lebowski Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 I have a pair of speakers that I love however the colour I'm not so excited about (anymore). Does anyone know if it's possible for speakers to be re-veneered? This could be a hairbrained idea and possibly cost prohibitive however these are large floorstanders that I love the sound of but hate the look of.
Keith_W Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 Yes it is possible, and you can even do it yourself. Take a look at the Loudspeaker Kits veneering guide. I thought that these guys sell veneer, but I just checked and I don't see it anywhere. In any case i've seen veneer at Bunning's. You can get real wood veneer or vinyl wrap. Some of the other DIY'ers here would know where you can get even better veneer, maybe they'll chip in. Otherwise, you could ask a loudspeaker manufacturer if they will veneer your speaker for you.
seano Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 As Keith says........re-veneering is possible. And not that difficult, given a certain amount of preparation, to do DIY. Briggs has a very large range of product from which to choose http://www.briggs.com.au/ plus there are a few suppliers out there. Who gets recommended depends on where you are....... Some suppliers even have a fitting service......no idea how much though
lebowski Posted September 2, 2008 Author Posted September 2, 2008 thanks Keith and seano. Once I'm feeling brave I might have a go at this as a DIY project. cheers
Guest guru Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 thanks Keith and seano. Once I'm feeling brave I might have a go at this as a DIY project. cheers afternoon lebowski, i do quite a few reveneering jobs on speakers and the only way to do a good job is to have lots of clamps ,plates for the pressure and lots of time.depending on the speaker dimensions,it may be difficult to get the veneer in the width you require and that may require bookmatching the sheets which is a whole new ballgame.you might try and do some research first before deciding you are going to tackle the speakers,it could turn pretty ugly very easily. by the way ,i don't use iron on veneers as they tend to lift off the underlying surface pretty easily. good luck with what ever you decide to do anyway,you have to start somewhere. regards,guru.
junkmail Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 afternoon lebowski,i do quite a few reveneering jobs on speakers and the only way to do a good job is to have lots of clamps ,plates for the pressure and lots of time.depending on the speaker dimensions,it may be difficult to get the veneer in the width you require and that may require bookmatching the sheets which is a whole new ballgame.you might try and do some research first before deciding you are going to tackle the speakers,it could turn pretty ugly very easily. by the way ,i don't use iron on veneers as they tend to lift off the underlying surface pretty easily. good luck with what ever you decide to do anyway,you have to start somewhere. regards,guru. Hello lebowski, i to do not recommend iron veneer as it always lifts and bubbles and i also would look into before starting
Aslan Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 Briggs is definitely the go, and use unglued sheets, with either a PVA or Animal Glue adhesive................(says he who has been having no end of problems with iron on for the last three days)
lebowski Posted September 2, 2008 Author Posted September 2, 2008 thanks guys. So now I'm not feeling entirely confident I'm up to the task ... hmmm decisions.
tktran Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 (edited) Hi Lebowski, Please do not be discouraged by the responses here. Try searching / posting for "veneer" at in the DIY subforum, or over at diyaudio.com, or woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au , and you will get responses from DIYers who have done it and succeeded, rather than people who've thought about it, or had difficulty. We have a good bunch here but many only dabble in DIY, have full blown commercial equipment (veneer presses etc), or have some commercial interest, so may not fully disclose how to Do-It-With-What-You've-Already-Got-In-The-Shed. I've done various speakers of different sizes in both raw and paper backed veneer, using contact cement or ordinary PVA glue/iron-on technique. You can also use pre-glued iron-on veneers. Without any significant problems. The important thing is your technique, which is actually straightforward but needs care, time and checking for lifting/bubbles before moving onto the next step of finishing the timber. Refinishing previously veneered cabinets takes a little more determination and work, but can be done if you are able to sand down the old veneer back to flat and apply a new lumber onto the substrate. Please check your PM. As usual, YMMV. But this isn't as hard as others have depicted it to be. regards, Thanh. Edited September 2, 2008 by tktran
rob323 Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 What is the existing finish on the cabinets? If it is a vinyl wrap, then that would have to be removed totally before applying new veneer to it.
seano Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 thanks guys. So now I'm not feeling entirely confident I'm up to the task ... hmmm decisions. Don't be discouraged. I did my one and only speaker veneer job in a spare room about five years ago. Dad had some old Jensen speakers with blown woofers and peeling vinyl. Living in a rental in a remote rural town and in need of a project, I took them. Bought a couple of books - The Loudspeaker Cookbook and another on veneering - and away I went. I bought raw jarrah veneer from an old bloke on the South Coast of NSW, bought some threaded rod, wing nuts and contact cement from the local hardware store, found some scrap timber and using the threaded rod made some simple clamps. The jarrah leaves were all from the same batch and were easily book matched. Gluing up was fiddly but straightforward - especially when following the instructions &suggestions in the book. The result was.......well......brilliant, actually. After five coats of estapol, both boxes looked as good as new. After some new drivers and new x-overs the speakers went back together and looked and sounded quite fine. Next visit, Dad got his peakers back. And he's still happily using them to this day. In return, I got a whole new experience....and am much better for it.
lebowski Posted September 3, 2008 Author Posted September 3, 2008 What is the existing finish on the cabinets? If it is a vinyl wrap, then that would have to be removed totally before applying new veneer to it. yes, I believe it is vinyl wrap. They are Aaron ATS-5's that I had rebuilt inc crossovers by a specialist speaker builder in Melbourne. The rebuild cost more than what I paid for them (s/hand) and the performance increase was significant so I'm reluctant to part with them for the sake of aesthetics.
Recommended Posts