La Scala Splits

[babadono]

Yes WOW is right! Fantastic job. Enjoy.

[OO1]

11 minutes ago, nickyboy6100 said:

Thanks! They really turned out fantastic. I’ve wanted a pair of splits for over 20 years and finally have a pair I’m very proud of. 
 

how did you get the trim to be so clean , did you have it plated ?

[nickyboy6100]

1 minute ago, OO1 said:

how did you get the trim to be so clean , did you have it plated ?

Nope. I didn’t want to do anything to compromise the anodized finish. I used a diluted mix of simple green. Lots of Q-tips for the screw holes and believe it or not, the secret was a Magic Eraser. 

[OO1]

1 minute ago, nickyboy6100 said:

Nope. I didn’t want to do anything to compromise the anodized finish. I used a diluted mix of simple green. Lots of Q-tips for the screw holes and believe it or not, the secret was a Magic Eraser. 

sure did the job , the trim looks brand new  

[MookieStl]

@nickyboy6100 those sure turned out nice. What mid driver do you have in there?

@CWOReilly Not sure how I missed your question on the trim. If the damage is unsightly, just brush out the scratches and then use scotchbrite to polish it up a bit. Yes you are removing the anondize but that only keeps it from oxidizing. Will look much better when you're done. If it starts to dull, get the scotchbrite out again. Touch ups are much easier. 

 

[nickyboy6100]

18 minutes ago, MookieStl said:

@nickyboy6100 those sure turned out nice. What mid driver do you have in there?

@CWOReilly Not sure how I missed your question on the trim. If the damage is unsightly, just brush out the scratches and then use scotchbrite to polish it up a bit. Yes you are removing the anondize but that only keeps it from oxidizing. Will look much better when you're done. If it starts to dull, get the scotchbrite out again. Touch ups are much easier. 

 

K55-V push pins in both sets of my La Scala’s. I had K55-M’s in my last set and also had a pair of K55-V soldered lugs that I never got to install. I sold them to a forum member that I owed a favor to. 

 

[CWOReilly]

31 minutes ago, MookieStl said:

@nickyboy6100 those sure turned out nice. What mid driver do you have in there?

@CWOReilly Not sure how I missed your question on the trim. If the damage is unsightly, just brush out the scratches and then use scotchbrite to polish it up a bit. Yes you are removing the anondize but that only keeps it from oxidizing. Will look much better when you're done. If it starts to dull, get the scotchbrite out again. Touch ups are much easier. 

 

Pretty much what I had in mind. Still debating on how far I wanna take them right now. I’m starting to like the patina, but going to refinish the HF face in “fauxtina” or just the logo. They seem to be the most worn. What sort of paint should I use on the face and logo? Lacquer? Are the midhorns pot metal or cast aluminum?

[MookieStl]

 

I used an enamel paint on my horns after removing them and pressure washing them. I believe they are cast aluminum.  

I am not sure on the face. My guess would be any good latex. Hard to see in your photos, do yours have the fiberglass? If not, the exohyde Nick used (or duratex) would work. You can thin them with water and use a smooth roller or brush on and avoid the texture, if you don't like that. Any paint will work for the logo, even a vinyl ink for a cleaner look. I use what is easy to clean up, cuz I tend to make a mess.

[CWOReilly]

2 minutes ago, MookieStl said:

 

I used an enamel paint on my horns after removing them and pressure washing them. I believe they are cast aluminum.  

I am not sure on the face. My guess would be any good latex. Hard to see in your photos, do yours have the fiberglass? If not, the exohyde Nick used (or duratex) would work. You can thin them with water and use a smooth roller or brush on and avoid the texture, if you don't like that. Any paint will work for the logo, even a vinyl ink for a cleaner look. I use what is easy to clean up, cuz I tend to make a mess.

Mine are fiberglass and I’d like to not change the texture. I’m thinking satin black lacquer for the face and a flat white for the logo. As for the midhorns if they are aluminum has anyone ever polished them? The paint is coming off mine anyway and I think it’d look good with SMAHLs and the trim. Thank you for your help and advice. 

[MookieStl]

i doubt cast aluminum would polish up. Kinda like the corner pieces of the trim. 

You can be the first to try it and report back, but I doubt you will like the look. Also getting deep into the horn would be a challenge. You can see how much of my paint was gone after the power wash. What was underneath wasn't pretty.

[nickyboy6100]

7 minutes ago, CWOReilly said:

Mine are fiberglass and I’d like to not change the texture. I’m thinking satin black lacquer for the face and a flat white for the logo. As for the midhorns if they are aluminum has anyone ever polished them? The paint is coming off mine anyway and I think it’d look good with SMAHLs and the trim. Thank you for your help and advice. 

You got Lucky with the fiberglass. Mine are not so rolling them was the route I took. Black lacquer spray would work well and not cover the fiberglass texture. I have a wood stove in my garage. When I bought it, it came with 3 cans of high quality paint. I would call it semi-flat black with a small amount of metallic flake. It’s really hard to explain, but probably the best metal spray paint I’ve used. Wipes clean like a gloss paint. The company is called Drolet out of Canada. I used this on my mid horns and it turned out really nice. The flake is not visible unless in direct light and still very subtle. Looks very industrial. A little tip. Hook a shop vac to the driver end of the horn and you will get coverage all the way to the back of the horn throat. 2 light coats is all it took. 

