Please forgive me if this a totally insane question, but I'm toying with an idea and wondered if anyone had any experience with this. I'm thinking about possibly painting my subs. Not the entire thing, just the "plastic" part. I have Sony xPlod's, so it's not like their super high-dollar but I don't want to ruin them either.

Here's a pic of what I have and I'm wanting to just paint the red part:


Will the paint flake off or will just painting alone ruin them or make them weaker? I'm wanting to paint them to match the paint I used on my engine cover:

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I asked this awhile ago in another thread and I think people said don't do it. Painting the magnet or frame is ok though. I could be wrong though.

 

Hmmm...I tried searching but didn't see another thread. Do you have a link for it?

 

I'm no expert in this area, but here is my 2 cents .. That cone moves alot, therefore It would be nearly impossible for paint to stick to that without flaking, not to mention that I believe subs also breath through the cone painting them would do more harm than good.

 

the cones move, yes... but they move uniformly for the most part.... i think with adequate prep work and primer, it'll be OK to paint the cone (but definitely NOT the surround)

There was another thread where a kid put UV paint on his cones and had some UV lighting behind the speaker grilles.... looked pretty cool

 

SCI_TC_GUY: when you say "cones" are you talking about the big red parts in the pics I posted above? If so, those appear to be some type of plastic or something non-paper and I think with the right surface preparation (light sanding, primer & then paint) it would adhere okay. I'm just worried about longevity or ruining the speakers with too much weight.

I just want to make sure because I'm really leaning toward trying this.
BTW, thanks to all for the replies on this.

 

Here is the thread I started awhile ago tha tmight help

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...paint+speakers

 

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...highlight=cone

there's a thread I was talking of....

I can see where you'd want to paint those, Sony's never have been known for good looking speakers/subs....

 

Honestly...it's difficult to uniformly paint a speaker w/o ending up with weird splotches.

Almost not worth it IMO...tried once to get a speaker to match a car...

 

I agree, with the right prep work and primer etc. it will come out great. The cone only moves uniformly, and it vibrates but so do our engines and the paint doesn't flake off of them.

 

You should be fine painting the speaker. Keep it as thin as possible though because the extra weight of the paint will effect the sound of the speaker.

 

Well...I went ahead and tried painting the subs. Here's the results:









There's no runs or drips and the color is very uniform. I still have a few minor things to do to finish them up, namely the very edge closest to the "rubber" still needs trimmed up a bit....but I am really happy with the results. It fits in well with the rest of the car and is the same color as all my engine compartment stuff. I haven't used them yet as I want to make sure the paint is good and dry before I start pounding them. I'll also just have to see what kind of longevity they have before I consider this project finished.

Please feel free to comment.

 

looks dude. paint on the subs wont hurt them guys as long as u let it cure. and harden. this is a super cool vid. http://realmofexcursion.com/videos/Kicker/l712.11.wmv

 

looks good, is the paint you used flexible at all?

 

I'm not sure that the paint is flexible but I think as long as I let it cure long enough it will be okay. I guess I'll just have to see what happens after I use them for a while.

 

If you are worried about flexibility, always use Bulldog Adhesion Promoter. Apply it directly to the plastic and then use your usual paint method. Available at any auto paint supply store as well as Wal-Mart.

 

Thanks for the advice...it looks like maybe I did the right thing: I used an adhesion promoter/primer made by dupli-color that was made specifically for plastic type things. This was a clear adhesion promoter that you use instead of regular primer that is supposed to help the paint stick to smooth plastic type surfaces.

I also saw the bulldog stuff you mentioned and what I bought appears to be the same thing made by a different company. The paint I used said it takes 7 days to cure so I guess I'll know how things are lasting in a couple weeks.

 

Looks great

 

That looks nice.

 

I figured I'd give an update on this. I let the paint cure for about 5 days (Sunday through Friday) and then fired up the subs. I have used them every day since then (about 4 days) and have played them as loud as I always have. I have not noticed any change in sound and there has been no flaking, chipping, peeling or cracking of the paint.

In case anyone's interested, I'll give it another week or so and then update again.