I need help finding my finishing product :(

[Audiophilenoob]

Hi,

I've been looking at finishing my cabinet finally and I need help locating the finishing product....

Ideally something like the melamines from PE.com would be best but the sides are 28" wide... not 24" wide so it won't work...

Either gloss black, gloss white, or anything wood finish would work....

Preferably melamine, laminate, veneer, etc... doesn't matter... just needs to be wide enough


IDEALLY 2 5x12" sheets of gloss black formica would be ideal... but they are $180 each


any place to find veneer, melamine, etc that would work????

 

[jleaman]

What about arberite ? The same stuff you put on counter top's that stuff would be good to use..

 

[Benny the 2.]

Do you know Elesgoflex?

It's like melamine, but with a very good finish (I love that wood- like finish).

http://www.elesgo.de/us/index_us.html
http://www.elesgoflex.com/elesframe.html

Sorry, but I can't say anything about the price in the US but a roll of it here in Germany costs ca. 40 EUR and is only avaiable on request from the home depots...

Greetings

 

[Audiophilenoob]

What about arberite ? The same stuff you put on counter top's that stuff would be good to use..

sounds fine... where can I locate this?

I was quoted $180 each for a 5x12 of black gloss formica (countertop stuff)...

I'll look for arberite though

 

[jleaman]

sounds fine... where can I locate this?

I was quoted $180 each for a 5x12 of black gloss formica (countertop stuff)...

I'll look for arberite though

AHEM home-depot would be good or Home hard-ware..

 

[Bill Fitzpatrick]

Since you are open to white, I'd rattle can it. Several coats of white, sandable primer. Finish with a clear coat.

 

[tiroth]

10 mil paper backed oak gets $40-50 at tape ease for 4'x8'.

Seal with dewaxed shellac, apply with 3M water based contact. Works great.

 

[Madmike2]

Since you are open to white, I'd rattle can it. Several coats of white, sandable primer. Finish with a clear coat.

not a bad idea at all ... a sponge and you can marble it to then clear coat it

 

[Audiophilenoob]

I guess paint is an option to keep it cheap... what about a primer/sealer, followed by sandable primer than a white lacquer to give it sheen?

 

[planet10]

Abortite & Formica are brand names for essentially the same thing. Well bonded it will also stiffen your cabinet.

The guy that makes my pretty cabinets says it is actually easier to work with veneers thou.

dave

 

[Sherman]

...The guy that makes my pretty cabinets says it is actually easier to work with veneers thou.

dave

It could be due to my familiarity with wood but in my very limited experience this is true. Wood veneers, especially paper-backed are very easy to work with and cut. A hobby knife with a new blade will easily cut and trim veneer. You should be able to do a pair of speakers (say 24" tall) with a single blade. For larger speakers you should use a new blade for each.

Doing Formica correctly really requires a laminate trimmer, eye protection, a dust mask and a place to work where the dust doesn't matter. On the plus side for Formica, once it is glued on and trimmed you are done; no finishing required.

 

[lufbramatt]

how about sheets of transparent plexiglass/perspex/acrylic? you can get it from diy stores for adding secondary double glazing to windows. i was thinking you could paint the back black, and leave the surface transparent so u look through the acrylic to the black on the other side.
Then the whole lot can be glued onto the speaker surface, and it will be really shiny 🙂

 

[tiroth]

Really delicate too. 😉