yay...

 

Any advice to make this process easier @klh2000?

I'm starting with 1500 grit, then using 2000.

I feel like it's taking longer than it should.

Possibly just the orange peel is really "strong" from not sanding between layers of clear coat?

Does going up through higher grits more make the process faster (assuming it wouldn't because the higher grits don't take off as much material)?

 

Day 25 (Cont.)

 

Finished off the sanding on one face of one speaker, and applied compound just to get an idea of the finish.

Ignoring the edges, which I'm going to have to completely re-do, I'm very very happy.

I'm going to carry on sanding tomorrow (seeing the edges killed me for today), finishing the front of the other speaker and hopefully some other faces.

 

Once I've done that, I'll know where needs re painting, and then I can crack on with that.

I won't bother compounding the other faces because there's no point until I'm done re-painting.

Just when I thought I was close to finishing, the primer starts coming through :'(

Roll on another 10+ days, lol.

 

Photos:

Spoiler

IMAG0619.thumb.jpg.e15fd108db105424d5c2acd0327a3c67.jpg

Progress is slow, but steady.

 

IMAG0620.thumb.jpg.527db77949ec1a8acbd2ec6ee585c48c.jpg

Orange peel slowly going away.

 

IMAG0621.thumb.jpg.5a2e26d65602d4cf61e6b0ef1d77af45.jpg

1200 grit finish (went to this after 2000 was taking way too long. 1200 seems like the sweet spot for not taking off too much, but not taking forever.

 

IMAG0622.thumb.jpg.d3b4ae60d29344a5cd2a8ef34b9668b1.jpg

Final finish with 2000 grit. Tiny bit of orange peel still to take off.

 

IMAG0625.thumb.jpg.422257f0e29e91e7ba08e8043c2e2c48.jpg

Edges looking like shit.

 

IMAG0626.thumb.jpg.9462df96fcb2c835e0c061327fac7917.jpg

Applying compound before buffing. Just a little test buff, by no means the final finish for this face.

 

IMAG0628.thumb.jpg.38c67935b6fdb1d32c6e0ef250c9ad4e.jpg

Mirror!!

 

IMAG0630.thumb.jpg.2ca164a85dbdc7d2f4802b54c37e9d4d.jpg

Compared to the top face, looking super shiny! Very glad I chose not to just finish with the gloss clear coat.

 

IMAG0631.thumb.jpg.4e427bbe8e48ca6ca765756dcbe35298.jpg

Dat mirror-ness... If it hadn't taken all the paint off the edges, I'd be jumping up and down with joy seeing this.

 

IMAG0632.thumb.jpg.162987cc8a34bd1562b37437cbdb31d2.jpg

Ugh... So much work created... This is what DIY projects are all about though right? RIGHT?! :(

 

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3 hours ago, rhyseyness said:

snip

 

  Reveal hidden contents

IMAG0619.thumb.jpg.e15fd108db105424d5c2acd0327a3c67.jpg

Progress is slow, but steady.

 

IMAG0620.thumb.jpg.527db77949ec1a8acbd2ec6ee585c48c.jpg

Orange peel slowly going away.

 

IMAG0621.thumb.jpg.5a2e26d65602d4cf61e6b0ef1d77af45.jpg

1200 grit finish (went to this after 2000 was taking way too long. 1200 seems like the sweet spot for not taking off too much, but not taking forever.

 

IMAG0622.thumb.jpg.d3b4ae60d29344a5cd2a8ef34b9668b1.jpg

Final finish with 2000 grit. Tiny bit of orange peel still to take off.

 

IMAG0625.thumb.jpg.422257f0e29e91e7ba08e8043c2e2c48.jpg

Edges looking like shit.

 

IMAG0626.thumb.jpg.9462df96fcb2c835e0c061327fac7917.jpg

Applying compound before buffing. Just a little test buff, by no means the final finish for this face.

 

IMAG0628.thumb.jpg.38c67935b6fdb1d32c6e0ef250c9ad4e.jpg

Mirror!!

