different finishes?

[Les Webb]

One idea that I considered, not sure what the cost would be, is the textured plastic panels such as you see covering the walls in many commercial restrooms. It would need to be glued on and have edging & corners installed, but this stuff is really tough. This occurred to me after Bill suggested covering in linoleum a long time ago on the old forum.

I've installed a bunch of it in commercial buildings. We always called it FRP (fiberglass reinforced plastic). It is extremely slippery, I don't know how that would work on a cab. You can buy it a Lowe's.

Les

[Sydney]

textured plastic panels

This is precisely what I used for the curved walls in the inner horn assembly in my experimental DR200.
It was scrap pieces of ( 4x 8 ) white fiberglass panels used, in my case, to finish a laundry/utility room.
It is commonly used in commercial restaurant and food prep. areas

[nola50]

That's a great idea! I have a 4 X 8 sheet of white FRP and half sheet of black pebble finish. $ 20 to $ 30 a sheet, I think?

[David Carter]

It may just be me, but I've done both carpet and Duratex, and I can see how Duratex SHOULD be easier and faster, but for me it wasn't. Every time I rolled on a coat, I would inevitably find spots where the Duratex had not adhered well and would flake off at the slightest touch. At first, I thought it was because there was PL residue on those spots, but even after wiping the cab down well with mineral spirits, it still did it. Then I thought maybe it was too cold, so I brought the cab indoors and applied the Duratex--same result. With all the extra coats or touch-ups I had to do, it took me nearly a whole gallon to do two DR250's.

Now that it has been several weeks since application, and the Duratex has had time to fully cure, it seems to be fine, but it was NOT easy to get it right. Nor was it cheap because of how much I had to use.

[Mikey]

David, DuraTex is water-based. If you wipe down wood with mineral spirits then apply a water-based coating, you're bound to have adhesion problems.

[David Carter]

David, DuraTex is water-based. If you wipe down wood with mineral spirits then apply a water-based coating, you're bound to have adhesion problems.

That's funny--I did it because that was what some folks here recommended to make sure there were no PL residue spots or oil from hy hands/fingers on the cab. Of course, I did let it dry completely before applying the Duratex.

Anyway, I had the same problem with or without using the mineral spirits...

[LelandCrooks]

David, DuraTex is water-based. If you wipe down wood with mineral spirits then apply a water-based coating, you're bound to have adhesion problems.

I do it all the time, under latex, waterbourne finishes, the works. I do however let the cab or whatever it is set for at least a day before I apply the dtx. If I need to spray right now I use damp water rag, but I prefer the solvent. One thing I have discovered is that the bondo needs to be pretty rough for duratex to bond tightly. If you sand it too smooth it will not make a strong bond.

I'd guess some oil or grease spots.

[gdougherty]

I haven't ended up with any big patches of wood filler, but I did find when filling and re-countersinking screw holes on my OT12 access panels lately that duratex didn't stick well to the wood filler. Otherwise I sand down with an 80-100 grit in a random orbit sander, wipe all the dust off with a damp microfiber shop towel, let it dry an hour (here in Colorado's low humidity) and paint after that. I've never had any issues with adhesion.

[Mikey]

I know that DuraTex is supposed to be self-priming. Has anyone tried priming their cabinet with Kilz primer, either oil or water based? I'm just thinking that it may be a step that people having problems with DuraTex adhesion might consider. I've used the oil-based Kilz for fire damage, water damage, covering nicotine, priming hardwoods, etc, and it always does the job. Latex Kilz is excellent for priming bare drywall. Never had a problem with adhesion over Kilz.

[LelandCrooks]

Priming is probably a very good idea. I know I never paint without putting on primer, ever.

1 qt of latex primer would cover a bunch of cabs, and apply very quickly with a roller. Doesn't have to be pretty or even, dries to recoat 30 min to an hour. The new latex primers are very good.
Bill used to thin duratex for his first coat.

[Sydney]

priming their cabinet with Kilz primer,

The Acrytech people told me that the way to get it to adhere to certain surfaces was to pre-prime with Kilz.

[Mikey]

The Acrytech people told me that the way to get it to adhere to certain surfaces was to pre-prime with Kilz.

Cool! Kilz is available at WalMart. The oil-based Kilz is around $11-12 a gallon. I think the latex Kilz is a couple bucks more, if memory serves me correctly.

Oil-based Kilz is some very stinky stuff. Apply it outdoors or in a WELL ventilated area. Latex Kilz fumes aren't too bad, but it's a bit more strong than common latex wall paints.

Oil-based Kilz will go over almost anything, with the exception of silicone, of course. Latex Kilz is great for priming drywall and for interior bare wood, but it won't cover "nasties" well. I've also had the latex Kilz fail quickly when used to prime exterior wood. I can't say for sure, but I don't think it would do well over PL. It may cover it initially, but it may fail quickly (peel). YMMV.