Removing paint from veneered ply.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've recently bought some ex broadcast monitoring loudspeakers. Unseen, from Ebay. Pics showed them to be black which I assumed had been done for use in a TV studio. As all the others I've seen are teak veneer on a ply casing.

On collecting them, they are in very much better condition cosmetically than the advert suggested. And by looking at the badges, appear to be factory back finish. But simply a paint job over the original teak, which is showing through on some edges.

Being painted, they don't look as good as a say true black ash veneer, so I'd like to remove the paint to see what they are like underneath it. As even if kept black, would benefit from a total re-paint.

So what would be the best way to remove the paint with minimal damage to the veneer? I'd far rather spend time doing that than re-veneering them.

[Charles F]

Just out of interest, what kind of speakers are they?

Charles F

[Charles F]

Sorry, not thinking, top replies are wrong for newsgroups! So:

Just out of interest, what kind of speakers are they?

Charles F

[Dave Plowman (News)]

BBC LS 5/8.

[Charles F]

Good speakers - not necessarily dramatic or fashionable, but low colouration and accurate. Best of luck with the repaint, and hope you enjoy using them.

Charles F

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Not fashionable? Check out the asking prices on Ebay when they come up. ;-)

[Charles F]

Ah, but that's from the cognoscenti!

We did have couple of pairs of 5/8s in dubbing, until they got replaced by big Tannoys, whose main benefit was that they were unbreakable.....

Charles F

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Not so sure. Original LS3/5a can fetch silly prices too. From Far East collectors. More than new ones.

This is the only pair on Ebay at the moment - but are a later version with a passive crossover which would seem to me a retrograde step.

We also had the Big Red Monitors at Thames. Never did much like them for drama stuff. Too coloured.

Takes some doing to blow up the 5/8s, though. You'd be running at very silly levels for TV use.

IIRC, Harbeth do their own version of the 5/8 with an additional mid range unit, which is said to have higher power handling.

[Adrian Caspersz]

Is the paint water based or oil?

Then

[tabbypurr]

we don't use latex afaik.

[Andy Burns]

What Americsans call latex paint, we call emulsion, afaik

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I dunno. They date back to perhaps 1990, so before water based became common for such things? I'd describe the finish as satin. And there doesn't appear to be any undercoat. Looking at the odd chip with a magnifying glass.

[Nick Odell]

If it is real teak it might turn out easier to strip than feared - if you are lucky. Teak is loaded with oils that are incompatible with many finishes so it's common practice to put on a sanding sealer before applying a proper finish. Or it might have been finished in something like melamine which may resist good bonding with the black layer. Either way, there's probably quite a forgiving boundary between the teak and the black layer. If the black chips easily it might just scrape away. Otherwise, if you can identify the right solvent to soften it up, the softened black might be scraped away without damaging the teak below.

Nick

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Definitely no laminate. All the others I've seem are made from teak faced ply - rather than ply then veneered afterwards. You can see this at edges

- all a stepped joint with reinforcement battens inside. They were designed for ease of construction rather than as a perfect bit of furniture.

I've not had any success with current easily available paint strippers since H&S or whatever had the formula changed.

[tabbypurr]

You could try the original stuff.

NT

[Andy Burns]

[Nick Odell]

Any joy with cellulose thinners? Meths? Nitrocellulose was a common finishing material in those days - especially for custom paint jobs.

Nick

[Dave Plowman (News)]

That should last me a while - thanks. Is it something you'd use yourself on something like this? Last thing I want is to damage the wood underneath the paint.

[Andy Burns]

Yes, when Nitromors was still proper Nitromors, obviously use decent PPE and ventilation

On real wood you used to be able to slap it on very thick to get through layers of old paint, probably would avoid too thick and for too long on veneer in case it can get at the glue, several light uses probably preferred?

[tabbypurr]

It's certainly effective, but beware its toxicity & keenness to evaporate. Plentiful ventilation is necessary.

NT