New cabinet build named... 'ehukai !

[bobbyb13]

I'm ready to keep experimenting!
And I appreciate the encouragement to keep doing so- I need it.

I had to add yet another layer of white onto one side of the cabinet because the latest round that I put on it just ---fouled up beyond all recognition--- up.
For added fun, I have no idea why either!

100% humidity for a lot of the last 3 weeks has made it all a bit dicey anyway, but I did something I shouldn't have with that last batch apparently and once it is done- it's done.
One of the joys of resin work is that unless you are working in a very tightly controlled environment, every time you do it is like it is own little science experiment.
 

Legit progress.
The LAST lamination necessary for this cabinet.

The whole thing is just so overkill in terms of structural integrity that this is kinda ludicrous EXCEPT that I sorted out that the front panel under the controls is where the speakers will go- so the panel they sit in needs a little mass to it so that the whole cabinet doesn't just become a tinny, buzzing, irritating box.

And this panel will be the part one would (accidentally!!!) smack their knees into or kick- for whatever reason someone would risk inciting my ire in doing so.
 

Since it is only actually attached to the bottom of the control panel with a rabbet and then tacked/glued to the base panel of the cabinet (no side anchoring at all- due to the ridiculous curve of it) I figured it would require some fiberglass rope as a fillet.



For anyone who built surfboards prior to 1995 or so, this stuff was the only way to add the lateral reinforcement that would keep a fin on a surfboard.
Nowadays, only crotchety old guys like me use it- and usually only for old school longboards for grumpy ---daisies--- like myself 

It will add strength to this weird panel joint (especially when reinforced with another chunk of 6oz cloth.



Which reminds me,  I need to go trim this stuff while it is still a bit gooey (and you can actually cut it with a razorblade) rather than wait until tomorrow when I have to grind the whole thing out with 60 grit instead!

[DaOld Man]

Good work! My only complaint is should have covered those wheels with tape or something.

[bobbyb13]

Good work! My only complaint is should have covered those wheels with tape or something.

Thank you!
Yeah, I should have done better. It was late and I got anxious to just get the material down- and now I have more drips to knock off.

[Ond]

I never would have thought that I'd be using an angle grinder to brute sand my arcade cabinet but that fiber-glass is tough stuff!  Once you get it smooth though and start the paint/final finish process it rewards you with beautiful results.

[Zebidee]

I never would have thought that I'd be using an angle grinder to brute sand my arcade cabinet but that fiber-glass is tough stuff!  Once you get it smooth though and start the paint/final finish process it rewards you with beautiful results.

Funny you mention that - I was at hardware store yesterday (unusual in itself these days) and was looking at special angle grinder disks with layers of really tough sandpaper for just such purpose

[jennifer]

 

[bobbyb13]

I never would have thought that I'd be using an angle grinder to brute sand my arcade cabinet but that fiber-glass is tough stuff!  Once you get it smooth though and start the paint/final finish process it rewards you with beautiful results.

Funny you mention that - I was at hardware store yesterday (unusual in itself these days) and was looking at special angle grinder disks with layers of really tough sandpaper for just such purpose

I try to get extraneous crap like drips with a sureform while it is still in jelly mode- when I'm typically peeling masking off.
Sometimes it's better to just let it kick and have at it with some coarse stuff on a low speed (so that it doesn't create heat issues) or in the case of this beast- sand a bunch by hand.

The key is taking a moment before you put down a layer and think "am I gonna need to sand this before it gets another coat?" so you know to add surfacing agent or not.

Straight laminating resin does NOT sand well- or really at all.  But if you added enough wax to the batch, no problem.

I have 4 different densities of sanding pads and a variable speed sander/polisher.
Pick the right combo of squish, speed and grit, follow that up with some hand wet sanding and well then, Bob's your Uncle.
Fastest way to a great finish hands down, unless you will be painting and don't mind sanding your color coats in between.

And my current plan for side art is going to require ordering some spraying apparatus it appears.
The good part is that plan can be executed with the guts already inside I think.

So hopefully I can get this thing sanded out this weekend and can start with the brainy bits finally!

[jennifer]

 

[Zebidee]

The key is taking a moment before you put down a layer and think "am I gonna need to sand this before it gets another coat?" so you know to add surfacing agent or not.

I'mma always after that mirror smooth finish, always tempting to ultra-fine sand one more time and add one more layer.

And my current plan for side art is going to require ordering some spraying apparatus it appears.
The good part is that plan can be executed with the guts already inside I think.

So hopefully I can get this thing sanded out this weekend and can start with the brainy bits finally!

Hope you have a decent and dust-free "spray booth"

I have a large box I used as a spray booth when doing black layers on my control panels and stuff. As you can imagine, the inside of the box is completely black. Our "new" kitten/cat (OK she is 1yo now) loves playing inside it! As you can imagine cats like playing with boxes, but this is different. She loves the mysterious darkness and the seeming limitlessness of that box.

