Show us your speaker finishes

[David_D]

Chuck (Impala454) made a suggestion to build a thread based on peoples' finishes. So, one could look at pics and make some educated judgment on possible finishes. Lets post some pics, and try to keep the discussion down as none of us want to hunt through 6 pages of chit chat for that one awesome pic

Here's mine:
Statement Center Channel:
Flat Cut Cherry Paperback veneer
Ironed on using Heat-Lok
No Stain
3 coats of High Gloss poly brushed on
2 coats of Satin Poly sprayed on



15" Sub
Flat Cut Oak Veneered Plywood w/ solid quarter rounds
No Stain
10 coats of High Gloss poly brushed on
6 coats of Satin Poly brushed on
Inset Tiled Top

[Bill Schneider]

Cabinet:
paper-backed maple veneer, ironed-on using Titebond woodglue with these steps:
http://www.ohio.edu/people/schneidw/...veneering.html
General Finishes oil-based pre-stain conditioner
General Finishes "Honey" stain
Minwax semi-gloss Polyurethane brushed-on, 5 coats

Baffle:
Zinsser Bull's Eye Seal Coat sanding sealer on MDF, 2 applications with sanding
Rustoleum sandable auto primer rattle-can (more sanding until very smooth) & repeat
Krylon Semi-flat black (rattle-can)

[Bill Schneider]

PVC Pipes:
Roughed-up with sandpaper
Zinsser B-I-N shellac-based primer, brushed on
Valspar "Ancient Stone" (Lowe's) interior flat latex, brushed on
Valspar Lime Wash, brushed on in crosshatch pattern
Valspar Latex Clear Glaze for extra protection, brushed on

Black components:
Zinsser Bull's Eye Seal Coat sanding sealer, 2 coats brushed on, sanded smooth
Rustoleum sandable auto primer rattle can (several coats, sanded until very smooth
Krylon Semi-Flat Black rattle can, 2 coats

Poplar wood components:
Minwax Polyurethane, 3-coats wiped-on
Minwax "Gunstock" stain over poly
Minwax Polyurethane, 3 more coats, wiped on
(It's an odd way to do it, and the stain over the poly behaves strangely, but it gives the color I wanted without emphasizing the grain)

[David_D]

Now that's pretty cool! :T

[Undefinition]

Great thread!

Finishing is not my strongest suit, so I'm always looking for a finish that doesn't require too much extra time or tools.


Sides (MDF):
Rust-Oleum brown primer (2 coats, brushed)
Rust-Oleum Hammered Brown paint (2 coats, brushed)

Baffle (maple plywood):
Zinsser Sealcoat (2 coats, cloth-wiped)
Zinsser Shellac (4 coats, cloth-wiped (I think))
Paste Wax (1 coat, rubbed on, then buffed off)


If you want a flat white or flat black semi gloss with basically no priming or sanding, I highly recommend this:


Rust-oleum Appliance Epoxy. Comes in black, white, and almond. Make sure your surface is filled and sanded very smooth beforehand, and just start hitting it; no primer needed. You recoat once every 30 minutes or so (gotta do it in time, or you'll have to wait a week to recoat), for 6-8 coats. That's it. You let it dry for a few days. If you want to clearcoat, you can, but it's probably not necessary. At this point, it already looks like real furniture (or a kitchen appliance, depending on how you think about it. This stuff is HARD; you can put your cup of coffee on it and not worry.

[Bastek]

My first finish, a simple 2 pass Ebony stain, and 1 pass Tung Oil, it disappears completely at night (with grills on).

[eddo]

The ebony stain is pretty sweet with the white cone, copper phase plug, and brass hardware. Well done!

[dlneubec]

This is probably my best effort, the HOSS project: HOSS
Santos Rosewood 2ply veneer
many coats of Dewaxed shellac followed by
Many coats of Old Masters poly, brushed on and let dry flat one side at a time. Lots of sanding and smoothing. The gloss black is rattle cans of Rustoleum gloss black over primer over dewaxed shellac on mdf.



