Good Idea to Refinish Monitor 7's?
Comments
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The part I worry about the most is the beveled edge around the front of the speaker. I dont think the piano black will work because it is going to be nearly impossible for me to get that edge sanded to a mirror finish inbetween coats of paint/primer without sanding to deep. I can picture it now; getting the final coat of paint on and doing the final sanding, and slip accidently going over the corner of the speaker with the sand paper and exposing the primer or mdf. Maybe veneer is the way to go. Plus, keeping piano black free of dust and scratches is going to be a pain.
Yeah, been there, done that....:o
I was sooo pissed at myself, first for sanding through, then for choosing such a complex finish. I was coerced into painting a set of DIY speakers I built by my wife, the professional interior artist/faux finisher. Little did I know at the onset that I'd be doing the grunt work, leaving her to come in to put the final two color coats, basically the glory coats that make the finish really work. Four coats of primer, one coat of solid color, two coats of metallic colors, then her wood grain layer and a color wash over that. Then 5 coats of clear lacquer. All brushed on. Then, the hand sanding, the wet sanding, the rubbing compound and polish. I hit one corner too hard too many times, right down to the metallic layer of paint. I tell people it adds character...Wristwatch--->Crisco -
I've often thought about removing the vinyl on my CRS+ and replace it with veneer, but those speakers have that front lip that would be a problem.
Refresh my memory, is it a lip under the grill? If so, is the strip part of the board that makes up the bottom of the cabinet, or is it a piece attached to the cabinet?
If it's a small piece attached to the cabinet, could you rip it out of solid wood instead of veneering it?Wristwatch--->Crisco -
I tell people it adds character...
Agreed! The worst part is just thinking about how that mistake could've been avoided when you finish the project. I normally will screw a painting project up by trying to fix the SMALLEST imperfection, and end up making it into a HUGE imperfection. The bad part is, even if your dealing with one color and you make that sanding mistake, it will never look the same. You are probably better off not even trying to fix it. Sorry to hear about that mistake in your experience Strider. I would of been pissed.AVR - Yamaha Aventage RX-A800
Amps - B&K Components ST2140 (for mains) and Parasound HCA-1000A (bi-amping center)
Mains - RT1000i Towers
Center - CS400i
Sub - BIC Acoustech PL200
My neighbors listen to very good music, whether they like it or not :cheesygrin: -
LessisNevermore wrote: »You're welcome.
As was mentioned, getting all the glue off is going to be a bear. You might be better off veneering, then doing the black over that.
Old-school piano black is hand polished-no clear. If you want more visual depth, use clear.
Temperature and humidity will affect your drying times, so keep that in mind. This will take a long time to do right, unless you have access to pro facilities.
I prefer to use lacquer, though urethane is more durable, also more expensive. I would do a clear coat, just for the added protection.
No brand preference, just a quality automotive paint, but I've seen some amazing work done with spray cans, believe it or not.....
If you do it, make sure to document with pictures, you may be able to help or inspire other Polkies.
Good points. You could even go with a 1/4" birch plywood substrate over the vinyl, if you're looking to economize. Then you'd need a table saw, but it has a nice tight grain ideal for glossy black lacquer finish.
Also, on using spray-cans vs. an airless or cup-gun, it's technique that makes or breaks the job. A pro can do a nice blended coverage using a spray-can, whereas a newbie can do a horrendous mess even with pro equipment.
Get someone to show you how to spray like a robot, overlapping back and forth. It's all in the arm and wrist. -
I've often thought about removing the vinyl on my CRS+ and replace it with veneer, but those speakers have that front lip that would be a problem.
You'll have to make new pieces from solid wood. The originals are simply glued on and with a bit of prying, come off. Some have wood dowel alignment pins, others don't.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Does anyone know if this is true for any of the monitor series speakers?
Yes, it's true.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
The part I worry about the most is the beveled edge around the front of the speaker. I dont think the piano black will work because it is going to be nearly impossible for me to get that edge sanded to a mirror finish inbetween coats of paint/primer without sanding to deep.
That's were experience comes into play.
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Nice! A SWAG:If it's a small piece attached to the cabinet, could you rip it out of solid wood instead of veneering it?
Confirmed by someone with actual knowledge:You'll have to make new pieces from solid wood. The originals are simply glued on and with a bit of prying, come off. Some have wood dowel alignment pins, others don't.Wristwatch--->Crisco -
That's were experience comes into play.
I need to find pair of monitor series cases to practice on. Not that it will give me all the experience one should have before tackling this project, but atleast if I mess up the practice cases, they arent anything that special.AVR - Yamaha Aventage RX-A800
Amps - B&K Components ST2140 (for mains) and Parasound HCA-1000A (bi-amping center)
Mains - RT1000i Towers
Center - CS400i
Sub - BIC Acoustech PL200
My neighbors listen to very good music, whether they like it or not :cheesygrin: -
The part I worry about the most is the beveled edge around the front of the speaker. I dont think the piano black will work because it is going to be nearly impossible for me to get that edge sanded to a mirror finish inbetween coats of paint/primer without sanding to deep. I can picture it now; getting the final coat of paint on and doing the final sanding, and slip accidently going over the corner of the speaker with the sand paper and exposing the primer or mdf. Maybe veneer is the way to go. Plus, keeping piano black free of dust and scratches is going to be a pain.