[bobbyb13]

Ah yes, the dust...
I'm going to be spraying polyester resin so for bonus fun the overspray becomes even more of an issue too.
Paint would be a reasonable approach of course, but why start being reasonable now?! 

The intent was always glass/resin only- even with the insanity of the bezel- so it's going to take some planning.

And... at this point I just can't help myself anyway.

Cats are just non-stop entertainment too, aren't they?

[Zebidee]

Painting onto fibreglass? Doesn't sound like a great idea, except maybe for the bezel.

Cats... when this one was young and silly she'd want to run out of the house all the time, but we have a lot of ferals around here so try to keep her in at night.

So I'd put that black spray box in front of the door. Then when I opened the door cat would run into the box, thinking that she could get out the door that way. Then I'd just casually tip the box over her and enter/exit at will. She is a clever cat but either never figured this trick out, or it has become a game for her. In any case, works every time

[bobbyb13]

I won't be doing it in this instance, but urethane would probably be ok.
It sticks much better to epoxy though.

Shooting resin will be fun.  Going to require a few practice shots but at least I know the look I'm aiming for now.

The box thing seems to be in cat DNA, yeah?
Hilarious.
We have six.
And no mouse problem!

Whe the wife accuses me of hoarding CRTs my defense is that she is hoarding cats
 

[Zebidee]

I urethaned the concrete floor of my shed and now anything plastic that stays in contact with the floor for any length of time sticks there, and you have to peel it off. Cables that touch the floor get manky and dirty looking.

I urethaned the floor of the gym and now my yoga mat sticks to the floor. Bits tear off when you lift the mat. Yuck. Just sayin'.

Well, cats. Last year in the wet season we had so many house lizards (geckos) that they would openly fight in the living room. A sure sign there were too many. Now we have a mouser (who is really a lizarder), and there is nary a lizard to be found anywhere in the house - except for the occasional mangled carcass of one that stopped playing with Rocky (the cat) because they were now dead.

We may have to hire her an apprentice soon.

[bobbyb13]

I've only ever used 2 part epoxy on concrete floors- and had mixed results with that even.
Urethane seems good for where you want something that stays pretty fluid/flexible but I have only ever sprayed cars and surfboards with it.

I discovered yesterday that the last 2 rounds of "final resin fill coat!" were NOT fully curing. 
And so, I had to recoat half the machine- again.

Lovely 100% humidity, old resin and probably not enough wax. 

When I checked on it this morning it appears that I finally got the whole thing to go off.
Phew.
Now I can finally get to proper finish sanding.

I'm the household member who gets to inter any critters the cats have had their way with.
Funny, the very sweet, runty, orange female was the one who decimated the rodent population!

[Zebidee]

I discovered yesterday that the last 2 rounds of "final resin fill coat!" were NOT fully curing. 
And so, I had to recoat half the machine- again.

Lovely 100% humidity, old resin and probably not enough wax. 

Tried heaters? They drive off moisture as well.

I'm the household member who gets to inter any critters the cats have had their way with.
Funny, the very sweet, runty, orange female was the one who decimated the rodent population!

Ah, a ginga ninja! Very dangerous indeed

[bobbyb13]

I discovered yesterday that the last 2 rounds of "final resin fill coat!" were NOT fully curing. 
And so, I had to recoat half the machine- again.

Lovely 100% humidity, old resin and probably not enough wax. 

Tried heaters? They drive off moisture as well.

I'm the household member who gets to inter any critters the cats have had their way with.
Funny, the very sweet, runty, orange female was the one who decimated the rodent population!

Ah, a ginga ninja! Very dangerous indeed

I think the issue was that the resin shot off so fast (damn humidity!  ) that the wax didn't get enough time to float up.
Hence, gooey surface.

And it took me until my third redhead girlfriend to understand that I was out of my league there 


But to the theme...
not sure WHY anyone else would ever have the need to sweat mounting speakers to a convex surface in any reasonable build, but I archive the mess here anyway.
For added fun, the panel the speakers are going on also happens to be only about 3/16" thick (so I could actually bend it the way I wanted it to go.)

I thought a while about what material to use and instead of shaping some foam and gluing that in, I thought why not just make a plywood ring.
6" hole saw for outer cut, 4 1/2" saw for inner.

Make a half depth cut with the 6" to have a pilot hole to maintain concentric ring and scoring of outer cut also.
Switch to 4 1/2" and make full cut to knock out center, switch back to 6", finish outer cut and remove ring!



I also ran the router around both sides of the inside ring, to make extra space for the speaker cone (just in case) on one side and on the other side to accommodate the screen.
I just used some KwikMesh that I had left over from doing the bird block on the eaves of the workshop and the house.

