To poly or not to poly...

wispolkboy

I picked up set of 5a's a few months ago. I upgraded the crossovers with clarity caps. I decided to rip off the vinyl and put some real wood veneer on them. I went with walnut PSA. I did my last veneer project on some M4's with paper backed cherry, that was a lot more work and a bit messy with the glue.
So my question is should I poly them or leave as is. I first used a fake tung oil. It's basically a varnish and linseed oil but I liked how it looked on some samples.
so here are some pictures of what it looks like now. I like how they look but I am wondering if I should put a coat of poly on them. I don't want them to look plasticly, so I am thinking a mat or satin poly.

Gardenstater

Those are beautiful! I honestly can't see how you can improve upon what you have very much. Perhaps a little less sheen might be a little bit preferable........

Do you want to have polyfill down behind the passives? In my 7Bs there is a roll tucked up at the top behind MW + tweeter area only and lower is completely empty.

xschop

Gorgeous as it. Don't ruin a good thing.

F1nut

Applying a few coats of a wiping poly will add considerable protection and increase the beauty. You need to be sure the fake tung oil has cured completely before top coating. The current satin sheen is very nice, going to a matte will take the life out of the wood.

wispolkboy

I decided to not put a poly on it, at least for now and no wax, just incase I add further coats of tung oil...
F1... I definitely knew not to add poly at least for a good month or longer... I will test on the bottom of the speakers when that time comes.
I got them all button up and tested for air leaks... Has a good seal! I have these speakers in my work room driven by NAD 3020 . I brought one up to the living room for a few pictures.

wispolkboy

Gardenstater wrote: »

Those are beautiful! I honestly can't see how you can improve upon what you have very much. Perhaps a little less sheen might be a little bit preferable........

Do you want to have polyfill down behind the passives? In my 7Bs there is a roll tucked up at the top behind MW + tweeter area only and lower is completely empty.

Poly is tucked up behind the mw... Bottom completely empty
Thanks for your nice comment

wispolkboy

wispolkboy

xschop wrote: »

Gorgeous as it. Don't ruin a good thing.

Thanks you...
I have been a long member of the club, but I don't post too much but read a lot post from of all 3 you guys. I have learned a lot, I appreciate it...

xschop

I'm a fan. The walnut makes them look original. Before, I never understood why Polk countersunk the passive, but not the MW. Now I believe that they did it for baffle strength.

Toolfan66

xschop wrote: »

I'm a fan. The walnut makes them look original. Before, I never understood why Polk countersunk the passive, but not the MW. Now I believe that they did it for baffle strength.

Because there is no clearance between the driver, and passive is my guess..

xschop

Toolfan66 wrote: »

xschop wrote: »

I'm a fan. The walnut makes them look original. Before, I never understood why Polk countersunk the passive, but not the MW. Now I believe that they did it for baffle strength.

Because there is no clearance between the driver, and passive is my guess..

Agree, the 5B's have an extra 1/2" clearance between MW and PR.

wispolkboy

My m7's are the same way... And there is clearance...

xschop

That actually makes sense to give those 7s extra cleance to make up for the flex of the wider baffle than the 5As

F1nut

Surface mount, recessed mount....flex...clearance...

Ya'll must have too much time on your hands to be over analyzing that stuff.

xschop

If they were mine, they'd be corrected, priceless heirloom or not.

audioluvr

I like the Minwax water based polyurethane.

westmassguy

Very nice work! Gotta love the PSA Backed Veneers. Leave them be now. The finish looks beautiful.

wispolkboy

westmassguy wrote: »

Very nice work! Gotta love the PSA Backed Veneers. Leave them be now. The finish looks beautiful.

Thank you... They were somewhat beat up when I got them. Dust caps were pushed in and the outsides looked liked they seen a few party's.

jbreezy5

Love your vintage set-up. Wish NAD went back to creating amps with that lab-look type of build quality.

Also agree, the finish on the Polks looks stunning. Nice work!

Hope you post more.

wispolkboy

jbreezy5 wrote: »

Love your vintage set-up. Wish NAD went back to creating amps with that lab-look type of build quality.

Also agree, the finish on the Polks looks stunning. Nice work!

Hope you post more.

Thank you...
I have the NAD'S bridged powering my M7's. I wish I could afford something better but they do the job especially for my old ears.

Faustin

Very nice. I have redone several models of vintage Polks in the PSA veneer. Really like working with it. Have not used walnut, but have seriously considered it. Now I know what to expect. I agree with F1nut about using wipe-on poly. Really gives a nice smooth finish.

wispolkboy

Faustin wrote: »

Very nice. I have redone several models of vintage Polks in the PSA veneer. Really like working with it. Have not used walnut, but have seriously considered it. Now I know what to expect. I agree with F1nut about using wipe-on poly. Really gives a nice smooth finish.

