Best finish for speaker cabinets?

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coolkhoa

coolkhoa

Member
Joined 2004
In my opinion, lacquer is the best finish for any speaker cabinet. I think it adds some measure of "external" damping, and it looks gorgeous, too.

Can someone recommend a good brand of gloss black lacquer? And if there's a specialty lacquer available for speakers, I'd like to hear about it.
If you don't think lacquer is best, please state what you think is.

Thanks in advance.
 
Timn8ter

Timn8ter

Member
Joined 2003
Yes, there is special speaker lacquer. You can buy it in different viscosities to help tame particular frequencies. This can especially helpful if you're having trouble with mid-range ringing or HF dispersion. LF damping is a bit more of a challenge but there is a one called Ruftar that takes care of it. It needs to be heated up prior to applying with a large brush.
 
S

sardonx

Member
Joined 2003
Adrian,
Nice :)
It's only a matter of time before some high-end company starts doing it with mini-monitors and floor standers. I think leather is a really cool material for speakers and has artistic potential but of course it would take a special kind of skill to get creative with.
You could also use that skill to cover speakers with other clothing materials. I can just see it... Velveteen Audio. Or Denim Audio.... lol.. okay getting carried away. Moving on...

On the more practical side. I want to do a speaker in automotive paint. Give it a lot of coats. You could do any color and it would look perfect. Although the enclosure would have to be perfect and dentless first! This i'm sure has been done (Merlin does it but they also do a spectacular job on the price tag). If you were nice at the local auto body shop i'm sure they'd do it for a couple hudred bucks if you did all the primering and preperation.
 
R

rho

Member
Joined 2003
sardonx said:
How about leather?
I've always thought a speaker covered in leather (ooh la la, lol) would be a cool idea. It would have to be pretty rugged though, yet nice looking. Or maybe just the baffle could be leather and the rest granite or marble. A bit exotic, eh?
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Something like this?

bigbmloff.jpg


:D
 
M

markp

Member
Joined 2003
Re: Help with applying lacquer

coolkhoa said:
Oh yeah, I need some help with applying lacquer (never tried it). How many coats would be the minimum? How many do you suggest? Do I need to sand/polish after each coat? What about lacquer thinner?

Any advice is appreciated.
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Spraying lacquer is an artform. Do not try to brush it on! Use several thin, thin coats of thinned down lacquer(lacquer thinner + lacquer + flow agent + fisheye stuff). Lacquer dries in minutes and is ready for the next coat in about 20 min on a warm day. Color sand between each coat with 600 grit - 1200 grit and then rubbing compound to finish your last coat. If there is a Frazee paint store near you check them out as they will set you up with all the stuff you need. They helped me out when I started. Good luck!! Oh yeah, ventilation is very important if you like your brain.
 
coolkhoa

coolkhoa

Member
Joined 2004
Re: Re: Help with applying lacquer

markp said:

Spraying lacquer is an artform. Do not try to brush it on! Use several thin, thin coats of thinned down lacquer(lacquer thinner + lacquer + flow agent + fisheye stuff). Lacquer dries in minutes and is ready for the next coat in about 20 min on a warm day. Color sand between each coat with 600 grit - 1200 grit and then rubbing compound to finish your last coat. If there is a Frazee paint store near you check them out as they will set you up with all the stuff you need. They helped me out when I started. Good luck!! Oh yeah, ventilation is very important if you like your brain.
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I've been told to brush on lacquer, not spray it on like paint; doing the latter supposedly makes the lacquer not stick. Are you talking about spraying on gloss paint??

This brings me to another possible option for finishing: using gloss (enamel) paint instead of lacquer. It isn't quite as nice as lacquer, but it takes less time and effort, right? (And I'm really afraid of health problems associated with lacquering...)
 
M

markp

Member
Joined 2003
Re: Re: Re: Help with applying lacquer

coolkhoa said:



I've been told to brush on lacquer, not spray it on like paint; doing the latter supposedly makes the lacquer not stick. Are you talking about spraying on gloss paint??

This brings me to another possible option for finishing: using gloss (enamel) paint instead of lacquer. It isn't quite as nice as lacquer, but it takes less time and effort, right? (And I'm really afraid of health problems associated with lacquering...)
Click to expand...
We're talking spraying lacquer here. Prime the box first before you begin to spray. Brushing lacquer is a really bad way to get a smooth finish without lots of dust and imperfections as you must slow down the drying time to allow the lacquer to flow and smooth out the brush strokes. You will be very unhappy with a brushed lacquer job!
 
mrfeedback

mrfeedback

Member
Joined 2002
users.bigpond.com/mrfeedback/
The Sound Of Laquer...........

I recently read an article about the effects of lacquer type on the sound of musical instruments (guitars).
The conclusion was that 'old' natural laquers (cellulose) are much better sounding than modern man-made laquers like polyurethane etc.
He spoke of the sound of old instruments being ruined by repainting with modern laquers.
He also described removing modern laquer from a guitar and applying cellulose laquer and the sound being much improved.

Be wary of what you coat your enclosures with.

Eric.
 
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