Painted PanelsThe great thing about Car Audio and Electronics magazine is that we're here to serve you, the readers of this fine publication. The many e-mails I've received over the last several months have kept me informed about what you guys want to know about, and that's why I'm here. We have talked about sound quality related issues in most of the columns up until now. Recently, however, I've been getting a lot of requests for installation-related topics, so that's what we'll focus on for the next several months. With the competition season getting started, it's time to get your installation in order, so hopefully these subjects will be helpful in your quest to fill your living room with trophies.
This month's topic was brought to my attention by Trevor from Detroit, who asked me about using painted panels in his installs. Unless you've been living in a hole for the last several years (a hole without IASCA or USAC), then you've seen a lot of shiny painted panels used to highlight installations. This has become popular for one simple reason-it looks really cool. If you see a car with a trunk finished in vinyl or carpet next to one with painted panels, more people will look at the car with the shiny panels every time. I guess we're all just like little kids, since we're attracted to shiny things. As it turns out, the judges also like to look at these cars, so they're more likely to award them extra bonus points. Anything that looks cool and gets bonus points is worth talking about in Competition Corner. So, let's give you a "primer" on painted panels (man, I crack myself up).
We will start by assuming that you have the panels in your car shaped and ready for finishing, using fiberglass, MDF, and everything in between. If you have existing panels covered in material like vinyl or carpet, these can also be painted once the material and glue are stripped off. This is a good way to go if you like the style of your installation but just want to "jazz it up" a bit.
The first step in any painting project is the primer. The first coat is called a catalyzed high-build primer, and some of the more popular brand names are Slick Sand, Duratec, and Polyprimer. These primers are mixed with fiberglass hardener and sprayed on very thick to fill sanding scratches and pin holes in the panel surface. They dry quickly, even when the coats are very thick, which makes them easy to use. After the primer is dry, it is sanded with 120 and then 220 grit sandpaper to prepare the surface for the next step. This primer was a real revolution in the car audio industry since it finally allowed us to get panels ready for paint quickly and with great results.
The next step is another primer, this time called epoxy primer. The best one out there is DP40 by PPG. After the sanding of the catalyzed high-build primer, thin spots often show through to the original surface. The epoxy primer creates a hard "shell" over the panel, which covers these spots as well as any sanding marks from the 120 or 220 grit sandpaper. Another advantage of the epoxy primer is that it helps prevent the surface of the panel from shrinking and showing scratches or seams under the paint. This primer is not usually sanded, so after it is applied and allowed to dry overnight, the piece is ready to be painted.