 

IMAG0630.thumb.jpg.2ca164a85dbdc7d2f4802b54c37e9d4d.jpg

Compared to the top face, looking super shiny! Very glad I chose not to just finish with the gloss clear coat.

 

IMAG0631.thumb.jpg.4e427bbe8e48ca6ca765756dcbe35298.jpg

Dat mirror-ness... If it hadn't taken all the paint off the edges, I'd be jumping up and down with joy seeing this.

 

IMAG0632.thumb.jpg.162987cc8a34bd1562b37437cbdb31d2.jpg

Ugh... So much work created... This is what DIY projects are all about though right? RIGHT?! :(

 

 

Using a lower grit will make the process faster, but you need to be careful to leave enough clear to sand with the 1500 grit. You can use 1000-1200 grit to speed up the sanding if you are careful. They look great so far! They are beginning to have the piano black finish.

`

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3 minutes ago, klh2000 said:

 

Using a lower grit will make the process faster, but you need to be careful to leave enough clear to sand with the 1500 grit. You can use 1000-1200 grit to speed up the sanding if you are careful. They look great so far! They are beginning to have the piano black finish.

Thanks for the encouragement :)

The 1200 seemed to work nicely, apart from on the edges there was way less paint, lol.

Gonna be more careful with the next bit for sure.

As I say, gonna sand the lot, starting with 1200, work up to 2000, then redo all the edges and anywhere else primer/wood is showing through.

Then finally compound and wax :) 

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Day 26 & 27

 

Didn't have a lot of time over the weekend, but did some more sanding.

Top and sides are going much better than the fronts which is good :)

Will update with some more photos later, but hoping to get all the sanding done today and maybe even some painting.

 

...Can't wait /s xD

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1 hour ago, rhyseyness said:

Day 26 & 27

 

Didn't have a lot of time over the weekend, but did some more sanding.

Top and sides are going much better than the fronts which is good :)

Will update with some more photos later, but hoping to get all the sanding done today and maybe even some painting.

 

...Can't wait /s xD

 

I knew you were going to post an update today because you agreed with me :D 

I think every time you have posted an update you have agreed with one or more of my posts in a topic :D:D 

Before you buy amp and dac.  My thoughts on the M50x  Ultimate Ears Reference monitor review I might have a thing for audio...

My main Headphones and IEMs:  K612 pro, HD 25 and Ultimate Ears Reference Monitor, HD 580 with HD 600 grills

DAC and AMP: RME ADI 2 DAC

Speakers: Genelec 8040, System Audio SA205

Receiver: Denon AVR-1612

Desktop: R7 1700, GTX 1080  RX 580 8GB and other stuff

Laptop: ThinkPad P50: i7 6820HQ, M2000M. ThinkPad T420s: i7 2640M, NVS 4200M

Feel free to pm me if you have a question for me or quote me. If you want to hear what I have to say about something just tag me.

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46 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

I knew you were going to post an update today because you agreed with me :D 

I think every time you have posted an update you have agreed with one or more of my posts in a topic :D:D 

I'm not sure there's been a time I've come on the forum and not agreed with something you've said xD

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4 minutes ago, rhyseyness said:

I'm not sure there's been a time I've come on the forum and not agreed with something you've said xD

 

fair enough :D 

Before you buy amp and dac.  My thoughts on the M50x  Ultimate Ears Reference monitor review I might have a thing for audio...

My main Headphones and IEMs:  K612 pro, HD 25 and Ultimate Ears Reference Monitor, HD 580 with HD 600 grills

DAC and AMP: RME ADI 2 DAC

Speakers: Genelec 8040, System Audio SA205

Receiver: Denon AVR-1612

Desktop: R7 1700, GTX 1080  RX 580 8GB and other stuff

Laptop: ThinkPad P50: i7 6820HQ, M2000M. ThinkPad T420s: i7 2640M, NVS 4200M

Feel free to pm me if you have a question for me or quote me. If you want to hear what I have to say about something just tag me.

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Day 28

 

So did some more sanding yesterday.

