Anyone ever put new veneer on speakers?

[Monkeyleg]

I have a pair of Advent 5002 speakers that are from the early 1980's. They still sound great, and from what I've read, they're still considered to be some of the best speakers around. In head to head comparisons, they consistently beat out some pretty pricey speakers, then and now.

Anywho, they have a fake woodgrain finish. It may be veneer or it may be something else. Whatever it is, I'm sure I can get it off.

What I'm not sure of is what to put over it. I've thought about painting them, but I've also thought about other woods. I know you can get very thin veneer, but these speakers have compound curves at the top front corners. I don't know if that's impossible to handle or not.

Does anyone have any experience with doing this?

[bedlamite]

I've built speakers and it's pretty easy to veneer a flat surface, but I wouldn't even attempt compound curves. Take some advice from the Rolling Stones and paint it black.

[RoadKingLarry]

Krylon FTW.

[Doggy Daddy]

Paint.

Have these guys do it: http://tinyurl.com/cb2ojl4

[Monkeyleg]

Thanks for the replies (I think ).

I may check the existing veneer to see if it will take stain. If not, I'll paint them. I've painted cars before, so I think I can handle eight flat surfaces.

[Balog]

You can always do Tolex or Duracoat, those are popular for live sound speaker cabs.

[zxcvbob]

I have a pair of Advent 5002 speakers that are from the early 1980's. They still sound great, and from what I've read, they're still considered to be some of the best speakers around. In head to head comparisons, they consistently beat out some pretty pricey speakers, then and now.

Anywho, they have a fake woodgrain finish. It may be veneer or it may be something else. Whatever it is, I'm sure I can get it off.

What I'm not sure of is what to put over it. I've thought about painting them, but I've also thought about other woods. I know you can get very thin veneer, but these speakers have compound curves at the top front corners. I don't know if that's impossible to handle or not.

Does anyone have any experience with doing this?

If you take that laminate off, you may destroy them.  They could very easily be a made of something like particle board and the fake veneer is structural.  Contact cement will stick to it, whatever it is.  The curves could be a problem.

[AJ Dual]

Life's too short. Paint them. 

[Scout26]

Don't they make stick veneer any more?

I know that when I built a couple of pairs of speakers back in the 80's I bought some rolls of Wood Grain looking plastic with a sticky back and just stuck onto the speakers to make them look nice.

They sounded awesome, especially when turned up to 11.

(turns out they still do---> http://www.wiusa.com/curvwood/psa.htm  )

[tokugawa]

comound curves are tough to do for a pro- paint them, or faux wood grain them. (used to be widely done)

[zxcvbob]

Don't they make stick veneer any more?

I know that when I built a couple of pairs of speakers back in the 80's I bought some rolls of Wood Grain looking plastic with a sticky back and just stuck onto the speakers to make them look nice.

They sounded awesome, especially when turned up to 11.

(turns out they still do---> http://www.wiusa.com/curvwood/psa.htm  )

When I built a pair of speakers back in the early 80's I covered them with walnut Contact Paper.  

[sanglant]

close enough for jazz.

wood grain, or almost any pattern you could think of. or you can get custom "printed".*



* cut layered and fuzed together.