Tarkus & Armadillo build.

[bolland83]

Another set of Tarkus cabs and an Armadillo cab, for a very patient customer. These have been 6 months in the making, and are now finally finished! I'm pretty proud of these, my best finishing job yet.

[bolland83]

Re: Tarkus & Armadillo build.

[bolland83]

Re: Tarkus & Armadillo build.

[eyekode]

You should be proud! They look awesome! Can you describe the finishing schedule??
Thanks!
Salem

[bolland83]

Re: Tarkus & Armadillo build.

Finishing process is pretty simple, after the cabs are flush trimmed and sanded I apply the stain (see the links in my signature for MDF faux finishing) then I applied several coats of polycrylic to seal everything (including the MDF edges). After that I sanded everything as flat/smooth as I could get it. More poly and sanding, then I sprayed the black burst edges and solid black baffles with spray paint, followed by several coats of satin polycrylic. Wet sanding with a fine 3M block before the final coat. I picked up a HF spray gun to apply the last coats of poly, and wish I had done that sooner. It would have saved a lot of time and a lot of sanding since it goes on much smoother vs. using a brush.

Here's a shot after the stain is applied, before putting any poly on to give you an idea of what it looks like.

[fastbike1]

Re: Tarkus & Armadillo build.

More great work. Definitely have the sunburst down. Really, really, nice.

[[email protected]]

Re: Tarkus & Armadillo build.

yeah, real nice. you really got it going on down yonder.

[Paul Carmody]

Re: Tarkus & Armadillo build.

Yeah, buddy! Awesome.

[randyc1]

Re: Tarkus & Armadillo build.

Great build Bolland83 ! ...love that finish and modification made from your original Tarkus.

Interesting that you also built the enclosure in a completlly different way.

Do u think you could get similar finish using spray can Poly instead of Gun ?

[ReissM]

Re: Tarkus & Armadillo build.

Works of art dude!

Love 'em.

[Jay1]

Re: Tarkus & Armadillo build.

Those look so awesome! I really have to try that finish for my next speaker build.

[bolland83]

Re: Tarkus & Armadillo build.

Great build Bolland83 ! ...love that finish and modification made from your original Tarkus.

Interesting that you also built the enclosure in a completlly different way.

Do u think you could get similar finish using spray can Poly instead of Gun ?

I tried the spray cans of polycrylic, they were hit or miss. Some worked good, some just spattered. Maybe if you have a different brand of poly that you know has good quality spray cans, you should be able to pull it off. That said, there's a lot of cab to cover on these, for what you'd spend in spray cans you may be better off finding a good compressor used, and getting the HF spray gun. Figure 10+ spray cans of poly @ $15 each, it adds up quick. Add to that, the fact that the compressor and spray gun are re-usable, they pay for themselves after one or two large projects.

[jonpike]

Re: Tarkus & Armadillo build.

+1 on that's a work of art! You've got a lucky customer!

Man, I'm going to have to try something like that...

Side note on the sprayers... as an alternative, Rockler is having a sale on two turbine type HVLP guns, a Wagner for $80, and their house brand one for $120. Being turbine driven, they don't need a compressor. Being HVLP needs a lot of air volume, and I have a tiny compressor, I never got one of the regular kind. Can't say about the Wagner, but have the Rockler one, and it's nice. (There's a HF copy of the Rockler one (or maybe it's the same?) for less, and there's a real cheap HF turbine I got first, but it's just usable with some work.)

Both are a lot less than the estimated rattle can bill... :D

[johnnyrichards]

Re: Tarkus & Armadillo build.

Those are really nice looking speakers!

[Thomas Brown]

Re: Tarkus & Armadillo build.

WOW! Absoulety stunning!!!
Those would look fantastic flanking my TV stand and TV, almost as if they belong there.

I will turn in my DIY card at the next meeting as these are for me, Gaellen is a very easy guy to deal with and has been a absoulute pleasure to work with on this.

Basically these are actually Mrs. Stinky's speakers, she was the one that pushed for them to join our living room and funded the project (yes, that is me bragging a little - or alot). She knows I'm slow and they would never get done, If I had taken them on.

I can't say enough about Gaellen (bolland83), his professional approach, his artistic approach, and well just one great guy. Looking forward to driving out to AZ and enjoying some time with the guys out there, as well as bring home a piece of art.

THANK YOU MY FRIEND!!!