andyman Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 Well, I just became the proud owner of a set of 1975 (s/n 5P863, is that right??) La Scalas yesterday , and have a few questions. First, they are finished in black lacquer, which is not my favorite. How successful have folks been in stripping the lacquer off and refinishing in an stained finish? I'm concerned about the lacquer in the pores of the birch and removing "most" of it. I'm a fairly accomplished wood worker, so I'm not that put off by the task. A fine brush and lacquer thinner should do the job, but I'm curious at about others successes before I plunge in. I was thinking along the lines of a walnut stain and oiled finish. The second question is about the grilles. My set has a full length cloth cover over the entire face and is secured probably by staples under the trim piece. Most the photos I find show the bass horn open with the mid and tweeter under cloth. What can I expect to find underneath the cloth? Black lacquered wood, Bare wood? Lastly, there seems to be quite a strong feeling about running these on a tube amp; which I don't own (yet, ;-) ) I do own the following vintage solid state receivers: Marantz 2265B, 2270, and 2215B, Pioneer SX-525 and SX-737, a Nikko 9095, and a Fisher 700-T with one good channel. Which of these should I use to give me my best "1st impression"?? Thanks in advance! Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cornell Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 I sanded the black off one, i had a problem with black deep in the grain! So without sanding the entire lamination off, i just refinished them that way, they looked like black forrest oak! Regards Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerohm Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 Acetone will literally melt the lacquer. It is messy and needs to be done in a well ventilated area (No FLAMES!!). The wood will retain a darkish tint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkrop Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 The La Scala with a full length grill is rare! I think dodger(?) sold apair earlier this year to someone else on this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 Welcome to the forum. The lascalas with full grills are indeed rare and I really like the look. Good luck with the refinishing but keep those grills! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t0aj15 Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 I've got two pair of La Scala's. One unfinished with no grills, the other black with full length grills. I took the grills off the black ones and they are bare wood underneath. Unlike you I'm going to paint the unfinished ones completely, as well as the unfinished surfaces of the painted ones. BTW the grills are indeed stapled on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttaylor Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 Ive got the flat black LSs that Im just about to refinish and decided to take the easy route. Im filling/sanding/priming/and painting the insides flat black and veneering the exterior sides and top w/ a high quality wood veneer (walnut or birch probably) I am going to use a full grill to hide the lack of veneer inside/baffle and to keep out the $#%& field mice, bugs and cat! Does anyone have a good pic of an original grill? I would like to keep it close to original. thanks art Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted July 13, 2003 Share Posted July 13, 2003 Refinishing black La Scalas in anything other than black is one huge job. It's tough enough just to finish raw birch getting around inside the bass horn. Really tough with black. The idea of capitalizing on the depth of the black in the grain is a fascinating and creative solution. In fact, it's the only possible thing I could imagine w/o refinishing in black or going to veneer. I'd love to see pics of those projects. Dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyman Posted July 13, 2003 Author Share Posted July 13, 2003 Dee: I redid a Thiel last summer that someone had lacquered black over the walnut veneer. I stripped off the lacquer with thinner and then sanded it a bit and oiled them up. The lacquer that remained in the pores gave the wood a rather exotic look, like some fine African hardwood; quite nice. Since birch is not walnut, I'm going to lacquer up a piece of scrap around here as a test. I'll strip it down and then stain it to see what happens. The tendency of birch to "blotch" is a concern, so this may be an issue during the staining. i've got more than a few books on wood finishing around here and lots of birch scrap ply, so I can experiment to see what works before I actually work the cabinets. It sure would be great to get all that wood looking sweet! Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 I stripped a set of black painted HDBR back to the original wood which I stained and varnished... and they turned out much better than I would have expected. After disassembling them I stripped them with chemical stripper... which left paint only in the grain (cabinet to the right). Then I lightly sanded them down with an orbital sander, which produced a stainable veneer (cabinet at the left). Seeing that you want to go to a dark stain, I see no problems stripping the painted surface and going with the stained wood (unlike a clear finish)... Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 Speaking of CATS, mine have used my old Cornwall grilles for a scratching post. I've been able to melt off the handing threads with a lighter, but they're not as nice as they could be. I'd like to refinish my 'oiled' walnut cabinets and replace the grille cloth. Is there any catalog of 'original' type grille material, where can this be obtained, and at what $$$. It appears that the cloth is glued to the masonite grille board, how to remove it? Or do I have to cut a new grille board? How to catproof these speakers? I was thinking of a plexiglass panel in front of the cabinets, like those rock drummers have, it May affect the dispersion pattern, though! LOL Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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