View Full Version : Modding some speakers
john3
07-16-2006, 03:54 PM
hey guys. i need some ideas on these speakers. here are some pics
close up of front top
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g208/aslan3/P1000334.jpg
top side
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g208/aslan3/P1000333.jpg
front of speakers, kinda shady
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g208/aslan3/P1000331.jpg
i wanna know what i can do to make it look good, its really scratched up and ugly ish. i wanna make it look good. but i came across some problems when consulting my uncle, he said that if i paint it, it will change the sound and make it more "tinny". now is this a bad thing? does it ruin the sound? and if so, how can i mod it to make it look good while not ruining the sound at the same time
WeStSiDePLaYa
07-16-2006, 04:00 PM
im not sure how much painting it will affect the accoustics. any sound clarity that could be lost from painting probably could be easily made up in better placement.
personally, i would take them apart. sand off the old finish, stain them a very dark colour, almost black, and then laqeur them, then wet sand them to a nice shiny gloss.
i probably wouldnt paint them like normal things, as the vibration might cause the paint to crack or wrinkle.
john3
07-16-2006, 04:23 PM
i cant really take it apart, it would mean cracking open the wood lol.
i would need exact products, because this is my first official "mod" ever. i dunno what kinds of paint, gloss, or primer to use. and i have no clue wat "wet sand" means.
so how would u paint it? if not normally?
i need some real help with this, and i would REALLY appreciate it.
john3
07-17-2006, 11:46 AM
any1, any1 at all?
BucNastyHater
07-17-2006, 03:27 PM
You could just use that blue painters tape to tape around the speakers themselves, then paint the wood. Use 120 grit sand paper and just sand what you will paint. Idk if you want to paint them, or just refinish them. I would just sand them down really good and use some gloss finish to mae them shiny. I'm sure if you want to home depot or lowes, and told them what your painting, they'd help you pick something out.
ocZZZ
07-17-2006, 05:59 PM
they look fine the way they are :) you could always remove the speakers and spray paint the cabinet
STEvil
07-17-2006, 06:21 PM
I wouldnt paint the speakers, only the cabinets. (sound quality will not be affected this way)
Secondly you need to figure out if the cabinets are real wood or only have a panel applied to cover the base material (likely LDF/MDF).
If they are the same type of wood as the external shows all the way through, then do this:
Remove the speaker parts so there is only wood.
Use a sanding block (usually made of a rubber or wood) and sand paper to rough up the surface well (start with 120 grit then use about 400-600 as final)
Next do you want them to be brighter or darker in color? If you want them brighter you will need to use paint stripper to remove the woodstain and paint, then applying a light wood stain or just a coat of varathane would do well enough.
If you wan them darker in color a coat of dark wood stain then a cover of varathane would give a nice high gloss dark finish.
If they are just panels covering a cheap wood then sanding and applying your preferred color is about the only way to go. Varathane or clear coat over top will give a gloss finish.
WeStSiDePLaYa
07-17-2006, 08:11 PM
I wouldnt paint the speakers, only the cabinets. (sound quality will not be affected this way)
is it even possible to paint the actual speakers?
i hope the original poster didnt intend to paint the actual speakers.
because that will most deffiently fruck them up.
STEvil
07-17-2006, 09:04 PM
yes, you can... which would ruin them if you did it incorrectly.
john3
07-18-2006, 03:56 AM
lol, im not planning on painting the speakers, im not that dumb, lol.
anwayz. i think they are just panels, because i have a desk with panels and the material underneath looks very similar. and i cant really remove the speakres, so ill use painters tape.
anywayz, now that we got it down that they are panels. here is what i got the idea of doing. you guys are gonna have to fill in the blanks, or change the order, cause i got no clue
1) sand with 120grit
2) -------blank--------
3) semi gloss?
4) --------blank-------
WeStSiDePLaYa
07-18-2006, 05:36 AM
yes, you can... which would ruin them if you did it incorrectly.
never knew that. i thought the high vibrations would destroy any paint on them and destroy their acoustics. learn something new eh
do you have any links or guides to this?
john3
07-18-2006, 06:11 AM
any1?
2) sand paper 400-600
next... as you wish, maybe a pre layer of either dark or light
then real paint ;)
..
john3
07-18-2006, 08:51 AM
dark or light what? wat does that mean? this is what i mean by i need step by step.
STEvil
07-18-2006, 05:50 PM
1: Sand rough (120 grit or so)
2: Sand final (400+, enough that there are no "scratches")
3: Paint with color you want (panels will not look like wood panels anymore after sanding likely)
3+ paint multiple light coats for better job.
4: clearcoat
Why cant you remove the speakers? A screwdriver is all it takes usually.
never knew that. i thought the high vibrations would destroy any paint on them and destroy their acoustics. learn something new eh
do you have any links or guides to this?
There are no guides. As you mentioned, the vibrations of the cone can be impacted by the paint or the paint can be damaged by them. You need to know what kind of vibration is going to happen (high or low frequency), how much your drivers cone flexes while moving, and how heavy or what the paint you want to apply is made of. Some paints may weaken the cone, some might make it stronger.
john3
07-19-2006, 06:37 AM
k ,clear coat? of what?
well here is the thing, because its my first time doing this, i REALLY dont wanna screw up these expensive speakers. so i'd rather just use painters tape if its ok.
now will it ruin the sound? if i paint the case alone? because that is wat my uncle is telling me. i just want an explanation if thats not too much. im going to canadian tire todya, so i need to know what that clear coat is.