I also had to shape in some concave to the rings so they would sit squarely on the inside of the panel and actually hold the screen down while the glue was setting.

Tip the machine onto its nose, add a few lead shot bag dive weights to hold the rings and screen in place and voila!



Both sides are getting a gloss coat again to get a flatter surface after another sanding.



Finally getting really close to being able to put some electronics in this thing.



Till next time... don't forget your mask!
 

[Zebidee]

And it took me until my third redhead girlfriend to understand that I was out of my league there 

Took me about three goes to lose the redhead habit too. Too temperamental, prone to overheating. However, it you know how to love them properly, they can purrrrrr like a kitten.

But to the theme...
not sure WHY anyone else would ever have the need to sweat mounting speakers to a convex surface in any reasonable build, but I archive the mess here anyway.
For added fun, the panel the speakers are going on also happens to be only about 3/16" thick (so I could actually bend it the way I wanted it to go.)

I thought a while about what material to use and instead of shaping some foam and gluing that in, I thought why not just make a plywood ring.
6" hole saw for outer cut, 4 1/2" saw for inner.

Make a half depth cut with the 6" to have a pilot hole to maintain concentric ring and scoring of outer cut also.
Switch to 4 1/2" and make full cut to knock out center, switch back to 6", finish outer cut and remove ring!



I also ran the router around both sides of the inside ring, to make extra space for the speaker cone (just in case) on one side and on the other side to accommodate the screen.
I just used some KwikMesh that I had left over from doing the bird block on the eaves of the workshop and the house.

I also had to shape in some concave to the rings so they would sit squarely on the inside of the panel and actually hold the screen down while the glue was setting.

Tip the machine onto its nose, add a few lead shot bag dive weights to hold the rings and screen in place and voila!



Both sides are getting a gloss coat again to get a flatter surface after another sanding.



Finally getting really close to being able to put some electronics in this thing.

oh ygtbfkm, I just realised your cab now has portholes! but don't worry about me, it actually looks great!

Till next time... don't forget your mask!
 

You look good like that  Wear it down to the shops, no one will complain about you not being careful 

[bobbyb13]

It may not look so "anchors away"-ish once the speakers are in it!

I hope

[Zebidee]

It may not look so "anchors away"-ish once the speakers are in it!

I hope

Yeah look I was just having fun with you, am only kidding. It doesn't look nautical unless you put a double ++ across the front of the holes or hang some anchors and ropes on the side lol.

I can really imagine your cab down at the beachside fish n' chip shop!

[bobbyb13]

I knew it was meant in fun.

And holy crap now I look again I see that picture from the inside in a whole new light!
 

[bobbyb13]

I sanded a little bit on the S.S. Marshmallow today but no major progress really apart from leveling off the control panel supports for gap tolerance purposes.
Maybe I'll go sand some more now-

HOWEVER...

I DID find this shot of a vehicle of relevance to another post somewhere that I thought Zebidee at least might find amusing!

Dubbed "The Irritator" by my friend Dave who managed the service zone when I was a Porsche tech back in Rhode Island... there was something about this car for everyone to hate!

Concours guys hated it because I drove it almost daily (unless there was snow) and it was typically shamefully dirty.
Purists hated it because it had been stripped to be a dedicated track car by the guy I bought it from and painted a non-factory color (actually that of a Ford Festiva of all things!)
Track guys hated it because it had a bangin' stereo system (which probably added 45 lbs to the car.)
Cops hated it because it was LOUD  (but perfectly legal !!) 
It was dangerously tail-happy because it had way too big of a motor in it, so my mom hated it- even though she didn't know she did.
Girlfriend hated it because the heating system had been removed.

My favorite vehicle ever of course
 

[Zebidee]

Wow - and powder blue is even my favourite colour!

[bobbyb13]

I never should've sold that car.

It is now worth 10x what I got for it in 2006- not exaggerating 

As far as the cabinet in question here is concerned, I finally found a look I liked for resin treatment for sideart.

And it is so impractical that I just can't do it this way.
This is blue in one layer.



It is a VERY small amount of tint, not thinned very much, brushed on, and then after it had started to gel (but before it fully went off) I pulled a few sticks of various size through it in arcs to break it up/ pull blobs around.

The concept was put down a few sweeps of color using lam resin (one blue, one greenish, one indigo) with intermediate layers of clear to add even more depth to it.

Problem is that it will take probably a gallon and a half more resin to do it, add maybe 10 lbs to the thing and then since it is effectively a 1/4" of straight resin it will be subject to shattering.

And it will add 3 weeks to the project I believe.

'ehukai will be staying white for a little while it appears.
I'm going to check with my friends who are legitimate artists for some help!

[Zebidee]

I suggest losing the clear layers to minimise thickness then.

You need a different kind of "brush". I wonder how a mop would go as a brush? One of those old style ones with lots of strands, not like a sponge mop.

