Final Coat?

[ratchetfps]

I'm going to be finalizing my mini-statements next week and am a bit apprehensive about the final stages of painting. I have been researching the variety of finishing suggestions for weeks now and am pretty confident on the first stages of my finishing process:

1] Seal all large gaps and problem areas with Bondo
2] Sand entire cabs with 320grit
3] Coat cabs with wood glue/water mixture (planning to experiment with ratio...I've seen everything from 1:1 to 3:1 glue:water suggested)
4] Allow to harden, then sand with 320grit
5] Coat of primer
6] Coat of color
7] Wetsand
8] Coat of color

...now here's where it gets a bit fuzzy for me. I am shooting for a flat/satin black finish, so I don't need to spend a ludicrous amount of time wetsanding. My question is: what should I do to finalize this process? Should I coat with rattle can clearcoat? Should I use some sort of laquer? Should I, perhaps, just leave things be with the final coat of color?

I am less concerned with protecting the speaker finish as I don't anticipate many bumps/scratches. I just want a straightforward process to get a nice "flat-ish" finish. Any thoughts/suggestions/links are GREATLY appreciated!!

[sdl2112]

I have some of the same questions. I would be happy if I could match these results.

https://www.htguide.com/forum/showpost.php?p=411948&postcount=2

https://www.htguide.com/forum/showpost.php?p=411952&postcount=3

Good idea to try it on a test piece first.

[Bill Schneider]

Hey, I recognize the pictures in those links!

I did those smaller speakers using rattle cans of Krylon semi-flat spray paint, no overcoat. For best results, I wouldn't try to use a rattle can on a large baffle or cabinet. However for about $150 you can have a small compressor and detail spray gun which works fine for speaker-sized projects.



Since I painted this baffle, I've moved on to a larger compressor, but I still use the small $40 gravity-fed gun from Lowe's.

Here's a link to build logs that include painting notes for the various speaker projects I've completed...

https://www.afterness.com/audio/

I've been using General Finishes Milk Paint for recent projects (including the one in the photo above). It's water based for easy cleanup, and has less smell. I don't overcoat the paint, but I do prepare the surfaces to be painted thoroughly. That includes the use of spot putty before priming.

[sdl2112]

Those look great! I will definitely be referencing your build logs in the future.