Best finish for speaker cabinets?

[coolkhoa]

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.

[sardonx]

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?

[Timn8ter]

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.

[macky888]

Hi sardonx

For your interest, here's a speaker cab that's been finished in leather. Photo at below link

http://www.audioroundtable.com/PiSpe...ges/13617.html

Extra piccies here (ignore Karlson cab photo's, they arn't the ones)

http://www.abappers.com/pi/

Adrian

[sardonx]

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.

[Timn8ter]

It may depend on your construction material. If you're working with MDF automotive paint works great. It's correct that a good coat of paint or other finishes helps damp the enclosure.

p.s. I was just kidding about the Ruftar. Sorry, it's Friday.

[rho]

Originally posted by sardonx
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?

Something like this?

[coolkhoa]

I'd like to point out that there's paint that looks like leather, by Rust-Oleum, www.rustoleum.com. Just thought you guys would be interested.

[coolkhoa]

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.

[smithsonga]

Sonus Faber uses either leather or look alike leather for some of their speakers.