You could clamp a block of wood, on the flat surface, butting right up to the edge where the bevel begins. That will keep your line crisp. -
I think I have figured out my summer project. Im going to strip the speakers down to the mdf, sand and prep for primer. After I prime and sand to a completly smooth finish, paint the beveled edge and the front edge that the grill sits against flat black. I want to do a light sanding, but not a piano finish here. Then clear the flat black with a satin finish, again with light sanding. I want to paint the edges and the stands with the same flat black and satin to make them match. After my edges are done, I want to tape those off to prep the top and sides of each speaker for my piano finish, not remove the tape until the piano finish is done. I like this idea because it gives me my color choice of deep piano black and there is less to mess up with sanding because the beveled edges wont be a factor in getting a mirror finsh. I dont want my stands to be piano black because 1) it would just be to difficult to accomplish 2) they would get scratched from the vaccum hitting them, ext. Flat black is ideal for the stands, and by doing the edges of the speaker flat black, it blends them in with eachother. The flat black should hopefully get a little more forgiving in showing fine scratches which would occur in the piano black when removing the grills. It would give a durable edge for the grill to rest on, and scratches should never be noticable when the grills are off. In my opinion, that should look pretty good, right? Opinions welcome.
AVR - Yamaha Aventage RX-A800
Amps - B&K Components ST2140 (for mains) and Parasound HCA-1000A (bi-amping center)
Mains - RT1000i Towers
Center - CS400i
Sub - BIC Acoustech PL200
My neighbors listen to very good music, whether they like it or not :cheesygrin: -
rengnath, that sounds like a pretty good idea. You might want to shoot the flat black parts with a flat clear coat. Scuff marks on flat colors show up as shiny. The clear should minimize this somewhat. Or install some soft bumpers on the vacuum.:D
When taping it off to do the piano black, use a straightedge for a guide, and put a layer of duct tape over the masking tape to give extra protection from the multiple sanding steps. Just don't let the duct tape stick directly to any part of the speaker, it will leave a residue.
Best of luck, and if you screw up, you can always sand it back and start again.
One more thing, don't be tempted to use any kind of solvent when removing the glue. It will soak into the cabinet, and paint won't stick to it. Irreversible.
Don't forget to take pictures! -
Good points. You could even go with a 1/4" birch plywood substrate over the vinyl, if you're looking to economize. Then you'd need a table saw, but it has a nice tight grain ideal for glossy black lacquer finish.
Also, on using spray-cans vs. an airless or cup-gun, it's technique that makes or breaks the job. A pro can do a nice blended coverage using a spray-can, whereas a newbie can do a horrendous mess even with pro equipment.
Get someone to show you how to spray like a robot, overlapping back and forth. It's all in the arm and wrist.
I've never seen anybody get spray painting right on their first try at it. You are right about having to learn how to spray like a robot. It is not a natural arm movement. You need to have a feel for the application rate and spray pattern too. All too often a newbie will get thin spots and/or runs. I'd stick to a brush for furniture work, if the person isn't moderately competent at spray painting ... otherwise, all of that hard work in sanding can quickly come to naught.
(Off topic: One time I saw a car painted by a pro using nothing but canned spray paint. It was amazing, you'd never have known it came from a can). -
Welcome Hillbilly!
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There's a vid on youtube to show how to do almost anything !:)
I don't recommend trying to french polish until you've paid some dues though,it's very tricky work !!;)
Oh, be sure to use special masking tape with low stick or you'll pull your new paint right off !!
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=veneering
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=spray+painting
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=buffing+paint
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=hand+rubbing&aq=1&oq=hand+ru
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=french+polishing&aq=7&oq=french+po -
I do have one final thought lingering in my mind before I start to manipulate my speakers. What is this going to do to the overall value of the speakers? Saying I get the paint job to a near flawless condition, is it going to hurt the value of them? Not that I would ever sell them, but I know with things like classic cars, original ones sell for top dollar while modified ones can sell for much less.AVR - Yamaha Aventage RX-A800
Amps - B&K Components ST2140 (for mains) and Parasound HCA-1000A (bi-amping center)
Mains - RT1000i Towers
Center - CS400i
Sub - BIC Acoustech PL200
My neighbors listen to very good music, whether they like it or not :cheesygrin: -
Monitor 5bs refinished in high gloss piano black. I'm not planning on refinish mine anytime soon....but I thought I'd share a thread I came across.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=190319
Looks pretty good. I was curious what they'd look like, but I don't know...I kinda like the beat in the **** vintage look of my 5s for now. -
I do have one final thought lingering in my mind before I start to manipulate my speakers. What is this going to do to the overall value of the speakers? Saying I get the paint job to a near flawless condition, is it going to hurt the value of them? Not that I would ever sell them, but I know with things like classic cars, original ones sell for top dollar while modified ones can sell for much less.
I think you're biting off more than you can chew. Putting a piano black high-gloss finish on raw mdf is not advisable, although I guess technically it can be done, probably with a heavy primer coat.
Imo, it should have some type of wood skin on there.
If you do a near-perfect job, it's not going to hurt anything, but getting black lacquer high-gloss near-perfect is tough enough for the pros.
I think you're gonna shed some tears. 96 tears. You'll be cryin'.
