mopar dave Posted December 28, 2002 Share Posted December 28, 2002 i have read the forum on refinishing, and the way i understand it is once the cabinet is stained your stuck with that color forever. is this correct? i have a pair of heresy's that i stained and applied seven coats of clear polyurethane about seventeen years ago. i would like to strip and refinish them in red mohagany to match my cornwalls. there current stain is jacobean. if this can be done, can anyone give directions on how to strip or refinish heresy's with birch laminate? thanks dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 Not sure what color that is you have there, but if it is lighter than the target color you desire, you might be able to pull it off. Before starting, remove the back panel, the crossover and drivers to prevent chemical or dust contamination. Then you'll have to remove the old poly with a stripper of some kind ... Many have been discussed recently by Builder, et al. After stripping, you'll probably should do some LIGHT sanding to smooth out the birch after the stripping (it brings up the grain) ... then apply a wood conditioner (very important step since birch is soft and will accept a new stain unevenly without it), then apply the target stain. You'll probably have to repeat the staining coats three or four times, drying in between. The reseal it all with a new satin finish (or whatever depending on your desire for gloss). I redid my Khorns which were a foot from the grave, looks-wise, and I was very pleased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mopar dave Posted December 29, 2002 Author Share Posted December 29, 2002 thanks for the responce. the color is simular to dark walnut. dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 If you are going to a lighter color of stain...it will require much more work and care to achieve the desired results. You will have to take the finish down to bare wood, and then likely need to bleach the wood to remove the affects of the original stain, then apply either the new stain on the wood, or apply a conditioner and then the stain...depending on how the wood wants to "take" the new stain. The most difficult part is getting the old urethane finish off, and preparing the wood itself without sanding through the veneer. Some strippers are very nasty to use, and the finish being polyurethane makes its removal even MORE difficult. Also, some of the strippers out there are damaging to glues that hold the plywood together to begin with. From what I know about strippers, the best choice is to use "3M Safest Stripper" for polyurethane finishes, because it generally ends up geting the finish completely out of the grain of the wood...but it is a very slow process...taking a good while to work...often over 24 hours to soften a finish...then you still have the mess of getting the "goo" off effectively! My recommendation is to go out and get the book I have so often mentioned...about 20 bucks at Lowe's or Home Depot: "The New Wood Finishing Book, completely updated and revised", by Michael Dresdner. In it you will find the alternatives for stripping, clean-up tips, prep of wood for refinishing, etc. It is NOT the end-all book on finishing, but it is a damned good reference to have around...and should answer any of your questions concerning your refinishing project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 If you want to go lighter, you can probably do it by bleaching the wood after stripping. Household chlorine bleach will break down the aniline dyes used in many stains. And there are special two part solutions using sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide made especially for bleaching wood available at woodworking stores. FWIW I would veneer the cabinets with an appropriate species of wood. It is not all that expensive, fairly easy, and done well, will give a much nicer result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 Where can I get "tigerwood" or "zebrawood" veneer. I have a set of HDBR's that are a bit rough. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 Tigerwood... Your best bet is to do a search online for "wood veneers", read up about the different kinds available...including different backings for different applications...and then get a listing of suppliers...there are a number of ways to go in this! You may find that a supplier is relatively close by you. You may want to pick up a book on veneer application to use as a source for some of this material...a few minutes in the book section of Home Depot and such can get you a wealth of information, generally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 IMHO anybody interested in veneering should check out www.constantines.com and get their catalog. They are an old time veneer company and have zebrawood and just about anything else you could ask for. And they have a good book on veneering. There are lots of other souces. Most metropolitan areas have veneer dealers. Just check your phonebook under "veneer" or "hardwood". And, just do a search on "veneer" using your favorite search engine for internet sources. Good deals show up on eBay, too. But I would suggest you try a reputable, established dealer until you have some experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted December 30, 2002 Share Posted December 30, 2002 I just checked out constantines. I definately do not have zebrawood speakers. I need to get a digital camera and post a picture, maybe HDBR can help me figure out what they are. Thanks for the info. