powder coating/painting DIY Wake speaker cans

I'm starting to think about my setup for tower speakers, and looking at the DIY wake cans approximately how much would powder coating a set of 4 cans run? I have not called any shops in the area yet (can I just google powder coating?), and not sure if thats the route I'm going to go yet, just trying to get an idea...

Would it be better to powder coat or auto paint with a clear finish.

Any other cans I should be looking at? I see fusions are really cheap on ebay, but from what I read, its a hit or miss with those with pitting and warranty is gone now they are out of business.

Thanks

I used DIY cans on my old Tigé and they worked ok. The only problem is that they say they are for 6.5" speaks (which they are) but they are physically sized (in diameter) for a bigger speaker so you have a lip showing all around the face. I painted mine on the face a metallic red and it held up nicely.





(Message edited by Razzman on March 18, 2009)

Thanks razz, I've heard that as well, and the face is not as polished as the rest of the can, hence why I want to powder coat or paint, as well to match my boat.

The face of them are a rougher finish. Like a rough machine finish. If i'm not mistaken, the O.D. is over 7" It's hard to find a speaker to fit that. If your goin to spend the money on a nice expensive boat.... spend some money on the tower setup. We manufacture our enclosures to fit the speakers. We dont buy a "universal" can from china and say one size fits all. It's going to give you that look. Razzman did a good job though. If your looking to powdercoat 2 cans... you probably looking at 25.00 plus per can. Since it's only 2, they are going to get their price. What color are you wanting to powder coat?

I've read that the cans are a 7.5 inch diameter, the speakers I was planning have 7 inch grille, so .25 inch border, like i said, in still in the planning. My boat is solid white, so I thought about white, black or leave polished, I have not decided what exactly, guess that will be a future post

I would powder coat.. go to a local powder coat shop with cash, say that you are in no hurry, that you want this done as cheap as possible, and ask if they can throw your stuff in with their next white powder coat job. White is a common color, so it should only be a couple of weeks.

If you do not want the lip, our cans are virtually the same, but with a 7" diameter.

Ken Land
Bullet Lines
www.bulletlines.com

To save a little extra coin, do all the masking yourself.

our enclosures are also 7" O.D. And they will match your boat speakers. Marine quality.....cant beat that! oh yea.... made in USA....

FYI...

you dont want just a normal powdercoat. You want powdercoat with UV protection in it.

Tailgate,

Polished pods are a lot of work to maintain. Even using paper towels will dull the finish. Pure carnuba wax with a soft cotton or terrycloth helps but once you get behind they look awful and are a major exercise to restore.

Both chroming and powder coating from China can be problematic. Chrome pits easily and the powder coat doesn't stand up to UV.

We use only products that are chromed or powder coated in the States. We have zero issues.

With an etching primer you can paint aluminum but it's not as durable as powder coat.

David E.M.

David is right. China and other countries dont have the quality of powder coating material as the USA. You know when you buy something made in USA Vs. Asia.... you know quality from USA always wins. We used to manufacture polished aluminum enclosures. We stoped doing that shortly after we started due to the upkeep for customers. We now bright dip anodize them so they have a shine to them and keep from oxidizing. People have loved the "no upkeep" aspects of it.

"Both chroming and powder coating from China can be problematic."

"China and other countries dont have the quality of powder coating material as the USA. You know when you buy something made in USA Vs. Asia.... you know quality from USA always wins."

This may be true sometimes, but if you believe it to always be true, both of you haven't seen nearly enough chromed parts. I've seen terrible parts from American shops and flawless parts from Asian shops before

Ok.... so not ALWAYS.... but i'm sure we can agree that china is not known for their best of quality. I know that they can produce good stuff, it's just a majority of them arnt. David said that they CAN be problematic. That doesn't mean that they all are problematic. I do know for a fact that most of china dont have the same quality of powder coating than here in the USA. I know of a local company who imports from over there and they had stuff come through that was a problem when powdercoated and they asked my my opinion on it. So I have them one...it looked like they didnt clean the metal good enough and it was flaking off.. and it had a dull finish..... and China came back with.... "that's the best material we have to offer, material in the USA is much better" They were saying they would have to import the powder from the USA to apply it to whatever products they are making over there....

So who knows.... I just stick with making my stuff over here so I have control of quality and I keep happy customers.

Joe,

Of course, that is why I wrote

"can be" problematic.

Judging by the posts on Wakeworld, many have experienced problems with chromed speaker pods as well as wakeboard racks. From the threads I have read, all of those products came from China. Also, our local powder coater says that 20% of his business is comprised of sand blasting and recoating powder coated products imported from China.

Believe me, I have seen thinly chromed and poorly chromed products locally as well.

The difference is with local services we can exclude those who provide sub par work in real time. This places us in control of the quality. And just for the record, I love everything else that's asian outside of chrome and powdercoat.

David E.M.

"I love everything else that's asian outside of chrome and powdercoat."

Including porn?

LoL.... snap....

David, you walked right into that one :-)

Thanks for the input guys, Ill think about it a little more and let you know what I end up with.

Sure thing.... that's what were here for.