Need help new box...

[Integra4200]

how much would it cost to make my own box according to the plans you could make for me you think? and also how hard would it be? how much are the plans also and what are the method of payments?

[Diceman83]

I made my own plans for a sealed box, and the 97" x 49" MDF sheet for it was about $23, glue: $5, screws: $6, other misc stuff: ~$10. So around $40 tops.

[bumpinstang77]

carpet 9 bux a roll from wally world

[Diceman83]

oh yeah... I was thinking about painting it, so I forgot to add that :P

[ponchonutty]

Originally Posted by Diceman83

oh yeah... I was thinking about painting it, so I forgot to add that :P

I am not sure about the softer MDF because I've always used HDF but the boxes look real nice painted to match the vehicle. My first box I just routered the ends, put bondo over the holes then dropped it off at a bodyshop. They hardly charged me squat and it turned out great. But now I do all of that myself so of course it's even cheaper.

[Diceman83]

As far as painting goes, how does one get the clearcoated sparkle effect that cars' paints have? Are there paints out there that can give it that look?

[CBFryman]

MDF can be painted. but besure to prime it with a cheap wood primer. it soaks up paint like a beyotch.

[Diceman83]

Thanks for the heads up CBFry, I was thinking I might need it, and that just proved me right. Congrats on 1300 posts, btw. My car has maroon carpetting in the back, and not many nice paints come in that color, so I was thinking black or dark navy blue with a clear coat. I'm going to hang it in my shop through the hole to paint it, so I'll be able to get all of it without resting on stuff.

[CBFryman]

you want the glossy look, eh?
Well you arent going to get it from cheap house paint. follow these instructions for dark colors.
Materials:
-Cheapo wood primer
-Dark Grey Metal (automotive) Primer
-Automotive Paint (undercoat/color)
-Automotive Clear
-Tack Cloth
-wood puddy or bondo (if imperfections need to be filled)
-100-200 grit sand paper (asorted pack)
-300grid sandpaper
-600 grit sandpaper
-1000 grit sandpaper
-Spray Gun (low pressure, mid quality gravity feed would be optimal if you have minimal experence)

Procedure:
Use the 100-200 grit to get the enclosure as smooth as possible. use your fingers to feel what your eyes cant see is what most would say. any imperfection in the surface will be seen once it gets all perty and glossy.
Paint it with your cheapo wood primer. if doesnt actually have to be primed. just to where it wont soak in near as much of the good expensive stuff to be used later on.
Wood puddy can be be used if there are only small imperfections. if its pretty rough around the edges fill in the imperfection real well with bondo instead of wood puddy then give that whole side of the enclosure a thing mud coat. if you do give the whole entire enclosure a mud coat then cheapo primer isnt needed but it may be a good idea so that the bondo doesnt dry too quick (most bondo already dries really fast. sandable in 15-20min).
-after the bondo/wood primer use the 300 to get it smooth as a babies bottom. wipe it down with tack cloth and prime it with the automotive primer. the darker the primer the better because it makes you not need as many coats of color.
-after shooting your primer sand with 300 agian. wipe with tack cloth and repeat the prime on any areas that got kinda thin.
-wipe real well with tack cloth and go ahead and shoot your first coat of color. a nice smooth/quick 50/50 will work fine and cover even. work one side at a time so that you dont get in a hurry.
-sand with 300 and wipe with tack cloth. 2nd shot of color
-sand with 600 then wipe with tack cloth. make this coat as good as you can. this will be the color coat that shows through.
-sand any runs with 600 dry then sand the hwole hting with 600 wet. let it dry then wipe with tack cloth.
-your first shot of clear. it doesnt have to be great but try to keep the cat eyes and runs out of it. sanding clear is a major pain in the arse.
-if needed dry sand with 600 but otherwise wet with 600. wipe with tack cloth and give it another shot. make it damn good.
-wet sand only iwth 600. if you are pretty damn satisfied wet with 1000 then buff it out. if you are happy throw the woofers in there and start pounding. if you think youn need another go at it try a 3rd coat. same thing. wet 600 wet 1000 then buff it out. i wouldnt reccomend any more than 4coats of clear on a 3coat color. it may get too thick in some places and look kinda hazey if you dont buy top quality clear.

Depending on the size of the enclosure you may get away with 1qt-1/2gal each. 1qt of decent automotive paint can run from $70-$160. great can run as high as 2 or 300... or more. primer doesnt have to be top quality shit but some of the better automotive primer from lowes or home depot will do. i have never used automotive paint on an enclosure. we used acilic made for paining fiberglass. its harder to come buy but is cheapre because it doesnt have as much of the w/e that makes automotive paint so durable. just remember keep the shine up. wax on wax off. a light coat every 1-2 weeks in the summer and 3-4 in the winter. remember it can get pretty hot in cars so in the summer it is needed more often.

[Diceman83]

wow... that is a really great set of instructions there... I didn't know automotive paint was so expensive... a pint would be worth more than the rest of the freaking box! Knowing that, I'll probably just sand it down real good and prime and then spray paint it. I may do half carpted and half painted too... The guy I bought my sub from didn't realize or was lazy about the rubber gasket around the edge of the sub, and drilled through it to get to the screw holes. He could have just pushed it to the side a little or something. Anyway, I got a bunch of blue LED's, and I've stuck them in the holes in the rubber. I haven't had a chance to solder them up yet, but was thinking of powering them off speaker line coming from the amp so it got brighter and darker with the music. I'd just have to get a resistor powerful enough to limit the amperage to 30 mille-amps per LED. Anyone know the voltage level on a speaker line? I doubt this is a good idea, but it'd be fun to watch anyway.

[Integra4200]

alright well i bulit my box today. sounds pretty good. i need to go get ports still tho so right now its still enclosed. i tried to get them today but there 10 bucks a peice and the store was closed. will puttin ports in it make it even better?

[CBFryman]

louder. did you design the enclosure to be ported? you cant just slap any length or any diameter port in any enclsoure. the port has to be tuned to the enclosure.
Not all automotive paint is that expensive. you can find a gallon of the cheaper stuff for 250-300. it will be about the quality of paint some of the lower end companies use (or mid 90's GM paint jobs, lol) the type of paint i am talking about is the stuff that you would use for a show quality finish. it is top quality stuff, but it is usually only one or two pigments. the more basic the color the cheaper it is.

[Integra4200]

yea i designed my box to be ported i went on a kicker website and bulit the box to what they said. i put a port in it today 3 inch. sounds good im happy with it for the moment. my car rumbles now. takes a lot to do that to such a big car like mine