Dealing with driver cutouts when painting ?

[ratchetfps]

I have finally finished my pair of mini statements but, regrettably, have done the unthinkable and hooked them up completely to test them out prior to painting! I did so due to the fact that winter was fast approaching and by the time I finished my build it was already starting to rain. Now that the seasons have changed, I feel as though it's a perfect time to finish these amazing towers up and paint them!

Now I am trying to think through one last issue before starting my painting project: How do I securely seal the driver cutouts prior to painting? The insides of the cabinet have already been treated with acoustic foam, and I assume it would be a deadly sin to clog the porous foam with the slightest bit of spraypaint. The cabs are already fully bondo'd and sanded down. My painting strategy will be to coat the entirety of the towers with a 50/50 solution of woodglue/water, allow to harden then sand. Once sealed, I plan to do a number of coats of primer, color, sealant. I am still unsure as to what I will seal with, as I want a flat finish (since I don't want to invest the time to achieve a piano black finish). Regardless...

I have been thinking about:

• Cutting out thin circles using the same dimensions as the cutouts, then securing with a 2-3 driver screws.
• Cutting out circles using aluminum foil and securing using very small, flat tacks
• Cutting out circles using cardboard and securing using very small, flat tacks

Does anyone have any experience with this sort of prep? I have read many guides and build threads but notice this precaution is somehow not often documented!

[joeybutts]

Painters tape! just go to the edge of the flush mounts....

[Wheels]

and tape paper across the hole so you don't get overspray

[---k---]

I agree that you should be able to tape up newspaper.

I was once lazy and just stuffed a speaker lightly with crumpled newspaper and then used the newspaper pressure to hold a piece of newspaper in the driver hold. Worked well enough for the short amount of time. ops:

[ratchetfps]

Hah! Easy enough! Who knows why I felt the need to go overboard and make more cutouts =P Perhaps a love for my new router :T

[baniels]

I bet some balloons would do the trick pretty quickly.

[joeybutts]

Here are my current project getting ready for finish work.

[5th element]

You make taping up those holes seem like some sort of artwork in itself

[joeybutts]

You make taping up those holes seem like some sort of artwork in itself

HAHAH. Thanks 5th. Just painter's tape and an X-acto does paint prep good. :T

[penngray]

The insides of the cabinet have already been treated with acoustic foam, and I assume it would be a deadly sin to clog the porous foam with the slightest bit of spraypaint.

Nah....that is a falsehood and no where near a deadly sin

larger Soundwaves will easily penetrate foam even with paint on them but covering the hole with painters tape is still easy to do.