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Masking Ugly Speaker Boxes . . .

Dudes, I am a function over form kind of guy and suspect most of us here are as well at heart/mind - so I am looking to create unobjectionable-looking speakers with minimal amount of finishing.

I'll leave that bug in your minds without polluting your thoughts with my own.

Comments

  • Black Duratex for the win.

    Steve_Lee6thplanet4thtry
    I have a signature.
  • Real wood or veneer, stain, wipe on poly. If it's small enough rattle can lacquer or shellac. Paint needs more time to look good.

    Steve_Lee
     John H, btw forum has decided I don't get emails
  • edited March 2023

    Duratex type shit or any thick non shiny finish

    Steve_Lee
  • If you are not afraid to spray finish, there are some activated truck bed liners that are pretty nice. Have a kind of a soft glow to them.

    If you are looking for maximum "hide" and are not afraid of elbow grease/time, then filler putty on the seams plus sanding plus three heavy coats (sanding in-between) of Duratex along said seams before top coating works pretty well. Duratex makes a great filler primer. Feather each coat a little farther from the seam. Usually takes two top coats for full coverage. Use a heavy nap roller for a highly textured finish which will guaranteed hide seams, my approach works really well - but it is all in the prep.

    If you just want them to more or less disappear in to the background then a quick coat with satin black indoor latex will suffice. Cheap, quick, and stops smelling after just a few days.

    Steve_Lee
    I have a signature.
  • Any thoughts about covering the drivers with a layer of ground-cloth/weed blocker or speaker grill cloth?

  • @Steve_Lee said:
    Any thoughts about covering the drivers with a layer of ground-cloth/weed blocker or speaker grill cloth?

    You can try draping them with grill cloth, I suppose. Building grilles introduces diffraction concerns and it takes special grill techniques to avoid that.

    I have a signature.
  • Yup - I really like what BIC America and others here have done with their grilles to deal with the diffraction effects.

    The work they [BIC] did on the baffle covers is part of the diffraction control that they employ and they sound excellent from everywhere in the room as I walk around, even 30+ feet away - I can hear both channels equally.

    It's just a lot of of extra work to emulate this.

    https://www.bicamerica.com/product-page/formula-series-fh-65b

  • @Steve_Lee said:
    Any thoughts about covering the drivers with a layer of ground-cloth/weed blocker or speaker grill cloth?

    Landscape fabric is not acoustically transparent. Use grill cloth which even doubled up will still be fine.

    Steve_Lee
  • You could build the speaker with a plinth and capital and just surround the entire thing in a giant grill cloth sock.
    Definitive Technology has a couple speakers that have a "sock".

    Steve_Lee
  • Vandersteen uses socks on many models. Also keeps tiny fingers from poking at the tweeters!

    Steve_Lee
  • For fast, but good looking finish on MDF hammered Rust-Oleum from Menard is great. Can be rolled or sprayed. Single coat looks good, two sprayed coats looks great. No primer needed. Hammered Rust-Oleum drys much faster than solid oil paint and hides all imperfections.

    Steve_Lee
  • Although I have yet to paint speakers with it, I have had nice (and super easy) results for a consistent matte finish on doors with house paint and and airless paint pump sprayer. Fill the imperfections with spackle, wood putty, or glazing putty first, a heavy primer, then paint, looks nice.

    Steve_Lee
  • Seal and prime, then Chalkboard black, and VHT Night Eyes topcoat.

    Steve_Lee
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