need advice on refinishing speakers. Do's & Don'ts



Hello

I have a pair of tower speakers I would like very, very much to refinish. the only thing I don't care for about them is they are 'black'. I'd like very much to have them another color. Even natural wood do... pardon the pun.

they have solid wood veneers, ash or oak, I'm not sure. they are stained black, with a clear coat over that. About ten years old.

Is this a doable project? ...or should I have a pro do it?

I'm thinking chems or sanding, ought to get rid of the clear coating, but the stain is another story entirely. If anyone has done this sortr of thing with a good deal of success, I'd sure appreciate finding out the steps needed to do it.

Many thanks.
blindjim
I haven't refinished speakers, but I do the occasional piece of furniture.

Treat it like an antique. Don't take a power sander to it. You'll cut through the veneer pretty quickly with a power tool.

Start off with a chemical stripper. You will need two coats at least. I would suggest that you do not use the regular all purpose full strength stripper. The hardware stores will also have a somewhat milder stripper for antiques. Use the milder stripper. It will take longer but you'll have more control over it as it's slower acting. I would also suggest that you use a gel, rather than a liquid. It's easier to work with, especially since you will have vertical surfaces to strip. It wouldn't hurt to take your time and do one side at a time. There's no rush. Again, you will have greater control. If there is still some finish on the wood after two coats, you can treat troublesome spots with a touch of stripper, or sand by hand. Try not to use a coarser sandpaper than 120 in the stripping stage. It's extra work, but again you want to be careful not to penetrate the veneer. Don't worry about the colour. You will be surprised at how bleached it will turn out, even if you started with a dark colour. After stripping, wipe down with a paper towel or cloth damp with a petroleum ditillate. (paint thinner or varsol, or gaoline for that matter, they're all the same thing). This is necessary to deactivate the stripper. Next, sand by hand, not with power tools. But use a sanding block, not your fingers. Unless you're careful, using fingers under sand paper will groove the surface. Sand with a fine sandpaper, say around a 200 grit. Again it takes longer but the objective is to do a good job, not a fast job. Besides, it's already probably pretty smooth, so you don't need an agressive sandpaper. After sanding, again wipe down with a petroleum distillate. Now you're ready to stain and urethane. Just follow the directions on the can. Wipe the stain on with a lint free cloth or a foam brush. Unlike stripping, try to stain all at once, and do both speakers at once. Keep the stain on for the same length of time. This will facilitate consistency of colour. Consistency of colour is also facilitated if you use a conditioner on the wood immediately before staining. This is a necessity if you are using softwood, but it's good to use it for all types of wood. When you urethane, it is is much better to use multiple thin coats, rather than fewer thick coats. You should do at least three coats, with the first coat thinned as per the directions on the can. Typically it's a 50/50 mix of urethane and solvent. Lightly sand and wipe down between coats with a very fine sandpaper. The objective here is simply to roughen the surface of the previous coat of urethane so that the next coat has something to grip onto. You should not be removing the coat that you sand. Use a foam brush for the urethane rather than a bristle brush unless you're experienced at doing this. Be careful stirring the urethane and using the foam brush as you want to avoid bubbles. Like staining (and unlike stripping), you should urethane it all at once.

I doubt if there's is anything I said that you can't find in a do it yourself brochure or book from the hardware store.

However, there is one more very important point that do it yourself books from the hardware store won't tell you.

When you refinish, take the drivers out of the speaker!!!All of the chemicals: the stripper, solvent, stain and urethane could (will) damage the cones if they touch them. Even fumes from these products can cause damage. So take the drivers out. You could try unscrewing them and putting them in an air tight plastic bag without removing them but I think it's probably easier and better just to get them totally out of the way.
If they're a simple (box) shape, you could have a furniture-maker laminate a new layer of veneer over the existing surface in any wood you like. You have to remove all the hardware first, but it is do-able.
re-veneering will be a lot easier than re-finishing.

Even easier - PAINT them - if you want to go radical - like red or blue... checkout wilson audio's latest color palette.
If they are what's termed Black Ash finish - I have refinished a few black xerxes turntables.
Nitromors and fine wire wool should remove the Black.
You will never get all the black out of the grain and it tends to look a bit unatural but finished with wipe on coloured wax and buffed up, it looks a damn site nicer than black ash!
I would also tend to go with having a cabinet maker redo the veneer.
I have done what you are considering with pretty good success. I would never do it again due to the large amount of work involved and the significant time it takes. If you go ahead, the post by Markphd is a great tutorial and excellent advice. Fortunately, my Alon V's had relatively thick veneer. I was able to get most of the black out of the grain in the oak veneer by using a medium/soft nylon bristle brush in conjunction with the stripper. Do not brush too hard. I totally agree with the use of a dark stain for your situation due to the trace of black that will be left in the wood grain. Stains with some amount of red in them seem to be popular, such as a mahogany blend. I also agree with removing the drivers and crossovers. Before choosing a finish, you should look at the differences and relative benefits of using a spray laquer finish instead of urethane. However, the finish you choose is really a personal preference issue. With any finish, work in an area with minimal airborne dust or dirt. Good luck.