# Painting Speaker Grills



## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Dear Painters,

I install a fair amount of in-wall speakers in residential and commercial environments many of which are "paintable" yet I have never seen a really really good paint job. Thus far I have seen painters do the following:

(my favorite) Dab on some paint then blast it through the holes with an aircompressor, slowly doing the entire grill.

Slap on some paint then suck it through the holes with a shop-vac.

Use a dry brush and do several coats.

Use a sponge and very lightly rub the paint on the speaker.

Use a low-pickup roller.

So what is your preferred method? I've never even attempted it myself I always get the painter on site to do it or send them to a painter friend of mine (who does one of the best jobs I know of and uses the air compressor method).

Cheers!


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## jfranklin (Apr 18, 2009)

spray them


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## genecarp (Mar 16, 2008)

You never saw anyone just spray them?, GMOD


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Once, a basement remodeler sprayed a pair of NuVo's (really small holes) and filled them up....he then thought it was a good idea to use a blow torch to burn the paint out of the holes.

The sad part is this is true...He ended up buying new grills.


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## ModernStyle (May 7, 2007)

I try to talk the customer out of painting them when I can, they are a pain in the ass.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Just replace the grill material with the appropriate color. There a many manufacturers out there now that produce them. The best thing to do would be to dye them instead of paint them. No chance of the holes filling and affecting the sound.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

> they are a pain in the ass.


Absolutely, and they never turn out perfect. To get the inside of all the holes without filling them is quite the feat. 



> Just replace the grill material with the appropriate color. There a many manufacturers out there now that produce them. The best thing to do would be to dye them instead of paint them.


Who makes them? I've never sold a brand of in-wall or in-ceiling speakers that offered different colored grills. 

Are you thinking of a material grill?


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

I have some I'm about to do and the place i bought them from builds home theaters and they say they just water down the paint and apply a few coats. The ones they have in the show rooms look fine.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Inner10 said:


> Absolutely, and they never turn out perfect. To get the inside of all the holes without filling them is quite the feat.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes just material.


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## WarnerConstInc. (Jan 30, 2008)

Powder coat?


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

You do realize you have to put a powder coat in an oven to melt it, right?


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## WarnerConstInc. (Jan 30, 2008)

Leo G said:


> You do realize you have to put a powder coat in an oven to melt it, right?


You guys are talking about fabric ones?

Well then, have some covered to match.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

I have never seen them with cloth front on in wall speakers. Normally you have a 1" or so bezel that can also be painted to match the wall and the grills are metal and either clipped in place or magnetic. After you have sprayed them you stick the dust cover fabric inside the metal grill to stop any dust from entering the speaker area. It would be pretty hard to find fabris to match the millions of different wall colors they do but they may make them like that.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

BC is correct.

They are metal. 



> I have some I'm about to do and the place i bought them from builds home theaters and they say they just water down the paint and apply a few coats.


Yup, still tough to get an even coat in the holes to get rid of the mosaic look when you look at the grill and walk around. I've been told oil based paint with and air compressor works best since it dries slower.



> Powder coat?


It would fill the holes. I've done alot of work for a local powder coating company and I know from having things powder coated that it would not only be very cost prohibitive it would fill the holes with an enamel that is so hard you would destroy the grills trying to clear out the holes.

We are talking about pin holes.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

I thought i might try a watered down mixture in a flat shallow pan and then dip them in the pan and let dry lay flat and the do this 2-3 times to see if they take.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Sounds like a good idea, but be ready with a can of duster or compressed air to clear the holes.


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## world llc (Dec 9, 2008)

can of spray paint if in stock color (white, black, linnen...) or a qt. of custom color in oil sprayed with hvlp or dry brushed...


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## BillD (Jun 9, 2008)

I always used the same paint that was on the wall/ceiling in a preval spray bottle, you can get at SW, and did several light coats.

Bill


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## genecarp (Mar 16, 2008)

BillD said:


> I always used the same paint that was on the wall/ceiling in a preval spray bottle, you can get at SW, and did several light coats.
> 
> Bill


 
What is a Preval spray bottle?, GMOD


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## BillD (Jun 9, 2008)

genecarp said:


> What is a Preval spray bottle?, GMOD


It is a small bottle which you can fill with paint that has a spray can (for lack of better explaination) on the top. It allows you to spray any type of paint, although in very small amounts, and is perfect for this type of thing. You can get it at Sherwin Williams.