Here is one of my NaO Mini's (just the MTM section):
Solid cherry and Maple over an mdf backer
Boiled linseed oil, 1:1 with naptha (IIRC)
Followed by many coats of gloss wipe on poly mixed 1:1 with naptha


I need to get some photo's of my SoundRounds and Duo's in their completed stage and will post those later.

[Jim Holtz]

Well, I'll toss the Statements in here since they were my last projects.



The cabinets were sealed a skim coat of bondo and then with MDF primer (I hated it) and then sanded with many follow up coats of high build automotive primer.Once I got them to the point that "I thought" I had all the imperfections taken care of, I shot 10 coats of Target Finishes gloss black lacquer with a HVLP spray set up.

I then let them sit for a week. Next came sanding with 1000, 1500 and finally 2000 grit paper. I buffed them with 3M products from the autoparts store just like they do in the body shop. Lots and lots of work. Plus the materials were extremely expensive.

The Mini's in the attached picture were veneeered with paper backed 10 mil red oak veneeer, stained with golden oak, filled with Crystalac pore filler and then top coated with Crystalac clear gloss super Premun finish sprayed with my HVLP setup.

The Statements center had the same treatment as the Statements.

Jim

[Rolex]

I have been using a precatalyzed lacquer over most of my projects, but have recently tried a polyurethane, tung oil, and turpentine mixture that have produced some great results. Not paint for me, I'm a woodworking, so I love using different veneer. The tower is cherry, the stand mounts are curly maple, imbuya, fiddleback anigre, and mottle anigre. THe imbuya pair uses watco danish oil with wax over top.

[Hank]

I veneer - favorite so far is rosewood. My favorite finish is very labor intensive, but IMO, brings out wood grain beauty like no other finish: hand-rubbed Danish oil finish. Before and after finishing:

[Amphiprion]

Too embarrassed to highlight the bowties, eh Hank?

[kvardas]

Mottled Makore Veneer
Five coats of Semi-gloass General finishes followed by two coats of tung oil/boiled linseed/beeswax home-made paste wax buffed with 0000 steel wool.

[impala454]

wow that looks better than factory! very tight tolerance on those driver cutouts :T

[JonP]

I should have better pics of these, but here's the Modula MT's I built a while back...

African Mahogany veneer, nothin' but Shellac. Made for a deep and glowing finish, but is somewhat easy to ding.
Zinnser's Seal Coat shellac, thinned to 1lb cut for a few coats. Somewhere in between Blond and Amber, it darkened the Mahogany nicely after a few coats, so I kept going.
More and more (and more and more) coats of uncut Seal Coat for final finish.
Used a scraper to help level high spots while building thickness, worked pretty good! Scrapers Rule!!
Wet sanded with a block, between later coats with (equiv of) 320 Micro Mesh cloth. (highly recommended!)
Then sanding up the Micro Mesh grades, thru 12000. (equiv of 2-3000 grit)



Pic of veneered 3" PVC stand

[cobblepots]

That stand is incredible! Was it difficult to glue the veneer to it? What glue did you use? Paper backed veneer? How did you deal with the seam? Sorryy for all the questions but once you get excited... I definitely would like to do something along the same lines with my statement monitor stands. I'm covering all my speakers and sub in a mottled Makore. It'll cost me a bit but it'll be worth it. Hopefully I'll be able to do the grain justice. Everyone's finishes look fantastic!

[Hank]

Mark "The Kid" Hayenga wrote:

Too embarrassed to highlight the bowties, eh Hank?

Mark, the before/after towers were my A/V-3's that I gave to my daughter and son-in-law for their wedding present (their request). The towers with what you call the "bow tie" looking base are my current towers. It's funny that only you and Jonathan don't like their looks - I get compliments from other people re the orginality (or maybe they're just being polite?).

[Silversmoky]

Cabinet: Maple Burl Veneer - Applied using Heatlock, Sanded very smooth.
No stain on main cabinet. Just clear coat. Watco Clear Gloss Brushing Laquer.
Around 20 coats. Sanded lightly between each coat with 600 sand paper, then cleaned thoroughly with tack cloth.
Front Baffle: Stained with Varathane Cabornet. Clear coated w/ same laquer.
Sprayed with 8 coats.