Just pour paint on and lightly swish it about with the mop or your weapon of choice. Don't do too much. You could even practice with poster paint on butcher's paper first, just try to get the textures you want with the "brush".

Invite some arty mates over and see if they have some ideas.

White is good too.

[jennifer]

 

[bobbyb13]

It very well may get sprayed for flair after all is said and done (or may get none at all even.)

And although I really like the candy look on the right car I really don't want any fleck or glitter on this thing.
The idea of opalescent/interference blue has crossed my mind though!
If there is any shimmer it has to be globular/organic.

It also may get what you suggest Zebidee in that maybe I do color with no intermediate clear coats to flatten in between and then just double hot coat clear at the end.
The rub with that plan is that it makes the sanding really tricky, especially the final rounds.

Can't say I've ever been accused of being normal.
 

[Ond]

so printed artwork is not on the cards for this?  You could do some awesome digital art and then clear resin coat that.  Just thinking out aloud.  .  Happy to help with a wave effect ..no probs.

[jennifer]

 

[jennifer]

 

[bperkins01]

I had not caught up on this build until now.  I've done a lot of glass work - love to see it and not a hint of Bondo anywhere!
Looking forward to the final result.  Nice work.   

[bobbyb13]

Thank you all once again for comments and kudos!
Good to have additional external motivation in the home stretch. 

Personal challenge to have no bondo.  Only been using resin, cloth, pigment and Thik-Sil or Cabosil where necessary.
Of course now I know how I would do it differently (better/faster) if for some reason I feel masochistic enough to make something similar again.

I'm pretty lost now as far as artwork is concerned so I'm just going to wait a bit.  Here are the things I scribbled while I was first thinking of building this cabinet if anyone has any good ideas to add!



Ond, I'm into anything that gets the right look.
Zebidee, you are onto something with the mop idea!

All along I had thought it would only be resin but I think I may only get what I really want with paint at this point (if I am doing it myself anyway.)

Jennifer, I have used a twin action Paasche airbrush for painting boards for 25 years that lays down paint ok, but it is a tool I do not have a great command of really.
Still might work for what I am shooting for here but I don't have great confidence in that idea yet.

The way it is turning out I am going to just let it stay as is until I am sure of what I want to do for art.  Because the thing looks like a 600 lb marshmallow anyway, it will have plenty of color contrast just from controls
 



And since I am anxious to get the thing playable I thought it was time to get knock together a little bass to stuff in it.



I forgot how grievously bad the chop saw is at cutting anything square, but it didn't need to look pretty anyway.
Just needs to hold a 6" speaker and not buzz like a pissed of hornet's nest.

[Ond]

I'm going to have a go at your side-art today. I like that side profile, it's a cool shape.  You can use it, or disregard whatever I come up with as you please.  It would be good to have an accurate template of the side panel shape.  Can you post that?  Is the color palette you want only blue, green, white or can it have other color as well?

[Zebidee]

Bobby did mention indigo a couple of times, and I like that

[bobbyb13]

I'm going to have a go at your side-art today. I like that side profile, it's a cool shape.  You can use it, or disregard whatever I come up with as you please.  It would be good to have an accurate template of the side panel shape.  Can you post that?  Is the color palette you want only blue, green, white or can it have other color as well?

Wow, thanks Ond.
Zebidee is spot on.  Anything that says ocean color was the palette and less is more was the overall paradigm.

Not sure how I can most reasonably get a profile template but I'll try for something.
I am totally useless in regard to computer aided/drafted design.

The most precise I have gotten is to use graph paper with my sharp pencil.
 

[jennifer]

 

[Ond]

Concept..low-res sample.. Original artwork by me.  H-Res version is 6000 x 8000 px.  should be fine to print.

[bobbyb13]

That is rad.
I wasn't thinking illustration before but I like that concept.

You just cranked that out in HOW long?!
 

[Zebidee]

Concept..low-res sample.. Original artwork by me.  H-Res version is 6000 x 8000 px.  should be fine to print.

Nice one Ond, love it. Technically AND artistically talented

Suggest: More light, less dark. Blues are lost in the dark. Bring up the overall brightness level more, the blues will come out more than other colours (says sky/beach/water, reflections of, I did mention that I liked powder blue on that 911 ). Bright and cheery like a day at the beach with your friends.

Looks great, just my thoughts.

[bobbyb13]

The sweep of the wave is pretty much perfect.
The rest is damn close to!

Looks like a sunrise session where I used to live on Cape Cod actually.
Completely out of the question these days with the proliferation of Great Whites out there apparently!

The picture I had in mind when I came up with the colors for the light in the marquee type zone was this one shot by Aaron Chang quite a few years back now:

[Ond]

I'm going to dream waves ...

Am I closer? Tell me I'm closer.