[OO1]

https://www.drolet.ca/us/en/accessories/paint/ac05963/

[nickyboy6100]

8 minutes ago, OO1 said:

https://www.drolet.ca/us/en/accessories/paint/ac05963/

That’s the exact paint. Good stuff. 

[Islander]

The paint was really blotchy on the K400 horns of my La Scalas, so I removed them and put grille cloth across the opening, stapled into place on the inside of the cabinet.  My Scalas have removable tops, which made it easier.

 

The result is a clean look that’s not scruffy, the way the speakers looked when I got them.

[Marvel]

The k-400s I bought to put in my beater, empty cabs were pretty ugly and the castings weren't very clean. I filed down the rough ridges on the worst and used a rattle can gray sandabe filler. I also routed the openg and front mountet them. Never really finished them, just passed them on to my older son. Whether he does more cleaning up is up to him.

 

@Invidiosulus

 

 

 

[Islander]

51 minutes ago, Marvel said:

The k-400s I bought to put in my beater, empty cabs were pretty ugly and the castings weren't very clean. I filed down the rough ridges on the worst and used a rattle can gray sandabe filler. I also routed the openg and front mountet them. Never really finished them, just passed them on to my older son. Whether he does more cleaning up is up to him.

 

@Invidiosulus

 

 

 

 

You may not be impressed, but those horns, and the whole speakers, look pretty clean, way cleaner than the horns in my Scalas.  Nice job!

 

I don’t know if it’s the white balance, or that colour is accurate, but it seems a bit warmer than regular grey, like Champagne Silver compared with regular Silver.  It goes well with the wood, but a less warm colour would also make a good contrast/accent, as opposed to the warm/complementary colour.  Either way looks good.

 

With the way people take care of these speakers, it makes me wonder if some of them will make it to the 22nd century.  It’s definitely not out of the question.

 

For some reason, plain battleship grey has been a trendy colour for cars and SUVs for the last couple of years.  The pendulum swings from fancy to plain, and I’m sure it will swing back to fancy pearl and other metallic variants within a few years.

[Invidiosulus]

3 hours ago, Marvel said:

The k-400s I bought to put in my beater, empty cabs were pretty ugly and the castings weren't very clean. I filed down the rough ridges on the worst and used a rattle can gray sandabe filler. I also routed the openg and front mountet them. Never really finished them, just passed them on to my older son. Whether he does more cleaning up is up to him.

 

@Invidiosulus

 

 

 

Man, I’ve got a lot going on.

 

The other K400 still has a more noticeable ridge in the casting between the front and rear sections.

I might do something about it.

 

I’ve definitely thought about recessing the K400s so they are flush with the face and maybe a grille for the upper and lower sections.

but if I’m going that far, I think the cabs need to be refinished…

 

 But they sound great right now.

 

[Invidiosulus]

2 hours ago, Islander said:

 

You may not be impressed, but those horns, and the whole speakers, look pretty clean, way cleaner than the horns in my Scalas.  Nice job!

 

I don’t know if it’s the white balance, or that colour is accurate, but it seems a bit warmer than regular grey, like Champagne Silver compared with regular Silver.  It goes well with the wood, but a less warm colour would also make a good contrast/accent, as opposed to the warm/complementary colour.  Either way looks good.

 

With the way people take care of these speakers, it makes me wonder if some of them will make it to the 22nd century.  It’s definitely not out of the question.

 

For some reason, plain battleship grey has been a trendy colour for cars and SUVs for the last couple of years.  The pendulum swings from fancy to plain, and I’m sure it will swing back to fancy pearl and other metallic variants within a few years.

And they sound great!

 

Audi used Nimbus grey on the TT in the early 2000’s.

The repainted K400 likes to hold onto dust a bit more than the glossier finish on the stock K400.

not a big deal at all right now but it might be nice to have them match.

 

 

[Marvel]

21 hours ago, Invidiosulus said:

The repainted K400 likes to hold onto dust a bit more than the glossier finish on the stock K400.

not a big deal at all right now but it might be nice to have them match.

You got dust in your house? With five kids running around I thought the dust wouldn't settle.

 

I should have brought the can of gray primer with me when I delivered the speakers.

[Invidiosulus]

2 hours ago, Marvel said:

You got dust in your house? With five kids running around I thought the dust wouldn't settle.

 

I should have brought the can of gray primer with me when I delivered the speakers.

Haha, lots of dirt and dust flying around here.

It actually seems to get a little better when I turn on the furnace in the winter and the main filter catches a lot of it.

 

I think I have a can of that primer in my box of spray cans out in the shop.

If not, it’s easy enough to get.

 

so far the only mods I’ve done to the LS are to swap in the solder terminal K55 and I put the EV drivers in my H1’s.

I didn’t get enough of a back to back listen to know if I could really hear a difference.

The LS sound great and the Heresy still sound great as well. those EV drivers really seem pretty nice.

 

 

I kind of told myself that I would wait a year before I really tried to tinker to much with them.

Well, it’s getting close but I don’t really have anything that I want to try at the. moment.