[wettou]

I should have better pics of these, but here's the Modula MT's I built a while back...

African Mahogany veneer, nothin' but Shellac. Made for a deep and glowing finish, but is somewhat easy to ding. Zinnser's Seal Coat shellac, thinned to 1lb cut for a few coats. Somewhere in between Blond and Amber, it darkened the Mahogany nicely after a few coats, so I kept going. More and more (and more and more) coats of uncut Seal Coat for final finish. Used a scraper to help level high spots while building thickness, worked pretty good! Scrapers Rule!! Wet sanded with a block, between later coats with (equiv of) 320 Micro Mesh cloth. (highly recommended!) Then sanding up the Micro Mesh grades, thru 12000. (equiv of 2-3000 grit)

Very impressive you guys are artists!! :T Can you do this for my 802Ds!

[JonP]

That stand is incredible! Was it difficult to glue the veneer to it? What glue did you use? Paper backed veneer? How did you deal with the seam? Sorryy for all the questions but once you get excited... I definitely would like to do something along the same lines with my statement monitor stands. I'm covering all my speakers and sub in a mottled Makore. It'll cost me a bit but it'll be worth it. Hopefully I'll be able to do the grain justice. Everyone's finishes look fantastic!

Yep, it was the same paper backed Mahogany as the boxes, thought it might be a nice touch to have the wood match. And, black truckbed liner paint on the rest of the stands to key with the black drivers... I like how it turned out.

I used the Titebond yellow glue iron on method for the boxes, and for the posts I had my first experience with contact cement. Had a few lumps from painting on the cement, you CAN'T go back and rebrush if it's started to dry, and it starts in a minute or so... I almost had a real problem. Still had a few bumps under the surface. I did an overlap glue and cut as described in Lou C's website (lonesaguro.com?) and it worked pretty invisibly. The seam did seem (heh) to migrate apart during the many shellac coats, but not badly.
Kind of like a stocking with a seam.. I put them on the back sides.

One thing, I started with 3" ABS sewer pipe, it was just too flexy, especially with a 25lb Modula MT on top! Went thru a battle trying to find real PVC in 3" at standard stores... but it is worth it for the greater stiffness.

I made a "pipe holder rack" out of some 1/2" PVC, just a little crossbar with feet, about 10" off the ground. I'd put a pipe on it, spray a 1/3'd, and turn, etc... to get an even coating. Worked pretty well.

The veneer came out a bit lighter, due to my putting on fewer layers. I kind of improved my tecnique by then, with some clear grain filler and more exclusive use of the Micro Mesh, I was to smooth glass much sooner, which made them a bit lighter.

[dlneubec]

Very nice work from all! Here are my SoundRounds. SoundRounds


Satin Poly finish on the solid Maple parts
Old Masters High Gloss poly over Zinsers Sealcoat
on the Waterfall Bubinga veneer
Limewash on the PVC tubes covered by egshell latex paint

[royceb]

Wow, I'm impressed. This thread has inspired me to try veneer for the first time. Can anyone recommend a good site and/or product. I was thinking Rockler's paper backed veneer.

[Hdale85]

Tapeease, Joe woodworker, Oakwood veneer.

[eyekode]

I have been using a precatalyzed lacquer over most of my projects, but have recently tried a polyurethane, tung oil, and turpentine mixture that have produced some great results. Not paint for me, I'm a woodworking, so I love using different veneer. The tower is cherry, the stand mounts are curly maple, imbuya, fiddleback anigre, and mottle anigre. THe imbuya pair uses watco danish oil with wax over top.

Alright Rolex, those are amazing! How about a tutorial or two .

[eyekode]

Cabinet: Maple Burl Veneer - Applied using Heatlock, Sanded very smooth.
No stain on main cabinet. Just clear coat. Watco Clear Gloss Brushing Laquer.
Around 20 coats. Sanded lightly between each coat with 600 sand paper, then cleaned thoroughly with tack cloth.
Front Baffle: Stained with Varathane Cabornet. Clear coated w/ same laquer.
Sprayed with 8 coats.

