Putty over undercoat/ Gluing speaker fabric to MDF

[Bones]

I have just applied a second coat of sealer to some critical areas of my cab and it appears some of the areas I filled with putty are showing. The areas appear "sunken" which is ironically the opposite problem I have had recently with the putty swelling....

I really don't want to have to take this right back to bare wood and start from scratch because I will literally loose weeks in the process.

Has anybody had any experience in applying putty over the top of an undercoat or sealer? I can scuff the area up a bit to help it bond but I am really not sure if this will work.

*Edit- Thread topic changed to include gluing down speaker fabric.

[Bones]

Going to amend my plans and try and cover the entire area in speaker cloth.

But, it will be interesting to get some answers anyway....

[AC.]

I just finished a wood stain, then the topcoat.  If you have putty sunken and showing, I don't know of a good way to fix it.  Just slap some bumper stickers on it I guess.

[SNAAKE]

I would fill the holes with wood putty,sand prime paint again then some spray laquer.Your cabinet is too nice to have sunken holes on the sides.You should have went with black formica in the first place.

[Bones]

No the sides are fine, they are now darn close to flawless. My problems are with the "dashboard".

I am running some tests to see if speaker fabric will look OK. If not, I will sand it right back to the MDF and start again....

[AC.]

where are some pics?

[AC.]

Pics: nevermind -- just followed your link.  Looks Good!

[SNAAKE]

oh I didnt realize it was just that..cover it with partsexpress vinyl.Make a thread on buy/sell I am sure someone will hook you up.

[Bones]

I have put another couple of coats on and the problem seems to be slowly diminishing but is still noticeable.

In between I am running some tests on gluing down speaker cloth. I spread out some glue on a piece of MDF and flattened the speaker cloth onto it. I also applied glue over one edge to see what it looks like when it is dry. If this looks OK and holds down this it might be a cool solution.

Early indications are looking promising. The glue has dried and is holding it down pretty secure. The edge I painted with glue is now dry and looks no different to the remaining fabric which is a bonus if I go this direction and things get messy with glue seepage.

I really need to try it on a painted surface before attempting it on my dashboard though. I really don't know if it will stick well to paint.

[markrvp]

Is it possible to wrap the speaker cloth around the dashboard and staple it on the back?

[Bones]

Is it possible to wrap the speaker cloth around the dashboard and staple it on the back?

Sorry man, I forgot to follow up on this thread. How rude.....
Staples would have been a good suggestion but may have caused some problems around the access panel. Either way, thanks for the ideas!


I will post the follow-up pics on gluing down speaker fabric to MDF for anybody interested. All said and done the process worked well on the test pieces. When dry the cloth retained its uniform appearance and I obtained a clean test cut with a hobby knife. There was surprising little fraying of the material which surprised me.

For my project however, I did end up using vinyl and the results were pleasing which should make Snake happy.