Thank you...
I just picked up some water based satin poly... All is on hold until after the holidays, wife is not happy about the smell of the tung oil. (roll eyes)
I have a pair of 5b's that I might veneer.. Just trying to figure out how to cut the bevel off. Trying to veneer all those angles would be a nightmare. Going to put real wood in its place.... I thought of using a router to rabbit it, but I think that i will use my dado blade on the table saw... It would be much easier if I could remove the grill tabs.
Any one have any other ideas?

F1nut

I would not use waterbased over an oil.

wispolkboy

F1nut wrote: »

I would not use waterbased over an oil.

I wanted to be clear as possible... Oil based can have an amber tint to it that I don't desire.... I know oil is stronger but they are not going to be abused or have any thing set on top of them...

F1nut

I was speaking to compatibility. I know some say it's ok, but I don't.

As for a slight amber tint. Unaged walnut is a cold color, so an amber tint will warm it up.

maxward

I love the way they look as they are now. Great job and good luck with any more finishing.

wispolkboy

F1nut wrote: »

I was speaking to compatibility. I know some say it's ok, but I don't.

As for a slight amber tint. Unaged walnut is a cold color, so an amber tint will warm it up.

Ahhh... I didn't really consider the compatibility... I will do some test samples

maxward wrote: »

I love the way they look as they are now. Great job and good luck with any more finishing.

Well thank you..

westmassguy

wispolkboy wrote: »

Faustin wrote: »

Very nice. I have redone several models of vintage Polks in the PSA veneer. Really like working with it. Have not used walnut, but have seriously considered it. Now I know what to expect. I agree with F1nut about using wipe-on poly. Really gives a nice smooth finish.

Thank you...
I just picked up some water based satin poly... All is on hold until after the holidays, wife is not happy about the smell of the tung oil. (roll eyes)
I have a pair of 5b's that I might veneer.. Just trying to figure out how to cut the bevel off. Trying to veneer all those angles would be a nightmare. Going to put real wood in its place.... I thought of using a router to rabbit it, but I think that i will use my dado blade on the table saw... It would be much easier if I could remove the grill tabs.
Any one have any other ideas?

I did these Monitor 10s a few years ago:
https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/149215/monitor-10-rebuild-with-tl-mod/p1

The beveled edge was done one plane at a time. I used PSA backed walnut edge band veneer, an 8" or 10" piece of 1" X 3", and a sharp utility knife. After the cut was made, I used a sanding block with #220 grit paper to flatten the rough cut, so the veneer for the next plane would lie flat.

wispolkboy

I did these Monitor 10s a few years ago:
https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/149215/monitor-10-rebuild-with-tl-mod/p1

The beveled edge was done one plane at a time. I used PSA backed walnut edge band veneer, an 8" or 10" piece of 1" X 3", and a sharp utility knife. After the cut was made, I used a sanding block with #220 grit paper to flatten the rough cut, so the veneer for the next plane would lie flat. [/quote]

those look really nice! I came across your thread on your 10's a couple of years ago and that help me make gave me the idea of veneering my m4's last year. the problem I have with veneers are the edges. it seems that they do not stain well. it's always has that l lighter look. I really wanted to avoid that by making a rabbit cut and using a solid piece of wood. I did see a thread on the site that a person used a table saw and made a cut on the face and side. he said that he used a 1/2" spacer on the face because of the grill tabs, but I don't how he really did that.
thank you for responding to my question on the bevel. I do read a lot of your post and appreciate all your knowledge on so many topics.
Have a Merry Christmas!

westmassguy

wispolkboy wrote: »

I did these Monitor 10s a few years ago:
https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/149215/monitor-10-rebuild-with-tl-mod/p1

The beveled edge was done one plane at a time. I used PSA backed walnut edge band veneer, an 8" or 10" piece of 1" X 3", and a sharp utility knife. After the cut was made, I used a sanding block with #220 grit paper to flatten the rough cut, so the veneer for the next plane would lie flat.

those look really nice! I came across your thread on your 10's a couple of years ago and that help me make gave me the idea of veneering my m4's last year. the problem I have with veneers are the edges. it seems that they do not stain well. it's always has that l lighter look. I really wanted to avoid that by making a rabbit cut and using a solid piece of wood. I did see a thread on the site that a person used a table saw and made a cut on the face and side. he said that he used a 1/2" spacer on the face because of the grill tabs, but I don't how he really did that.
thank you for responding to my question on the bevel. I do read a lot of your post and appreciate all your knowledge on so many topics.
Have a Merry Christmas! [/quote]

With the paper backed veneers, there's always a chance the edge will not take stain.

F1nut

Touch up markers will take care of that.