One speaker is sanded down to the point where it's ready to be "touched up."

The other still needs the sides and top doing.

Sides and top were far easier to sand than the fronts :)

Was lazy on Tuesday and needed a day away from it so didn't do anything then.

Plan is to have all the sanding finished by tomorrow evening (Friday), then I can touch up all the problem areas at once, and hopefully have that done by mid next week.

I'll be sure to sand properly between each coat of touch up to make the final sanding job easier than it's been this time around!

 

Some photos:

Spoiler

IMAG0648.thumb.jpg.c37d7b02b5500258cd5a6eca6b9cf74e.jpg

Little bit of orange peel left on the top face. Didn't bother sanding down as this whole area is going to need re-painting.

 

IMAG0649.thumb.jpg.404bc3103d929dec0132749cebd4e7f8.jpg

Top of the right unit sanded down, left untouched.

 

IMAG0651.thumb.jpg.1ac70cdc408f28ccd59cd5bf5740bb86.jpg

Sanding down a side.

 

IMAG0654.thumb.jpg.9e51de1fc75a951bc409166d7bc53c18.jpg

V orange peely, but little/no primer coming through, thank god.

 

IMAG0657.thumb.jpg.e75812198ec3cf605884a05b901e4e82.jpg

Nice and flat. Some pretty severe scratches, but I found that moving up to a 1500 or 2000 grit (paper I'm going to finish with anyway) removed these without too much issue.

Progress is slow, but I finally feel like I'm not moving backwards any more which is good.

Motivation won't be back until after I've finished the repairs xD

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All the way back to the 4th page on the audio board, god I've been lazy.

Didn't get anything done over the weekend, as I was really busy.

Restarting work today with more sanding.

Hopefully be painting again soon.

Apologies for the slow progress, will update again tomorrow when I've actually done something! xD

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7 hours ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

Some times when I see the update I wonder, is today the day the wood working show finally ends.

I wake up every morning hoping that day comes...

I've sanded down almost every side now, so can start re-painting either today or tomorrow.

I'm praying it's done soon, but the drivers and electronics haven't even arrived yet, so even if I finish the woodwork, I've got nothing else to do xD

The end is coming soon.

Last like... 5 days have been slow as hell progress because my motivation levels are low xD

I'm aiming for absolutely finished painting/finishing by late next week :)

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1 hour ago, rhyseyness said:

I wake up every morning hoping that day comes...

I've sanded down almost every side now, so can start re-painting either today or tomorrow.

I'm praying it's done soon, but the drivers and electronics haven't even arrived yet, so even if I finish the woodwork, I've got nothing else to do xD

The end is coming soon.

Last like... 5 days have been slow as hell progress because my motivation levels are low xD

I'm aiming for absolutely finished painting/finishing by late next week :)

welcome to woodworking. There will always be something you can improve a bit.

not even joking....

at some point you just gotta call it a day and move on, not saying you are at that point yet :P

Before you buy amp and dac.  My thoughts on the M50x  Ultimate Ears Reference monitor review I might have a thing for audio...

My main Headphones and IEMs:  K612 pro, HD 25 and Ultimate Ears Reference Monitor, HD 580 with HD 600 grills

DAC and AMP: RME ADI 2 DAC

Speakers: Genelec 8040, System Audio SA205

Receiver: Denon AVR-1612

Desktop: R7 1700, GTX 1080  RX 580 8GB and other stuff

Laptop: ThinkPad P50: i7 6820HQ, M2000M. ThinkPad T420s: i7 2640M, NVS 4200M

Feel free to pm me if you have a question for me or quote me. If you want to hear what I have to say about something just tag me.

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4 hours ago, Dackzy said:

welcome to woodworking. There will always be something you can improve a bit.

not even joking....

at some point you just gotta call it a day and move on, not saying you are at that point yet :P

Oh god, it's like programming xD

I've got a little way to go yet before I'm there, lol.

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50 minutes ago, rhyseyness said:

Oh god, it's like programming xD

I've got a little way to go yet before I'm there, lol.

