Refurbish Black La Scalas

[Thaddeus Smith]

I've got some 1988 La Scalas that are black from the factory.. the paint is pretty scratched up, so they're going to need a refurb at some point. Is it worth stripping down to the plywood and having them be raw birch with oil (my preferred finish/look) or should I just smooth things out and repaint with black lacquer? I don't have an interest in applying new veneer. I remember reading somewhere that factory black was a result of poor grain or blemishes in the raw plywood.

[JohnJ]

Hi @Thaddeus Smith I was a painter in my last life. The amount of sanding that you would have to do after stripping I'd consider prohibitive towards something like a sanding sealer or varnish finish. Plus the dust all over the circuitry. Test with denatured alcohol or "Goof Off" , if black comes off on the rag it's latex based. I always check to be sure, don't know what regulations could have forced Klipsch to do. If you've got some actual Lacquer, heck yea it was beautiful on all the old cars and it would be on your LaScalas. Scuff it up evenly and if you've got an airless use it.

[Thaddeus Smith]

Good insight, thanks. All drivers and horns will be removed before I start the process, if for no other reason than to make them easier to move around (but I won't risk exposing those parts to dust from even a light sanding).

[JohnJ]

If it was metal you were changing the finish on it would be different, but on a porous surface stain to paint is easy. Painted to stain or worse... a clear coating, you'd have to remove millimeters of wood.

[jimjimbo]

Michael, trust me, it's not worth the effort to strip them.  La Scala's are no doubt the most difficult to strip down with all the nooks and crannies.....Just depends on the look you want as far as paint or other finishes.  I have been very, very happy with Duratex, applied carefully and correctly.  You can apply it with a highly textured finish, or a very lightly, almost smooth finish, which is what I did.  And, it's not difficult, with a decent roller and some attention to detail.  You can look back at one of my threads when I refurbed my garage beaters, and see how they turned out.  Still very happy with them.

[rockhound]

I'm with Jim. I picked up a beater set of Heresy 1's cabinets are bad so I'm just going to duratex them.

[Thaddeus Smith]

Good input guys, thanks.

[CECAA850]

Duratex covers well.  Be sure you fill all the holes an gouges first.  Don't panic if you notice a blue hue when applying.  It will dry black.  Black semi gloss latex and a long nap roller works really well also.

[DizRotus]

Another vote for black Duratex.

[Ave Bona Cornwall]

From experience, trying to get all the paint off isn't worth it.  I am trying to do a mirror finish with black rustoleum, and in hindsight, Duratex would have been an easier choice.