Is that a raw veneer? If so I would expect a seam at the back? How did that turn out with Heatlock?

[Rolex]

Alright Rolex, those are amazing! How about a tutorial or two .

Sure, what would you like to know?

[Hdale85]

As OP stated we want to try and keep the chatting down to a very minimum in this thread and keep it mostly pictures. There is nothing more frustrating then trying to look at a gallery thread and having to flip through 10 pages or so of people talking about the pictures. Questions and comments and what not should be left to build threads or PM's. Not trying to sound pushy here or anything just trying to make this a great gallery :B

[cacophonix]

Finished using waterlox tung oil based finish. This is after a couple of thick coats of the finish. I'll be using steelwool to make the surface smooth to touch, and then apply one last coat.

Veneer is ebony and the inlaid wood is jatoba sourced from the local woodworld store. The cabinet is made with birch ply.

[gmed]

[David_D]

Gmed,
Those look awesome. The stands are gorgeous too. Tell us something about them both.

[gmed]

Thank you. This has been a long project that finally came to an end. I used the Trans Lamination technique, So the finish you see is the natural look of the ply. I used sanding sealer which brought out all the grains of the wood, then I used wipe on water based poly, with cotton rags. The stands are also trans lam, composed of 3" disks piled on top of each other using a 3/8" threaded rod. The bases are also cut using a CNC router. You can see a log of my work on the speakers if you do a search for translam. I think from now on, Im just going to stick to wipe on Poly. I also like to use BB plywood, which is both good material and has a good finish already.

[Kingdaddy]

Here is an old one of mine, matching veneer and solid wood is not as easy as I thought it would be.

[Cataclysm]

DS1500 sub:


Automotive base/clear paint.

[A9X]

I feel sick. I'll never be able to post pics of what I build if they have to be compared to these beauties. Oh, the shame.

[Rolex]

Here is my latest. A re-veneer of an older project.

[David_D]

Very Nice Rolex. How do you get your veneer seams so tight so the endgrain doesn't show? I assume it's raw & very thin.

[NateTTU]

Rolex,

Could you tell me what mixture you use for your finish and perhaps some of the steps taken? I really like they way those have turned out and would love to try and mimic these on my statements.

Thanks,
Nate

[Rolex]

I thought I would throw a couple more pictures on this thread. I recently completed the Zaph SR71 speakers. I did another stacked lamination. This time the cabinet was quite a bit bigger to meet the approximately .5 cu ft of volume this design calls for. The veneer is more block mottle anigre because I like it, and it's what I had laying around. It has a very light oil based stain to help bring out the grain just a little before applying precatalyzed lacquer with an airless spray.

[lunchmoney]

Painted Tritrix's...

[lunchmoney]

Hey Rolex...

Howdya like the SR71's?

I'm in the middle of building mine... a bit jealous of your curved side walls... those came out awesome ;x(

[Rolex]

Thanks, I've been following your thread. Looks like yours should turn out great as well. So far (it's been almost two days) I've been real happy with them. They will be tested on a full McInstosh system this weekend. Looking forward to the results. They will be up against Wilson Watt/Puppy 7's...

[Paul Ebert]

If you want a flat white or flat black semi gloss with basically no priming or sanding, I highly recommend this:

Rust-oleum Appliance Epoxy. Comes in black, white, and almond.

I used epoxy paint once on a bathroom window ledge. It put out very intense and noxious fumes. Even with a respirator, it was really bad. Is this stuff like that? If not, it sounds perfect for the bases of my Trilliums. I'll want those to be pretty rugged.

Can this be purchased at your typical hardware store?

[impala454]

Very nice job lunchmoney. I would have never thought of using blue but those look great!

[flamethrower1]

statements

statements, black walnut and hand rubbed danish oil

[bmaupin]

Rolex,

Where did you get the round binding plate? Very sharp.

- Brad