Re-finishing RB-5II from cherry to black

[Vladi]

I would like to re-finish my RB-5II from cherry to black - all my other speakers are black.

What is the best way to do this? What materials and tools do I need?

Please help me with advise and share similar experience.

[jt1stcav]

IMO, save yourself the trouble of possibly ruining the existing finish and go sell your cherry loudspeakers and buy black replacements.

FWIW...

[kohill]

There is a brand new pair from an authorized dealer on Ebay right now for 440.00 BIN.

[rivieraranch]

I missed out on that one. I bought a pair in black on ebay for $475.00 shipping included. I am looking forward to hooking them up to my Jolida 202B.

[colterphoto1]

someone here is probably dying to get a pair of cherry speakers, don't think they're made anymore. I'd sell them and buy black. that way you'd be getting factory black finish and not possibly butcher good wood veneer in the process.

Michael

[Vladi]

The problem is that they have scratches and are not in an excellent cosmetic condition. I would rate them 7.5 out of 10 cosmetically.

[michael hurd]

The best way to refinish them, would be to remove the components, and take the empty boxes to a cabinetmaker or an autobody shop.

Second to that, the other way would require that you refinish them yourself. I would recommend staying away from slow drying paints that you must brush or apply by roller. For a first time project like this, I would recommend using a high quality spray paint in a satin finish.

[DecibleLvr]

I have done this before. The first thing you will need is patience. Take the speakers down to bare cabinets. Get yourself a palm sander and starting with 80-100 grit sandpaper sand these down to bare wood. ALWAYS sand in the direction of the grain.Proceed thru 220 grit, 330,400. That should give you a nice surface to work with. Then STAIN them. DO NOT paint them. You will lose the grain.It will take you a few coats of stain, allowing time in between to dry complteley.After they are the correct shade of color you want then seal them with polycrilic. I advise to use a paint gun if you can, if not use the aerosol. It is very hard to brush on the acrylic without leaving brush marks.Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

[michael hurd]

Deciblelvlr: take them down to bare wood??? If you did that, you would be down to the raw MDF. They are veneered with wood, and then sealed with a clear finish.

It is not like a plywood speaker at all, where the veneer is quite thick, the veneers on the reference line are pretty thin in comparison.

[DecibleLvr]

There should be enough veneer to take off the main coloring of the original finish. It is hard to describe in a short answer, thus the invite to contact.

[michael hurd]

I have seen a set of the reference speakers in person, and the finish is very smooth and hard. I would recommend that it simply be cleaned with a wax and grease remover, such as RM 900, scuffed with a scotchbrite pad (red), and painted as is.

If the poster would like to do the job himself, at the bare minimum for supplies, I would recommend :

wax and grease remover: to remove any foreign material that you might grind in sanding

good quality automotive masking tape, such as Scotch super 33+, to tape with

a small roll of real masking paper, rather than newspaper that has inks that run, and linty to boot

either a red scotchbrite scuff pad to sand with, or p500 grit on a soft foam sanding block: buy real sandpaper here, flint and garnet need not apply

at least one good quality tack cloth

a decent satin finish spray paint, such as SEM trim black, two cans should suffice.

All of these materials can be picked up at any decent automotive/autobody supply house, if you tell the staff what you are planning on doing, they may be able to give you more pointers.