I went to the local dealer who does this and asked him if I brought in a scrap of the ply I use, would he test it for adhesion next time he sprayed a truck. Nope, he answered, been there, done that. Don't have to test it, it works. He explained it adhered even better to the wood than to metal.

He had sprayed a pair of PA cabs for a commercial sound company in the next town as a test. A few months later, they dropped off 15 more pair to be sprayed. They have been very happy with the appearance and results.

Since then, I have seen these speakers at a few outdoor festivals, and they looked good, with no visible scars, scrapes, or road rash.

Just FYI.

• DuraTex

Another thing, for cabinets that need to be roadworthy, I prefer plywood cabinet material to MDF. MDF doesn't hold up under moisture, heaven forbid it gets wet, rained on outdoors, or some drunk spills a beer on it (why do people assume my expensive speakers are resting places for their drinks?)... swells, and chips. Screws do not hold well in MDF, so corner protectors get knocked off, and other handling damage.

I have used furniture grade birch ply for many years. Several local musicians have brought me their commercially built MDF speakers to be copied over in birch ply. Even if there are a few resonance issues (and I brace well internally) this is nothing compared to the increased durability of road equipment using the ply over MDF.

Just a few more thoughts on building cabs for working musicians.

P.S. Not a good hairspray or deodorant.