Moderators Youthman Posted November 2, 2015 Moderators Share Posted November 2, 2015 (edited) Back when my false wall was built, I originally wanted it to be a cherry formica but was told that I would have reflections from the finish and that I should go with a darker color scheme. I ended up going with a Slate Formica (black and grey). I've always liked this color scheme with my dark maroon walls. The new front wall is being built out of 1st quality Red Oak. I originally was going to have the oak ebonized so that the wood grain would show through as I would certainly not want to just paint over this wood but now I'm starting to wonder if I should stain it maybe a cherry color. I've seen samples of the ebonized oak and it looks great, just wanted to get some thoughts. The woodwork in Wakejunkie's theater looks amazinga and I'm wondering if I ebonize it, will it take away from the beauty / elegance of it. I can say that I've been to Wake's home many times and I have never once noticed any reflections from the wood frame around the screen. Edited November 2, 2015 by Youthman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzydog Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 I personally love the warmth of natural wood tones and wouldn't want to paint or ebonize something like nice red oak. Wake's HT woodwork is top notch. Do you know what he used for the paneling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted November 2, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted November 2, 2015 Shaun said his panels are Birch Plywood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 (edited) I can say that I've been to Wake's home many times and I have never once noticed any reflections from the wood frame around the screen. This is more about the angle than the finish. Notice how these panels don't stick out very far. They're not really in the line of fire. Make those panels stick out more and you'll have Reflection City. On my 20" deep sub boxes you can see where like half of it is illuminated so I get glows and reflections even with flat black paint. If they were half that or if my screen were higher I wouldn't have anything. Edited November 2, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted November 2, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted November 2, 2015 Here is the sketchup of what the new cabinets will look like. See any potential reflection issues if I were to go with say a cherry finish instead of ebony? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 The new front wall is being built out of 1st quality Red Oak. I originally was going to have the oak ebonized so that the wood grain would show through as I would certainly not want to just paint over this wood but now I'm starting to wonder if I should stain it maybe a cherry color. I've seen samples of the ebonized oak and it looks great, just wanted to get some thoughts. I made the mistake of trying to stain some birch to be ebony. Didn't turn out very well. I used the one step minwax stuff though. I've seen some pine that was stained black as well, even by a master woodworker, looked like hell. If you did this I'd go with the two step process at the minimum, but use a test piece first before you dive into the real thing. The black stain I used was thicker and it doesn't apply evenly, it's easy to end up with a mottled look with thick spots that nearly as concealing as paint. Black apparently takes longer to dry too, and if you use steel wool like everybody else does, if any of the fibers stick and come off it is very noticeable. The whole project was just beyond my skill set, I could not make it look nice with black, but I don't know how much of that is to blame on the product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted November 2, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted November 2, 2015 If I go with Ebony, it will not be a stain. It's a chemical ebonization process using white vinegar and iron oxide. He brought a sample test piece and it looked very nice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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