Rudy81 Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 I recently purchased a pair of La Scalas. An outfit called Craters and Freighters (not cheap) was hired to pack and ship the speakers. Somebody damaged the top corners of the cabinets. Mostly, the damage consists of dime sized pieces of veneer that are pulled off. The attached image is one of the damaged areas. Any suggestions on how to best fix this problem? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 Suggestion 1: Make Craters and Freighters pay for professional repair. Suggestion 2: Since you have a painted black finish, just fill the damaged areas with wood putty, sand and repaint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted November 2, 2003 Author Share Posted November 2, 2003 Yeah, I'm working on suggestion number one and figure I'll get stuck working on suggestion number two. What is the best paint to use on the cabinets to match the original finish? If that is even possible. Certainly others have gone throught this. The chips are not large enough to warrant a total re-veneer, but I would like the cabinet to be a little more presentable. Fortunately, none of the acoustic components were compromised and these sound very good. I have found that although these have the same horn drivers as my Belles, the highs and bass are slightly different. The bass is pretty powerful for a speaker that is quite smaller than the Belle. I am guessing the AL-3 is different enough from my ALK's to account for the high freq differances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 That looks like typical wear and tear to me. Are you cetain that C & F are the culprits ? If the exposed areas are very bright and new looking then the shipper(s) may well be the guilty party. On the other hand if the exposed areas are not bright and new looking then the damage prexisted their being shipped to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 take it to your local paint store, or Home depot type store to get a matching sample...........just an idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted November 2, 2003 Author Share Posted November 2, 2003 Good thinking guys. No I'm not sure who did the damage. All I know is that it is fresh. It's not a huge deal, but when you pay $350 for professional packing and shipping, that's what you should get. Good idea on the paint match. I'll see if there is a piece that is about to come off, but first I'll have to wait to hear from the Craters and Freighters folks. The eBay pictures don't seem to show this damage, but hey, who really knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khorn58 Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Rudy81 , The paint on your lascala if stock( which it looks like) like is just plain old black lacure. I have touched up many things in black from guitars to cars ect. I have found that unlike any colored paint black is black so any black lacure will be a perfect match. You can still buy it on line from a guitar repair supply or cabnet supply house just do a search on google for it. Or maybe your local hardware store has it Avod home chepo if you can there paint is just cheap. lacure is the best for touch up as it becomes one with the old finsh and can be buffed in by hand for a invisable repair. for the perfect patch get some birch veener (from scape of birch plywood or some iron on banding).Then make a veener punch out of some plumbing pipe. Just file the egdes sharp then deform it with a hamer fig eight shape is best. you can then make a perfect patch in the lascal and patching material. then sand smooth and paint. If you decide to just use filler I find that automotive filler(bondo) works best. just rember bond shrinks some if not cured in the sun or heat lamp just leav a 100 watt light over it for a few hours then sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted November 5, 2003 Author Share Posted November 5, 2003 khorn58: Thanks for the suggestions. What do you mean by "then deform it with a hamer fig eight shape is best"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted November 5, 2003 Author Share Posted November 5, 2003 Well, as I feared, Craters and Freighter won't admit to any damage. They just keep giving me the continuous run around and point fingers at everyone else. If anyone needs to ship speakers, these guys are not the ones to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Looks like something a little body filler and black paint can fix. You can't really see the rear of the speaker anyway, when it is against the wall. You could also try gluing a small piece of veneer down in those spots with contact cement. With a very sharp x-acto type knife, place a small square of new birch veneer larger than the chip, over it. Then with smooth, even pressure, cut through BOTH layers of veneer. This will give you an exact fit for the repair piece. Then, very carefully use the edge of the knife to lift off the old cut veneer. Apply contact cement to both pieces, and apply carefully. Voila`! Good as new. A little black lacquer touch up and you are back in buisiness again. I don't know what the gloss level is on the original lacquer, but trying to match it might be a real pain. You could always blend out the black and rub ( polish ) the whole top with a rubbing compound and a terry towel to bring about a shine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted November 6, 2003 Author Share Posted November 6, 2003 Michael: Thank you. I will be trying those ideas as soon as I finish some other more pressing projects. You are correct that matching the gloss will be the difficult part. I have been looking at the veneer items at HD and Lowe's. They have a small roll of veneer that is pre-glued and you use an iron to attach it. Has anyone used this? I am afraid putting an iron to the patch might damage the surrounding area of the cabinet. Is it better to just go the contact cement route? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 If you have any cabinet / custom furniture shops close by, stop in and see if by chance, they have a little off cut ( scrap ). I'm sure that they will gladly just give it to you at no charge. I would prefer contact cement over a preglued iron-on patch for convenience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 I prefer the contact cement veneer as well as I prefer working with it and find it "sturdier" than the auto adhesive ones. But with small chips like that, I'd just fill them like the others mentioned. In terms of finishing, and colour matching... I would refinish the entire side and not just touch up the damaged area. Any small difference if gloss and colour will not show across the edge (due to different lighting). Same goes if you want to veneer the damaged area... I'd do the whole side. Actually m00n posted a link to a veneer supplier... VERY nice stuff at reasonable prices... and with a little money and time, you could have pretty much any wood finish you'd like. but that's well beyond your orignal question. Later... Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted November 6, 2003 Author Share Posted November 6, 2003 Many thanks to all of you. When I get done I will post the results. BTW, Klipsch was good enough to tell me how t best match the paint. In my case, I gave them the year and model and they told me what color to request at a paint store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merk Posted November 9, 2003 Share Posted November 9, 2003 Rudy81, If the contact cement doesn't work for you try these sure-fire methods: 1. Bubble gum and speed tape patch 2. Stand in front of the speakers and cuss loudly and repeatedly 3. Drink a case of Milwaukee's Best Light and kick a hole in the nearest wall 4. Watch Dumb and Dumber for some laughs Worked for me on my damaged KLF-30's...Good Luck!!! The Chorus II's kick a$$, best purchase I ever made...Thanks again!!! Merk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98_1LE Posted November 9, 2003 Share Posted November 9, 2003 You would be suprised how much a simple Sharpie will make that invisible at more than 2'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted November 10, 2003 Author Share Posted November 10, 2003 Merk: Glad to hear you are enjoying the Chorus II's. I knew you would. This repair will be nothing like your damage. This is all minor cabinet work. It'll give me something to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted November 16, 2003 Share Posted November 16, 2003 Hope you can post some pics when you get these fixed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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