Oh btw, will i need primer?
psyconut713
07-19-2006, 07:06 AM
shouldnt need primer, but the clear coat is another coat of paint, that has no pigment (SP?) in it, so it has no color what-so-ever, just protects it, gives it some shine, stuff like that. primer is always a good way to start, try to make sure it does not run, sucks to have to re-sand everything :(
john3
07-19-2006, 11:24 AM
k guys i just sanded one of the speakers down in case i did anything wrong. i used 120, then 400grit for smoothness
top view
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g208/aslan3/P1000340.jpg
front view
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g208/aslan3/P1000342.jpg
side view
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g208/aslan3/P1000341.jpg
is there anything wrong with it? it feels very smooth, almost like a babies bottom, well..maybe far from it. but, plz comment.
sand it in the "way of the wood" (excuse my english, it's a french expression) for exemple in the top picture from left to right to left but not up to down to up... :nono: or it would be seen when you'll finish... :stick: (more french than english I think... :( )
couppi
07-19-2006, 12:03 PM
Sand it with the grain. The grain is the lines on the wood. Sand it in the direction of the lines, or it doesn't look right. :slapass:
john3
07-19-2006, 02:13 PM
is it ok if i redo it? or will it look even worse?
can i go over it?
Sand it with the grain. The grain is the lines on the wood. Sand it in the direction of the lines, or it doesn't look right. :slapass:
thanks for the words :D
john3, go on, smooth on Sand rough ;)
john3
07-19-2006, 02:48 PM
wait, wat does that even mean? smooth on sand rough? can some1 answer the questin of can i go over the speaker i screwed up, or will it make it worse?
just go smooth with sand 120 ;)
john3
07-20-2006, 04:50 AM
k.....and my question?
can i sand over the speaker i screwed up, or will it just make it worse?
psyconut713
07-20-2006, 04:58 AM
you can sand over it again fine, just always try to go with the grain of the wood, more sanding never hurt anyone.
john3
07-21-2006, 10:52 AM
k guys, update here. i just resanded the first one, and i sanded the other one properly as well. the pictures here are of the first one that i screwed up in the beginning, and it turned out GREAT, at least in my eyes, im actually kinda proud of myself. tell me what you think
top view
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g208/aslan3/P1000348.jpg
front view
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g208/aslan3/P1000349.jpg
side view
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g208/aslan3/P1000350.jpg
comments?
brandinb
07-21-2006, 04:02 PM
hi why dont you take a screw driver and take the speakers out of the box. they will have terminals that you can just pop off or you may have to desolder them. then i would sand that puppy down hard so that the old finnish isnt visiable at all any more. sand it really really well and deep so its just bare wood. use a high quality stain of your color preference and then laquer over that and after its dry reassemble it. put on some polish it will look like a 600 dollar speaker set. if your lazy you could probably find a furniture refinishing place that would do it for you hehehe.
john3
07-21-2006, 04:11 PM
actually they are wooden panels, so i cant exaclty do that cause then all you see is that type of wood under the wooden panels of the furniture from Ikea. and i dont want that. and they ARE 500 dollar speakers, lol, they are just kinda old.
oh and, i'd rather not take out the speakers, because its, well, kinda complicated, i'd just rather use the tape.
anything else i should consider before begining to paint?
brandinb
07-21-2006, 04:17 PM
oh its a laminate on some mdf board i gotcha.
i say go ahead and paint it. some primer might be a good idea though. then after the primer dryes you can sand it some more and get it really smooth but im not sure the texture your going for.
john3
07-21-2006, 04:19 PM
oh its actually really smooth already, i rubbed my cheek against it and its fine. k thanx ill apply the first layer right now.
john3
07-21-2006, 04:41 PM
is there any specific technique i should use because i just did the top and it looks odd...ish.
john3
07-21-2006, 05:21 PM
k i did it again, but this time i held the can farther away from the case and it turned out great
john3
07-22-2006, 12:50 PM
k guys, i have a problem, i painted it and it looks GREAT, will post pics in a sec. but with one problem. i got a few dots of silver paint onthe speakers cover, and i wanted to know how to get it off.
john3
07-22-2006, 02:20 PM
DONE!!!!! here is a pick of one of them
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g208/aslan3/P1000352.jpg
STEvil
07-23-2006, 10:15 PM
I've got a similar set of speakers (Philips PS-310's) ;)
as to removing the paint specks, just google the type of paint you used to see if it is oil based or acrylic based or other, then find a appropriate paint remover for that type of paint.
Be careful when removing the specks as the remover may affect the paint already there, so try it on a spot that is not easily seen first.
Looks nice.
WeStSiDePLaYa
07-23-2006, 10:18 PM
looks pretty good.
if you want that extra bit you might want to sand that with a fine grit sandpaper, then do some clearcoats.
deffiently big improvement though
very nice result ;) more pictures please?
john3
07-24-2006, 09:06 AM
about sanding. the first speaker i did turned out awfully, here are pictures of it
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g208/aslan3/P1000375.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g208/aslan3/P1000374.jpg
how do i get rid of those stuff. i tried sanding it, and then after i painted it it looks worse.
powertrippin
07-31-2006, 05:53 PM
There are no guides. As you mentioned, the vibrations of the cone can be impacted by the paint or the paint can be damaged by them. You need to know what kind of vibration is going to happen (high or low frequency), how much your drivers cone flexes while moving, and how heavy or what the paint you want to apply is made of. Some paints may weaken the cone, some might make it stronger.
actually, you would NEVER want to paint the cone of a loudspeaker. the added mass that you would add to the cone would completely change the speakers Thiele/Small (T/S) parameters, Mms in particular, to the point where the motor cannot effectively move the cone, and the enclosure of the cabinet would actually start to work AGAINST the speaker. its a bad deal all around. there is no good way to change the color/pigment of a speaker cone without altering its properties significantly.
trip.