Synergy Color Change

[northwestbob]

Has anyone out there attempted a color change to Klipsh Synergy speakers? I have a pair of B-2s for the front, S-1s for the side and a C-1 for the center. Like the model T Ford, they come in only one color, black. My wife wants white.

I have ordered white speaker cloth which has not yet arrived. The plastic Klipsch grills look like the black cloth is glued to them, so no graceful removal. Any suggestions?

Regards,

Northwest Bob

[lb19984]

the T Ford ony came in black?

never knew that

[DrWho]

You could always spray paint the stock grills white. As long as you don't cake it on you should be fine as far as acoustical issues (and it doesn't need to be caked if you do it right). I've done this many times on all sorts of installs and have always had good results. It's a ton easier than trying to stretch fabric over a grill and keep it smooth while the glue dries.

[northwestbob]

What kind of paint do you use for the grill cloth? Also do you know what kind of paint would stick to the plastic cabinets on my S-1 surround speakers? The plastic has a textured surface but it also seems pretty smooth. I have bad visions of the paint just pealing off.

Cheers,

Northwest Bob

[DrWho]

Gosh, I wanna say that Rust-Oleum Professional spray paint worked the best...but I can't find any promising results from a websearch! (all I can find is striping paint which isn't what you want). I would suggest going to your local home depot and asking one of their paint dudes what to use on your speakers. You should be able to find something that will stick to both the grill cloth and the speaker cabinet itself.

DON'T FORGET to tape off areas that shouldn't be painted...like the tweeter and the woofer for example.

[michael hurd]

If the speaker grill cloth is glues on, I highly doubt you will get it off in one piece, that being said, I would order new grilles from klipsch to start with, so that you have them, lest you change your mind in the future, and they are not available anymore.

Try using a heatgun to soften the glue. You may also trim the cloth at the edge of the glue line with a utility knife. Then you might be able to use a fine knife to scrape between the glue and the plastic.

If the heatgun just will not give you enough heat, you might even take an old putty knife with a 1" wide blade and heat it up with a propane torch, the hot blade will soften the hot-melt adhesive, allowing you to pull the material with one hand, sliding the putty knife in between the cloth and plastic.

To paint the plastic cabinets, you have a few options: try a product like Krylon's Fusion, and hope for the best, OR, find out exactly what type of plastic it is, then I can give you specific instructions on what materials and procedures to use.

Regardless, plastics and vinyls have very specific methods of cleaning and preparation. This is a requirement for any paint material applied, regardless if the manufactuer states that no sanding, or special procedures required.

In the manufacturing of plastics, there are products used, called release agents, so that the plastic components come out of the molds. This is similar to applying grease to a baking pan, so that your cake comes out without sticking.

Release agents will prevent a paint product from adhering properly to the plastic substrate. There are two types of release agents used, those that are water soluble, and those that are solvent soluble.

Before preparing a plastic surface for paint, you must first remove the contaminents, otherwise you will drive them into the plastic while sanding or using a "scuff pad". You must use both hot soapy water and also a specially designed solvent based plastics cleaner to remove both types of common mold release agents.

Use two cloths to wipe, one that is saturated, and one that is dry to wipe the dampened suface. Simply wiping the surface with a wet cloth and leaving it to air dry will not suffice. This simply floats the contaminents up to the surface, where they will remain if not wiped off by a second cloth.

BASF's RM division sells a product that is specifically designed for cleaning plastic substrates without damaging the plastic. The product is RM 902 plastic prep cleaner, and is available at an autobody supply house, you may also find a similar product from Dupont, Sherwin Williams, Sikkens, PPG, etc.

[michael hurd]

White grille cloth is terrible for staining, once a dirty finger print gets on it, it looks terrible. Might I suggest a product like Scotchgard, or a comparable product be applied before stretching it over the frames?

Paint will always adhere better when you provide mechanical adhesion, IE: sanding or using a scuff pad. For the textured plastic, I will suggest that you buy both a red 3M Scotchbrite pad, and also a grey 3M Scotchbrite pad, again available at an autobody supply house.

At first, I will recommend to try the grey scuff pad with light pressure, this is normally used on softer plastics or areas where automotive paint needs to be blended, as it is very fine. If the grey does not seen to scuff the textured finish at all, it may be to fine, in this case, try the red one.

After scuffing the plastic cabinets, you must again clean them. Soap and water, and a solvent based cleaner, both. Why? as the plastic is forced into a mold, some release agent is embedded into the plastic, by opening the surface through mechanical agitation, you may uncover more release agents.

[michael hurd]

For the vinyl wrapped speakers, you must clean them as you would with the textured plastic. There are vinyl dyes available from different automotive paint companies, they can be used to recolor a vinyl dash, armrests, even a vinyl top. It Is available in either spraycans or larger containers for use in spray refinishing equipment.

SEM is one company that produces these specialty coatings, a spraycan is about $ 20 canadian, with pint size containers, quarts, and gallon size containers available.

After the vinyl has been cleaned, scuff lightly with grey Scotchbrite pad, then reclean. Apply the SEM vinyl dye in succesive coats to cover the substrate: this may require 4-5 very thin coats. Adhere to the flash time listed on the container between coats. For an extra-durable finish, apply a few coats of a Clear SEM topcoat, it comes in satin, semi-gloss and glossy finishes.

[michael hurd]

Other pointers: do not be in a hurry to complete the process, it will take quite a few hours on a weekend to accomplish a project like this.

Remove the components from the speakers, label the wires for later reconnection.

Blow off the cabinets with compressed air, and use a tack-cloth to remove minute particles left behind on the surface.

Work in a well ventilated area! Protect your self from solvents, use latex, vinyl or nitrile gloves on your hands when utilizing solvents to clean.

Dispose of used rags properly, solvent soaked rags can become a fire hazard. Buying a small quantity of lint-free wiping cloths will go a long way to improve the finish quality.

Send me a cheque for $ 29.95 for my advice LOL!

[colterphoto1]

very thorough Mr. Hurd. Only about a hundred good tips there.

Michael

[michael hurd]

I also forgot to mention: paint the front edge of the grille frame white before you attach new grille cloth to the frames, you will see the grille frame otherwise.

You should not need more than about 1 pint of SEM vinyl dye for the vinyl surfaces on the speakers. If you do not have access to compressed air and spray equipment, you can use spraycans, albeit at a higher cost. If using spray cans, you would need approximately 3-4 spray cans.