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refinish/upgrade 1980 Cornwalls


johnstms92

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I just purchased a pair of Cornwalls for $200 locally, all original drivers and crossovers, unfortunately one of the K-77 tweeters was out, but I intended to upgrade to Bob Crites CT-125's anyways which should arrive today sometime.

Now, here's the fun part, I'm a newbie to refinishing cabinets, but wanna take it upon myself to learn how to refinish/reveneer. The original owner on these cornwalls passed them onto his son, who then painted them in a gloss black. Really ugly. He used a white primer as well.. My question is, what is the best method of removing the paint? I understand I'll need to do several levels of sanding, but what is a good paint removal for something like this? Also, after doing some reading around on veneers, many seem to believe that Paperbacked veneer is the easiest way to go, is there any special method to adding veneer after I have thoroughly sanded the cabinets and rid them of the horrid gloss black paint? I'm gonna add some pictures here after I get home to give you guys a better idea of what I'm working with. Any advice would help!

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the first thing i would do is sand away! that way you can see how thick the paint is. then decide whether sanding, or more extreme methods are necessary. in my CW "re-do," all i did was sand away the previous customer applied finish, then i added coats of clear polyurethane. i also painted the back and front boards flat black.

see here: http://community.klipsch.com/forums/t/144840.aspx

i really like the clear as it brings out the "character" in the birch.

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Welcome to this great place! Depending on the condition of these units? You also may want to consider sanding and filling and repainting them in a black finish to your liking. It might be easier. Also, consider turning them into Cornscalas whilst at it. There is a thread of a nice pair of medium to h- gloss cornscalas that a member made in europe, that you can find, that look very nice.....

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The top is in the worst of conditions. I was wondering if there is some kind of paint removal found at a local hardware store or anything for this? Or is sanding my only option here? I know a stain or paint would be much easier, but I'm not necessarily looking for the easiest way out, I have some time on my hands and would really like to make these into a special set of Cornwalls.

post-44787-1381969198032_thumb.jpg

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I have some time on my hands and would really like to make these into a special set of Cornwalls.

[Y]

Good deal, don't blame you a bit, the only thing between them now and a really special set is a little work......OK a good bit of work but would be well worth it for years to come. Dad's got a set also, cool deal. [H]

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Man, those are some rough pups! You can always try a stripper unless you're afraid it will decompose the plywood. Lowe's sells one I think is called J&L. It's in a gold can and it will take your skin off, but it works. My 1984 birch cabinets responded to a 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol and lacquer thinner, but I think that might be to tame for that paint. Finished mine with shellac and they came out great. I will try to find the link to the thread that I posted on the project.

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Man, those are some rough pups! You can always try a stripper unless you're afraid it will decompose the plywood. Lowe's sells one I think is called J&L. It's in a gold can and it will take your skin off, but it works. My 1984 birch cabinets responded to a 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol and lacquer thinner, but I think that might be to tame for that paint. Finished mine with shellac and they came out great. I will try to find the link to the thread that I posted on the project.

Found the thread: http://community.klipsch.com/forums/p/124427/1670161.aspx#1670161

Have fun, the journey is the best part!

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The product I use is called "Klean Strip" and it is available at Home Depot. Copper colored can and it comes in quarts and gallons. Brush it on, let it sit until the paint bubbles and then scrape it off. For stuborn areas it may take a second application to get you back to bare wood. Then you can final sand; I use 80 grit lightly then 240 for final. Do not get too agressive with the orbital sander as you will sand through the first layer, if you are not careful. It all depends on what veneer they used, you might be pleasantly surprised. Be sure to wear rubber gloves in a well ventelated area and try your best to not get it in your skin as it will burn. This product is water based so clean up is easy. It is worth the effort to strip them, then you can determine whether you want to re-veneer, stain the Birch or paint. Use Bondo to fill in the rough areas of the plywood.

W. C.

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You never mentioned if these were originally veneered or bare plywood. If they are painted over veneer, you can save yourself a lot of trouble by applying heat to soften the contact cement on the veneer and pull the old veneer off. You can clean up any rough glue spots with newspaper and an iron (which helps pull off glue deposits) and then lacquer thinnner. (careful- lacquer thinner is flammable and has pretty strong fumes. ) You'll want to patch any soft spots or chipped out plywood areas and then re-veneer.

If the speakers are painted plywood, how you proceed depends on what they were painted with in the first place. Household latex paint yields well to a paint heat gun and scraper. Enamel paints (like many sprays) can be tougher and you'll probably need to sand. If you're sanding, assume the paint might have lead in it and use a dust mask and keep the dust from getting around your home. Strippers don't work on all kinds of paint so you need to test if first, and watch out for the fumes. Some are particularly toxic.

If you are going to veneer, you really don't need to remove all the paint, just get a good smooth surface and repair any bumps and gouges in the plywood.

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Sorry I should have added, they are bare plywood, and what looks to be spray painted unfortunately.. I had to use multiple applications of "klean strip" from walmart. After the first couple applications it got much easier. and then after the third application I used a medium/rough steel wool to rub out some of the thicker remaining paint leftovers, and then used a 100 grade sandpaper for the yet remaining paint. When I do this process to all 4 sides, (two sides top and from border) then I will use a 220 grade and sand down there rest of it. Here are some pictures of how it turned out thus far after about 3 hours of this process.

post-44787-13819692012312_thumb.jpg

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The product I use is called "Klean Strip" and it is available at Home Depot.

That stuff did the trick! I didn't read your recommendation for this stuff until after I got home from Walmart with it. Definitely ended up getting gloves and a facemask, and using raquetball goggles as eyeprotection. The stuff was burnin me man! serious stuff. But is proving to be worth the battle wounds.

post-44787-13819692073286_thumb.jpg

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John (?),

I'm sure that you have probably visited most of these site, several have very good tutorials on veneering:

http://www.veneersupplies.com/default.php?cPath=51

http://www.oakwoodveneer.com/

http://www.hearnehardwoods.com/hardwoods/exotic_hardwoods/exotic_wood/snakewood_lumber/snakewood.html

http://www.veneeronline.com/folio.aspx

http://www.certainlywood.com/

There are many more sites to be seen. Veneer Supplies and Oakwood have some excellenttutorials on the veneering process. The Klean Strip does an excellent job. The problem with using a heat gun and scraper is you take a chance on gouging the wood, scorching it and the heat will attack the plywood glue. It sounds and looks like you are on the right path. If you do decide to stain or go natural finish, I would suggest using Watco Danish Oil, it really makes the grain patterns "Pop" out.

If you get the stripper on your skin, just wash with water immediately and the burning will stop in a few minutes. it is pretty tough stuff considering you can cut it with water.

Most of all....ENJOY what you are doing and you will have a set of very nice speakers that you will be proud to show off. It just takes time and patience to make them Purrrty again.

W. C.

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