unruly Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 I have a pristine pair of KG 5.5s with black satin on oak. The grain pops out and smacks you without color variation... I love it! I want to create other pieces of furniture (completed one in red oak) in that room to match. How do I finish oak or red oak with the black satin finish, showing the grain the way my KGs do? Is it stain and poly, thinned paint and poly? Is it water or oil based??? Any help will be greatly appreciated. thx bp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cornell Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 Ive done this on a black satin sub once, the black stayed in the grain, while i stained it oak, it looked like black forrest oak LOL! Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travis Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 Jim what are you doing tonight? Hopefully something thought provoking. At anyrate tell me about your exciting day at the office. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted March 28, 2003 Share Posted March 28, 2003 The finish is black lacquer. Try using gloss black lacquer,several light coats, and when dry knock the shine down with 0000 steel wool and a lubricant, maybe Pledge. If the grain is open as in the KG's, don't use steel wool. Use something like those 3M finishing pads. The finish should be close. Good luck. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unruly Posted March 28, 2003 Author Share Posted March 28, 2003 Keith, Is it a safe assumption that the laquer should be brushed on and not sprayed? thx bp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted March 29, 2003 Share Posted March 29, 2003 Hey bp. I used spray lacquer from Home Depot. I sprayed MDF so that is why I said the finish 'should' pretty well match the wood grain of your 5.5's. The gloss lacquer, after rubbing with steel wool on the smooth MDF, still had a low gloss or sheen. Might be a good idea to test in an inconspicuous area, if there is one. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unruly Posted March 29, 2003 Author Share Posted March 29, 2003 Keith, Thanks for taking the time to help. What I have is solid oak with some really spectacular grain. They are drawer fronts (6" x 24" red oak planks) for a media (CD, DVD etc.) storage unit, 12 drawers, holds 1500+ standard CD cases. I bought one extra plank for testing. I plan to mask it in half, stain one half in medium oak and poly, then the other half in the black satin. The planks were simply planed and sanded at the mill that cut them for me. I did a 3/16 round-over on the edge. Should I do any specific prep before applying the 3 coats of laquer, other than hitting it with a tack cloth? Should I sand between coats? The grain is pretty open, so I will probably go with your 3M finishing pad idea for the top coat. I appreciate your patience. I am pretty new to woodworking, but the construction of the cabinet (from an existing entertainment center) and the drawers (from scratch) has gone pretty well. thx again, Bryson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdnfay Posted March 29, 2003 Share Posted March 29, 2003 You might try several coats of ebony stain and finish with a coat or two of poly. Using several coats of paint may fill in the grain. If you do use paint, make sure you thin it just a little so it will flow and not show brush marks. Just a thought. Big D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unruly Posted March 30, 2003 Author Share Posted March 30, 2003 Big D From some examples that I have seen (two coats of stain) you can see color variation between the grain and the wood. Do you think that more than 2 coats might even that variation out? I like the stain idea as well, but I am unsure what to expect. I pose the same question again, since I am new to woodworking, should I prep the solid oak before applying stain? I am sure from other projects that I should sand (600 grit) between coats of poly. I guess the test plank will now have 3 sections masked off for testing. This might get expensive... but wirth it, if I can get close to the KG's finish. thx, Bryson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 Lost track of the thread Bryson. If I remember correctly the KG speakers are finished with black lacquer. A call to Klipsch Tech Support would be worthwhile. Several light coats of gloss black lacquer on a scrap piece of like wood, sanding the final coat, should give similiar results as the KG5.5 finish. It did for me. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unruly Posted April 7, 2003 Author Share Posted April 7, 2003 Keith, Exactly! Klipsch support told me that they lightly sand it with some 320 grit and apply a 30 sheen black lacquer with a fan-tip. 30 refers to the reflectivity (specular gloss) of the dried surface, so no final sanding should be necessary. Anything below 30 is considered matte or flat... above 85 is gloss. Lacquer sand seal should be thinly applied first. Klipsch support implied that they applied it to bare wood without the sealer... kinda risky from the experts that I have spoken with. Thanks to all for the assistance with this thread. bp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingman Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Am I correct in assuming that this procedure would make Black Satin out of my Medium Oak KLF-20s? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Given the wonerful color you have on those KLF 20 I would leave them just the way they are as they look excellent. I just rebuilt a pair of these for my daughter but they did not have the rich warm color yours do yet, takes years to produce a patina like that. Best regards Moray James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingman Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Thanks James, but that's not actually a pic of *my* KLF-20's. I borrowed that pic, but mine are exactly the same shade. I strongly suspect that I'll take some pics tonight, and post them up since I haven't posted any pics of them yet. I want to use the KLF-20's in my HT setup, but the wood is so "bright". I really wish they were black (although I think black suks for anything but HT use). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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