rad500cad Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I have a chance to buy a pair of Chorus II but they're finished in flat black i've been looking a long time for walnut or oak but no luck. My questions are 1) Are they painted from Klipsch because (dare i say it) a blemish. 2) What will i find under the paint just mdf or walnut or oak veneer. As somebody once said life is a box of choclates. 3) Is this worh the work and would it look as good as one already in a walnut/oak finish. Thank you in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Absolutely no way to tell until you "pull the trigger" and get them home and commence sanding / stripping. Based on my very limited experience I can say this... From what I've seen Klipsch tended to use "double sided" veneered products. That is to say if you can take a peek at the inside of the cabinet whatever you see is what's on the outside. Of the dozen or so pairs of Klipsch speakers that have passed through my fingers I have found this to be very consistant. I got very lucky at least once. I bought a black Academy and in the course of re-finishing it I determined that is was actually veneered in walnut. If there was a "flaw" that caused the factory to paint it black I sure couldn't see it. I ended up reselling it at a small profit because there were a lot more people who wanted a walnut Academy than a black one at the time. A few months ago I bought a pair of "user" painted (flat black) Quartets. Under the (really bad) paint job was oak. A few hours of sanding and I had a pair of oiled oak Quartets which I resold for pretty close to what I had in them. The buyer was THRILLED to find a pair that matched his decor so well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 A few months ago I bought a pair of "user" painted (flat black) Quartets. Under the (really bad) paint job was oak. A few hours of sanding and I had a pair of oiled oak Quartets which I resold for pretty close to what I had in them. The buyer was THRILLED to find a pair that matched his decor so well. You sold my Quartets?[:^)] You promised that you would cherish them and never let them leave your home.[] Jeff, you are right, it was a bad paint job.[+o(] Glad you had the magic touch to make them beautiful again for a happy new owner.[Y] Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tromprof Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I have a chance to buy a pair of Chorus II but they're finished in flat black i've been looking a long time for walnut or oak but no luck. My questions are 1) Are they painted from Klipsch because (dare i say it) a blemish. 2) What will i find under the paint just mdf or walnut or oak veneer. As somebody once said life is a box of choclates. 3) Is this worh the work and would it look as good as one already in a walnut/oak finish. Thank you in advance. When I bought my black Fortes new back in the 80s I was told by the dealer that the black ones were "unacceptable" due to imperfections in the veneer, thus they were chosen to be painted and were accordingly somewhat less expensive If you look closely you should be able to tell if it is oak underneath, the grain pattern is somewhat visible, but it would be hard (at least for me) to tell birch from walnut under that paint. I would be tempted to take a peak, if you don't like it you could re-veneer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Sanding will work. If you want to use a solvent, please know that the paint is actually lacquer. So you you don't want to use the usual paint stripper. http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-remove-lacquer-finishes-from-furniture WMcD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 A few years back I refinished my black lacquer La Scalas. Taking the paint off was easy with Laquer thinner. I'm assuming you have a lacquer finnish. Be very careful using a strong stipper lest you cause the veneer glue to let go. That will be a mess. I recommend starting off with less aggresive solvents. Same goes for sanding. Sand too much and you might sand right through the veneer. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidF Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 The black Klipsch I have seen are not truly flat black but a satin finish. That is there is some sheen to the paint. If I am correct on that and the ones you are looking are actually flat, that could suggest someone painted them post production. That means that the original veneer was up to snuff and has some amount of oil or finish that would keep the black paint from getting into every pore in the wood. So, making a refinish more promising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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