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Instructions 20for 20painting 20AWC 20cabinets-7

Painting JBL Professional’s AWC Cabinets

130806RK/JA

CABINET

Removing Grille: Note the orientation of the grille (via the grille logo position) so that the grille can be reassembled in the same orientation (if that orientation is desired). Remove the grille by removing the grille screws around the perimeter of the grille and pulling the grille straight off.

Masking:

Mask the entire front baffle of the speaker, including the drivers. Regardless the color of the original cabinet (white or black), the baffle is black. It should remain black, which makes the details behind the grille recede visually.

Mask the two side-located M10 bracket mounting insert points and the one brass M6 insert point on the back of the back of the cabinet (which comes covered with a rubber plug).

Remove the back terminal cover plate and paint it separately (if you decide to paint it). Mask the inside of the terminal recess area, including masking over the foam gasket that runs around the edges to make a water-tight seal against the back terminal cover plate.

The cabinet is made of fiberglass-reinforced ABS and the paint over that material is non-gloss polyurethane paint, which is used because it has good water, chemical and weather resistance. If the cabinet surface is dirty, lightly wipe with a sponge and a small amount of mild liquid dish soap and then rinse. Dry the surface and let it completely air dry for at least half an hour.

The painted surface is usually sufficiently rough to allow for good adhesion, but in areas of the cabinet where there may not be much paint texture, it is sometimes best to very lightly roughen the surface to provide a surface to which the new paint can grip using fine-grade sandpaper. Again, any roughing should be very light, and the surface should not feel “glass smooth” when you are done. Don’t roughen so much as to remove the paint, which is a thin layer.

The surface requires no primer paint, however for maximum adhesion, you can use any sort of bonding primer that is designed to work over polyurethane and to which the paint type that you intend to use will stick.

The choice of paint type depends on the circumstances in which the speaker will be installed. Just about any solvent-based paint can be used, however the paint must be of a type that stands up to the expected elements to which the speaker will be subjected, including precipitation, UV and any corrosive air. Consider the UV resistance, mold resistance, corrosion resistance, and general weatherability of the paint.

For both primer (if used) and paint, always test on a small area first.

Apply the paint in multiple thin layers, allowing each layer to dry completely according to the instructions on your brand of paint before applying the next layer.

In addition to the cabinet, paint the already-removed terminal cover plate, if desired.

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GRILLE

The backing to the grille is adhered strongly in place because it needs to survive environmental high velocity spray testing for IP certification. It is difficult to remove. Leave the grille backing in place. (If you do decide to remove the backing, the backing material is likely to be destroyed and it may require extra effort to remove the remaining backing material and glue, and then you’ll be left without a backing to break up driving rain).

Mask the grille logo. If you try to remove the logo it will be difficult to reattach because the substrate backing of the logo plate is soft aluminum which usually bends during removal and can be difficult to straighten after being bent.

Spray the grille lightly using thinned paint. Make sure the spray is light enough that when the grille is held up to the light, you can still see light through the grille holes (which means that sound can also get through). Spray only the front of the grille, not the back. The fact that the grille backing picks up some of the new color (in addition to the metal of the grille) means that you can achieve the proper color without a heavy spray of paint. Brushing the paint is discouraged because of potential paint build-up in the grille perforations. Rolling can be successful with a very short-knapped roller, making sure to avoid paint build-up in the grille perforations. Again, do not clog the backing with paint.

RE-ASSEMBLY

Make sure the grille backing (foam and weather mesh) goes to the edges of the grille before reattaching the grille. Normally, the grille logo gets positioned between the ports, but the grille can be rotated such that the logo is in another orientation if desired.

Be careful when removing the masking, especially making sure not to pull off the foam gasket around the edges of the terminal recess on the back of the speaker. The gasket is important for ensuring a water-tight seal into the terminal compartment.