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted December 30, 2002 Share Posted December 30, 2002 Veneering speakers, even small ones, takes some practice, skill and good equipment. I'm sure HDBR will attest to this. You may find better results working with what you've got than trying to go the veneering route. You're boxes, though, so have at it if so inclined. Just take of gaggle of before, during and after shots so we can see how it went, good or bad! Thanks ~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mopar dave Posted December 30, 2002 Author Share Posted December 30, 2002 thanks for all the feed back guys. i deffinitly wont go the veneer route. i like the real wood look. i stained the cornwalls red mohogany, and dark . i like the way they look. the heresy's are a little darker simular to dark walnut. not sure if i want to go to all the work of refinishing, but i really like the red mohogany. i'll know more when i get the CW's home to compare. thanks again dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale A B Posted December 30, 2002 Share Posted December 30, 2002 I looked up that "New Wood Finishing" book on Amazon and they had it for sale for $14.00. I then decided to check my local library, and sure enough, they have it! I should be able to pick it up early january so I can take a stab at refinishing my '86 WO Heresy's. If you haven't been to a library lately, it is amazing what you can get for free. Our branch has access to about 10000 dvd's and Cd's - is it any wonder I don't rent many movies or buy cd's with real hard earned money? Also on the way - Pearl Jam's Riot Act & Robert Plant's Dreamland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cut-Throat Posted December 31, 2002 Share Posted December 31, 2002 HDBR, I picked up the book that you recommended at the library. By Michael Dresdner on Wood Finishing. It does seem to have a lot of info in there. I was a little disappointed that it never seems to mention veneer specifically. I would guess that stripping Veneer may be a little different? - Also I was looking for some info on repairing Veneer. Anyway, since everyone here will be dealing with Veneer on their Klipsch Speakers, are there any special concerns for Veneer? Or is there a section in the Book for Veneer and I missed it? Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted December 31, 2002 Share Posted December 31, 2002 Just be sure that IF you use a stripper, it isn't so damned caustic that it causes the glue used to hold the veneer on to dissolve...loosening the veneer. That is the MAIN concern with strippers! Remember...strippers are INTENDED for use on SOLID wood projects, NOT veneered projects! As for veneer repairs...they are all covered in that book....even though at first glance it may not seem so. You may need to pick up a scrap of plywood(with the same kind/color of veneer on it...or some scrap veneer someplace...in some cases you can just get a roll of edge banding...or some edge-banding scraps... in that veneer type, etc.) to get veneer chips from for using in repair of the veneer chips missing on the cabinets...if there are any missing. It is best NOT to use standard wood glues to replace these chips...better to use one of those "household" cements akin to the old plastic model cements in tubes for this(and a warm iron will cause the glue to set up quickly and its application will provide some pressure to keep the new chip in its place while the glue sets up...just be careful the iron isn't TOO hot, or it may scorch the veneer!). As for getting a perfect match of replacement chip...it is a time consuming process...picking out a grain and color match, then carefully trimming the chip replacement for a perfect fit to the space left by the missing chip...so that the repair becomes virtually invisible!!...TEDIOUS WORK!! In removing a finish, making repairs, then prepping and refinishing...PATIENCE is definitely a virtue!! Always keep THAT in mind!! A rushed job will end up looking like a rushed job...always DOES!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v3spitfire Posted January 6, 2003 Share Posted January 6, 2003 I just refinished a pair of Hereseys. Mine were much lighter, and I was going to a ebony finish, so it wasn't much of a problem. It is hard to get the finish out. Be very careful sanding on the corners, so you don't risk fraying. I would use 280 sand paper. I didn't get all of the stain out, but with an ebony stain it worked out fine - also I was only removing 2 coats + poly that I put on 10 yrs ago. I still put on 5 coats of ebony. Its a great result, but time consuming. Wish I would have thought of the wood veneer mentioned above... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mopardave Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 On 12/28/2002 at 5:45 PM, mopar dave said: i have read the forum on refinishing, and the way i understand it is once the cabinet is stained your stuck with that color forever. is this correct? i have a pair of heresy's that i stained and applied seven coats of clear polyurethane about seventeen years ago. i would like to strip and refinish them in red mohagany to match my cornwalls. there current stain is jacobean. if this can be done, can anyone give directions on how to strip or refinish heresy's with birch laminate? thanks dave Ok. Found this old thread I started so many yrs ago and still did not refinish these heresy's. Any new poly strippers that will get the job done? If I ruin them I can always have them venered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emile Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 On 12/30/2002 at 4:26 AM, mopar dave said: i deffinitly wont go the veneer route Haha ... I would "reconsider." Veneer IS "real wood." IMHO it will look a lot better than trying the "other" route. Just finished 2 (smaller) walnut enclosures for K-510 horns ... looks awesome with "just" a couple of coats of Danish Oil. And the process was relatively easy ... I used wood-on-wood veneer and contact cement. Cheers, Emile Add-on ... also did a subwoofer box about 4 months ago ... see below 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 14 minutes ago, mopardave said: Ok. Found this old thread I started so many yrs ago and still did not refinish these heresy's. Any new poly strippers that will get the job done? If I ruin them I can always have them venered. Don't use stripper on veneer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mopardave Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 2 hours ago, jason str said: Don't use stripper on veneer. Ok. How do I get the urethane off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mopardave Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 2 hours ago, Emile said: Haha ... I would "reconsider." Veneer IS "real wood." IMHO it will look a lot better than trying the "other" route. Just finished 2 (smaller) walnut enclosures for K-510 horns ... looks awesome with "just" a couple of coats of Danish Oil. And the process was relatively easy ... I used wood-on-wood veneer and contact cement. Cheers, Emile Add-on ... also did a subwoofer box about 4 months ago ... see below Very nice work and I like the color. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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