Refinishing Monitor 10
chriscrawford
Posts: 8
Has anyone had any experience in replacing damaged vinyl veneer with real wood veneer on these cabinets? I have a pair of monitor 10's that are in great shape except the vinyl is beat up a bit. Tried to re-cover with more vinyl from Parts Express and it just doesn't look good. I have never worked with veneer but I'm about to try on a DIY speaker project. Figured i'd heat and peel the existing vinyl and hope for the best. Any one else done something like this?
Any advise would be appreciated.
thx
Chris
Any advise would be appreciated.
thx
Chris
Post edited by chriscrawford on
Comments
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chriscrawford wrote: »Has anyone had any experience in replacing damaged vinyl veneer with real wood veneer on these cabinets? I have a pair of monitor 10's that are in great shape except the vinyl is beat up a bit. Tried to re-cover with more vinyl from Parts Express and it just doesn't look good. I have never worked with veneer but I'm about to try on a DIY speaker project. Figured i'd heat and peel the existing vinyl and hope for the best. Any one else done something like this?
Any advise would be appreciated.
thx
Chris
Wow, I can't believe it. You're doing the same thing I'm thinking about doing, and guess what, I'm in Atlanta too! I actually have mine stored away for right now so I'm not working on them, but I have done some research. I'm thinking about redoing the grills too, even though there is nothing wrong with the originals. I'd just like to have a different color. Ironing and peeling the vinyl veneer probably is the way to go, I would just try to do the bottoms first. Beyond that the biggest challenge that I see is just cutting the vinyl itself with nice straight lines and clean edges to the exact size you need, and especially for those four thin little strips that go around the outside of the fronts. There must be some kind of professional tool for that but I don't know what it is.
Maybe one of these guys below will know.
I'll give you two links that I've found for some nice wood veneer, and for new grill material. You may have already found these:
www.oakwoodveneer.com - they've got tons of nice veneers, and some great burls too. Probably have a proper cutting tool.
www.speakerworks.com - they've got the grill fabric
Let me know how you do or if you need any help tearing into it! I'd like to see the finished product. -
BTW - search this forum and audiokarma.com. I've seen a couple of threads where people have already done this, so it is definately DIY doable. I just don't have the links available. GL!
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Quite a few folks here have done re-finish jobs in one way or another. Definitely an improvement over the vinyl...
Here's 4 of mine.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?98531-Monitor-5B-s-given-a-refurb-amp-upgrade-w-pics
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?116480-RTA-12C-s-upgraded-for-forum-member-w-pics
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?73205-Refurb-ed-and-upgraded-M5-s...now-they-re-going-to-a-new-home.&highlight=geoff727
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?129622-LSi7-s-Refurb-ed-and-Upgraded-w-pictures&highlight=geoff727Polk SDA SRS 2
Polk RTA 15tl
Polk Monitor 7C
Polk Lsi9
Infinity RS-II (modded)
Infinity RS-IIIa (modded)
Infinity RS 2.5 x 2
Magnepan 1.6QR (modded)
System: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vevol&1290711373 -
Geoff -
Those came out looking great! How did you cut the new veneer? There has to be some kind of tool for that right? Tell me you didn't use scissors like in pre-school!Quite a few folks here have done re-finish jobs in one way or another. Definitely an improvement over the vinyl...
Here's 4 of mine.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?98531-Monitor-5B-s-given-a-refurb-amp-upgrade-w-pics
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?116480-RTA-12C-s-upgraded-for-forum-member-w-pics
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?73205-Refurb-ed-and-upgraded-M5-s...now-they-re-going-to-a-new-home.&highlight=geoff727
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?129622-LSi7-s-Refurb-ed-and-Upgraded-w-pictures&highlight=geoff727 -
Here's a good link... I found it easier to cut the veneer with a box cutter and a metal ruler...
http://www.ohio.edu/people/schneidw/audio/veneering.html -
Yes, I use scissors to cut veneer. Or, for a straight line, I just use a straight edge and sharp utlility knife. Simple stuff.
If you want some really good ideas for veners and finishes, go look at the speakers that Jim Salk and Greg Roberts (on the Klipsch restoration and upgrades part of the website) do.
http://www.salksound.com/
http://www.voltiaudio.com/Polk SDA SRS 2
Polk RTA 15tl
Polk Monitor 7C
Polk Lsi9
Infinity RS-II (modded)
Infinity RS-IIIa (modded)
Infinity RS 2.5 x 2
Magnepan 1.6QR (modded)
System: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vevol&1290711373 -
Wow - I'm very surprised that you cut veneer with scissors. Wasn't it difficult to keep the lines straight enough? Don't the edges need to be cut at an angle to come together correctly?
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Dragomcs,
How cool is that. I'll check out those links. I've been using partsexpress.com and simplyspeakers.com a lot lately for projects. Try as I may I find it really hard to make much headway with this project (and others like it) but knowing someone else is working on it helps motivate me. Seems every hour of the week is spoken for. I do, however intend to at least start this project as soon as I get a comfort level on removing the existing surfaces. I'll be sure to update the forum as I progress. BTW, I'm on the west side of ATL but work in midtown, at some point we should compare notes!
ChrisWow, I can't believe it. You're doing the same thing I'm thinking about doing, and guess what, I'm in Atlanta too! I actually have mine stored away for right now so I'm not working on them, but I have done some research. I'm thinking about redoing the grills too, even though there is nothing wrong with the originals. I'd just like to have a different color. Ironing and peeling the vinyl veneer probably is the way to go, I would just try to do the bottoms first. Beyond that the biggest challenge that I see is just cutting the vinyl itself with nice straight lines and clean edges to the exact size you need, and especially for those four thin little strips that go around the outside of the fronts. There must be some kind of professional tool for that but I don't know what it is.
Maybe one of these guys below will know.
I'll give you two links that I've found for some nice wood veneer, and for new grill material. You may have already found these:
www.oakwoodveneer.com - they've got tons of nice veneers, and some great burls too. Probably have a proper cutting tool.
www.speakerworks.com - they've got the grill fabric
Let me know how you do or if you need any help tearing into it! I'd like to see the finished product. -
Thanks Jon, this is exactly the kind of DIY tutorial I've been looking for but haven't been able to find. very cool!
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Geoff,
my hat is off. I am floored. amazing. I don't know if I'm inspired or more intimidated. Now I'm wondering if I need to tweak the crossovers too and it looks like there is an issue with the drivers that requires JB Weld? Forgive the newbie.
again, I'm in awe.
Chris -
No problem, let me know how it's going. I'd like to see it too. Just shoot me a PM sometime, we're not too far apart.chriscrawford wrote: »Dragomcs,
How cool is that. I'll check out those links. I've been using partsexpress.com and simplyspeakers.com a lot lately for projects. Try as I may I find it really hard to make much headway with this project (and others like it) but knowing someone else is working on it helps motivate me. Seems every hour of the week is spoken for. I do, however intend to at least start this project as soon as I get a comfort level on removing the existing surfaces. I'll be sure to update the forum as I progress. BTW, I'm on the west side of ATL but work in midtown, at some point we should compare notes!
Chris
