Any consumer black lacquer spray paint that matches LaScala?

[mwiener]

I am just about done building a ported riser for my 79 LaScalas. I was wondering if anyone was familiar with an off the shelf black lacquer spray paint that is close to the Valspar/Opex #40 black lacquer that they use when the LaScala is built. I searched through a number of threads. One note said Ben Moore makes a semi-gloss black lacquer that is close, but I am not able to find that anywhere. I was wondering if anyone could make some suggestions on what to try first. I do have a company locally that sells the Valspar #40 and clear, but I am not so sure of my ability to get a good finish with a paint gun. I typically get pretty good results with spray paint, so I want to give that a try first.

I am willing to try any paint or lacquer that might match. I am not looking for perfection. I just need to narrow down the large list of possibilities. I am trying to avoid buying 25 different spray cans to find the right one.

Thanks,

Mike.

[001]

check with the company that has the valspar. most places are able to put it into a spray can for a small fee. or buy the paint from them & go to a place that will spray can it for you. sherwin williams auto paint stores do it as well as most auto paint stores.

[muel]

Steve Phillips at Klipsch advised me a black spray paint followed up with a clear finish that was said to be the closest match. I can't find all my notes but I did find where I had written that I followed up with 4 coats of Deft semi gloss spray finish. That sounds a little too glossy to me now... you might want to check with him. I like the idea of getting the ACTUAL paint they use!

[jason str]

You may get close but a perfect one's not gonna happen. Even batches of paint can be a mixmatch.

If you want perfection have them all painted at once or go to your local Valspar dealer & tell them what you want.

Last time i picked up i had to buy a whole gallon, forgot what i paid but was around $100. Used a roller & wetsanded until it was a close match.

Another option is to take them to your local Maaco or budget body shop with one of your speakers and have them match as close as they can.

[mwiener]

Thanks for all the feedback. Can anyone verify that the correct lacquer is Sherman Williams Opex Black Lacquer M60B8 ? From my research Valspar is owned by Opex. If you do a google search, you will pull up several hits on Klipsch refinish jobs.

Thanks,

Mike.

[Guest " "]

I used some black lacquer from autozone...the only black lacquer they carry. The finished product looks fine to me and I have had miinty klipsch painted black lacquer.

some advice, if I can offer some. Lacquer does not need a whole lot of sanding....newer coats melt into the previous coat. at least 15% lacquer thinner is a must if your going to spray it. becareful with sanding in terms of the paper you use...sand based paper will leave silicone dust...more on that later...i used aluminum based paper as what is used for car finishes.

becareful if anyone has ever used silicone based finishing polish on the cabs....silicone in the smallest of residual traces will fog up your paint job leaving white shadows.

you need lots of wait time between coats...I gave mine a day.

proper ventilation is a must....I painted out doors with a mild breeze and the fumes still got me sick.

Edited February 26, 2014 by speakerfritz

[Marvel]

It's a Valspar #40 sheen...

Groomlakearea51 has mentioned it many times.

The link within this link doesn't work, but you mightlook for some of Marshall's other threads on this.

https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/126620-paint/?hl=valspar#entry1402123

Bruce

[mwiener]

I have seen the Valspar #40 sheen before, but I am not sure that translates into something I can purchase in the paint store. I have also seen OPEX Valspar #40. Valspar makes a Lusterlac product, which is a professional lacquer but it is not an industrial lacquer. The Sherman Williams Opex Black Lacquer M60B8 is an industrial lacquer that the paint store recognizes. That's my dilemma. I am working with them now to try and narrow the paint down further now.

If I can find something close in a spray can, I can avoid a lot of this. Oh well, looks like I will put them in use before I paint them. I am going to finish my risers this weekend.

Can't wait to try them. I also have an iPad Digital Six Studio Audio Tools app and a calibrated iTestmic to actually measure the frequency response difference between stock and the riser. I spoke with the app developer and using the FFT program averaging the responses over 10 minutes of pink noise should provide a true response curve at least for the room I am trying them in. I can take the stock curve and the riser curve and overlay them one on top of the other in the application. I can't wait to see the two side by side. I plan on using the same method when I put in ALK universal crossovers in my LaScalas to measure the improvement.

I used the SPL meter with the iPad app and iTestmic to set up my home theater. Because I can average the SPL over a couple of minutes, you get a much more accurate level setting than using an old Radio Shack meter. The difference was like night and day and it made a huge difference in the special effects playback.

Any additional detail you can supply on the Valspar lacquer would be appreciated.

Mike.

[Islander]

Why not try the risers and see if you like how they sound before going to the trouble and expense of getting them painted? Just a thought.

[mwiener]

When I was thinking spray paint lacquer, I could do it on the cheap and I would not be out too much if I did not like how the risers sounded. With lacquer, we are talking real money. Like you said, I think it is a good idea to make sure I am happy with the way the sound first before I spring for lacquer.

Mike.

[mwiener]

All,

For what it is worth, I found a pretty decent match off the shelf with nitrocellulose spray can lacquer.

1 coat of Deft sanding sealer

sand lightly with 400 grit

1 coat of Masters Magic LA184

sand lightly with 400 grit

2nd coat of Masters Magic LA184

sand lightly with 0000 steel wool

1 coat Deft Satin clear coat

sand lightly with 0000 steel wool

final coat of deft Satin clear coat

I have only painted a sample piece of wood so far, but it looks very good. The finish looks color wise to be dead on, but as you would expect it looks newer than the original 79 LaScala. In spots, you can't tell the difference. In other spots that are worn a little or faded a bit, it looks very slightly different with the speaker being a 1/2 a shade closer to gray than the original black color. Given the riser and the speaker are separated by a 1/8" gap from the black sealing foam used, I think color is close enough that I will be happy with it.

Mike.