 

yes "little" way to go....

Before you buy amp and dac.  My thoughts on the M50x  Ultimate Ears Reference monitor review I might have a thing for audio...

My main Headphones and IEMs:  K612 pro, HD 25 and Ultimate Ears Reference Monitor, HD 580 with HD 600 grills

DAC and AMP: RME ADI 2 DAC

Speakers: Genelec 8040, System Audio SA205

Receiver: Denon AVR-1612

Desktop: R7 1700, GTX 1080  RX 580 8GB and other stuff

Laptop: ThinkPad P50: i7 6820HQ, M2000M. ThinkPad T420s: i7 2640M, NVS 4200M

Feel free to pm me if you have a question for me or quote me. If you want to hear what I have to say about something just tag me.

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18 minutes ago, rhyseyness said:

*Tries not to think about how much work still to do*

welcome to my life. I got my exams projects all due to the end of this week. Still a ton of work left

Before you buy amp and dac.  My thoughts on the M50x  Ultimate Ears Reference monitor review I might have a thing for audio...

My main Headphones and IEMs:  K612 pro, HD 25 and Ultimate Ears Reference Monitor, HD 580 with HD 600 grills

DAC and AMP: RME ADI 2 DAC

Speakers: Genelec 8040, System Audio SA205

Receiver: Denon AVR-1612

Desktop: R7 1700, GTX 1080  RX 580 8GB and other stuff

Laptop: ThinkPad P50: i7 6820HQ, M2000M. ThinkPad T420s: i7 2640M, NVS 4200M

Feel free to pm me if you have a question for me or quote me. If you want to hear what I have to say about something just tag me.

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15 hours ago, Dackzy said:

welcome to my life. I got my exams projects all due to the end of this week. Still a ton of work left

That sucks!

At least all my work is out of choice xD

Best of luck!

 

Day 29/30

 

All the pre-re-paint sanding is finished now.

Going to start the touch ups today (Day 31).

The fronts are by far the worst for needing touch up.

The tops and sides only have a few small areas which need doing.

Haven't bothered doing the backs and bottoms (sanding flat) because they're not going to be visible, and look good enough for me with the gloss clear coat finish. 

Drivers and crossover components are arriving tomorrow, so I'll probably build them up and do a coat of paint tomorrow.

#hype. Longest bit of sanding done, drivers arriving, motivation slowly returning.

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10 minutes ago, rhyseyness said:

That sucks!

At least all my work is out of choice xD

Best of luck!

 

Eh, just gotta work a lot today and then hand it in tomorrow and on Friday.

11 minutes ago, rhyseyness said:

All the pre-re-paint sanding is finished now.

Going to start the touch ups today (Day 31).

The fronts are by far the worst for needing touch up.

The tops and sides only have a few small areas which need doing.

Haven't bothered doing the backs and bottoms (sanding flat) because they're not going to be visible, and look good enough for me with the gloss clear coat finish. 

Drivers and crossover components are arriving tomorrow, so I'll probably build them up and do a coat of paint tomorrow.

#hype. Longest bit of sanding done, drivers arriving, motivation slowly returning.

1

So I can expect a long very detailed review in a months time? :P 

You know after a month of work I expect them to look perfect /s

Good luck putting them together and I hope they sound good!

Before you buy amp and dac.  My thoughts on the M50x  Ultimate Ears Reference monitor review I might have a thing for audio...

My main Headphones and IEMs:  K612 pro, HD 25 and Ultimate Ears Reference Monitor, HD 580 with HD 600 grills

DAC and AMP: RME ADI 2 DAC

Speakers: Genelec 8040, System Audio SA205

Receiver: Denon AVR-1612

Desktop: R7 1700, GTX 1080  RX 580 8GB and other stuff

Laptop: ThinkPad P50: i7 6820HQ, M2000M. ThinkPad T420s: i7 2640M, NVS 4200M

Feel free to pm me if you have a question for me or quote me. If you want to hear what I have to say about something just tag me.

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