Bill


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

Well what a complete F-up i made of the speaker grills :furious::furious:. First of all i tried the watered down paint with a brush like i was told by the installers. It worked but filled most of the holes still. Then i tried to blow the paint out the hole with my compressor. That made the paint too thin in areas and gave a very inconsistent look when the grill was viewed from the sides, very patchy looking. 
I then tried one of the grills in the watered down paint mix and dipped them in and out of the paint a few times. This worked quite well but took far to many coats and then i started to get build up in a few different holes. 
Whats crazy is it took me 4 hours today to media blast the dam paint from the grills to try again. 4 dam hours and i still couldn't get it off. I then resorted to my 3500psi pressure washer with the tip that can cut a piece of 2x4 in half in about 3 secs and even that had trouble getting the paint off :blink: So i got paint remover and coated the whole thing then pressure washed them. They are now in the garage primed and ready for my second attempt in the morning. 

I went and bought a spray gun from Lowe's and done a little test on a box with the eggshell paint I'm using with a 50/50 mix of water and paint and it looks like it may work very well.

Anyone got any tips on mixing eggshell paint and if there's anything better to mix it with than water?


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## WarnerConstInc. (Jan 30, 2008)

Maybe Flotrol?


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

WarnerConstInc. said:


> Maybe Flotrol?


 
Natural bladder control supplement??? :laughing:


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## dogris (Aug 9, 2007)

BillD said:


> I always used the same paint that was on the wall/ceiling in a preval spray bottle, you can get at SW, and did several light coats.
> 
> Bill


This is what I use, too! Works good with oil base - doesn't work well with latex, because to properly atomize, the paint has to be thinned too much and tends to run off the surface.


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## bordhed30 (Feb 9, 2017)

*Painting grills*

The key is taking off the adhesive dust cover on the back of the speaker grill. Then take your wall or ceiling paint and thin it about 4:1 paint to water. Run it through a cup gun, Crowne brand or Preval brand disposable sprayer. Dust it in one direction, let it sit for 2 min, and dust it the other direction. At no time are your putting a soaker coat on it. If the holes fill up, you are putting too much product on. Let them dry, put the dust paper/cloth back in place and snap them in. If they get marred on the way in, you can carefully touch-up with a brush.
Good luck,
SK


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

This thread is 7 years old.


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## Robie (Feb 25, 2005)

Leo G said:


> This thread is 7 years old.


...and?


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## bordhed30 (Feb 9, 2017)

Pretty sure the in-wall speaker industry is still going strong. Thanks for the nice response to my first post on this site.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Not a problem. I'm sure the question has been answered and the problem solved long ago. Pick some newer topics that are more relevant.


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## bordhed30 (Feb 9, 2017)

Whatever boss...


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Leo G said:


> Not a problem. I'm sure the question has been answered and the problem solved long ago. Pick some newer topics that are more relevant.


No, speaker grill paint jobs are still getting botched on a regular basis.

Go be a stick in the mud elsewhere.


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## Easy Gibson (Dec 3, 2010)

I'm siding with New Guy.

This thread was left a cliffhanger. Did BC ever get it right? Was Inner ever satisfied with this painters? Nobody knows.


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## Texas Wax (Jan 16, 2012)

Easy Gibson said:


> This thread was left a cliffhanger. Did BC ever get it right? Was Inner ever satisfied with this painters?


as the paint bucket shakes.... so goes the days of our contractor talk lives


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## Dan_Watson (Mar 1, 2008)

Easy Gibson said:


> I'm siding with New Guy.
> 
> This thread was left a cliffhanger. Did BC ever get it right? Was Inner ever satisfied with this painters? Nobody knows.


Nobody will ever know.


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## DaVinciRemodel (Oct 7, 2009)

Dan_Watson said:


> Nobody will ever know.


I know. I'm just not telling anyone :whistling


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Easy Gibson said:


> I'm siding with New Guy.
> 
> This thread was left a cliffhanger. Did BC ever get it right? Was Inner ever satisfied with this painters? Nobody knows.


I did a pair myself a few months ago and they were some of the finest I've seen. Made me think either I'm a genius or most painters suck. I sprayed em, lightly with multiple coats, both sides.


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## avenge (Sep 25, 2008)

Inner10 said:


> I did a pair myself a few months ago and they were some of the finest I've seen. Made me think either I'm a genius or most painters suck. I sprayed em, lightly with multiple coats, both sides.


The most likely of the two is that most painters suck.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

avenge said:


> The most likely of the two is that most painters suck.


My thoughts exactly.


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