Refinishing project: new larger sub

Construct · « **on:** 19 Jul 2010, 01:54 am »

I ordered the VMPS new larger sub in light oak with forethought that I'd be staining it red chestnut to match my speakers. It's not that I am being frugal and not paying the $200 for a cherry finish, it's just that I wanted my own, and wanted to do this. I have been on the DIY streak now for many months. It's very satisfying.
I have stated elsewhere I am sick of black speakers, especially flat black. I am almost as bored of natural light woods because whitish or yellowish just sits there for me. Also, I like a woodgrain to show through, and not be obscured by paint or a stain that is too dark. I chose this red chestnut because it's a reddish brown...about 50/50. It's medium light, and "cheerful".
Here is the color of my some of my speakers. The camera does not catch the clearcoat reflectivity like you'd see in person:

Pics and step by step soon.

Construct · « **Reply #1 on:** 19 Jul 2010, 02:12 am »

Stuff you'll need:

Home depot or Lowes has it all.

1. Stripper - the caustic snot that reduces paint and clearcoat down to caustic sludge. Think of it like aliens blood. Don't get it on anything that you don't want to dissolve. If you get any on yourself, you will know it immediately.

2. Pre-stain treatment: - this is put on bare wood to prep it for stain.

3. Painter's cloths- for applying stripper/stain
4. Rubber gloves- to protect you from the caustic snot
5. Sanding blocks: 60, 100 and 320 grit- the coarser is to remove scratches, the finer to final sand, and go between coats.
6. Stain of choice. Mine is minwax red chestnut
7. Poly clearcoat- applied last, sand between coats for that wood-under-glass mirror-like finish.8. Sponge brushes narrow and wide to apply the clearcoat.

Construct · « **Reply #2 on:** 19 Jul 2010, 02:24 am »

Step 1: apply stripper to the wood surface. It takes about 15 minutes to melt the clearcoat/paint. Slather it on thick. Wear those gloves and make sure you don't wear any nice clothes. Protect your floor with a dropcloth.
Note: the vmps larger sub simply had a thin clearcoat.
Step 2: Scrape off the caustic sludge carefully with a plastic putty knife to avoid gouges. You may need to re-apply in some areas and repeat.
Step 3: Wipe off the sludge, and sand with the grain to prep the wood. In my case, it took a few minutes.
Step 4: apply pre-stain and wait about 15 minutes to apply stain. Pre-stain helps prevent blotches/patches of stain.
Step 5: Apply stain with a rag evenly. Takes about 2-4 hours to fully take at medium humidity, room temp. You can apply additional coats, but wait at least 3 hours so you know the last coat soaked in, otherwise it will get too dark.NOTE: 1st coat will dry the fastest and really soak in in maybe 1 hour.
Step 6: When the stain is dry, you can pre-sand with 320 grit. This will smooth the surface for the clearcoat.
Step 7: Apply the clearcoat evenly with a sponge brush and dry thoroughly. Sand with 320 grit* between coats. (* you may use 100 to 220 as well)
Step 7: You may apply another coat or two, sanding between coats. 1 coat can look pretty good, 3 will be very impressive.
The wood working Gods among you- feel free to add to this. I am a novice myself.

Construct · « **Reply #3 on:** 19 Jul 2010, 03:59 am »

Ok, here is the sub stock with, and without the grill. The base has not been installed yet. Note the oak is nice, but it has a whiteish/yellow appearance.

Construct · « **Reply #4 on:** 19 Jul 2010, 04:40 am »

It just donned on me. Big B beat Steve Jobs to the punch by over 20 years.

Wait for it....

iTone audio.....

Ok...bad pun. I am tired and probably loopy from the stain fumes. Updates tomorrow.

Construct · « **Reply #5 on:** 19 Jul 2010, 11:36 am »

Interim update:
I have refinished a *lot* of speakers. None of them however had the grade oak that this sub has. I am not a wood expert, but judging from the clean grain, and the obviously higher Janka-scale hardness I'd say this is a top-grade oak. I say that because it doesn't just feel harder than other oaks I have refinished, but it's more reluctant to take stain. That says to me that it's got a much denser grain. I was forewarned that some hardwoods don't take stain well. This qualifies. I am able to get the cabinet to look a touch redder and give it some color, but nothing like the speaker color sample pictured above. Still, it will take it away from the basic color and help show off the grain.

Venkman · « **Reply #6 on:** 20 Jul 2010, 02:12 pm »

Best of luck on your project!

I recently refinished some super tower /r's. They had been neglected/abused by their former owner. I was thoroughly impressed with just how thick the oak veneer was. I had to sand it way down in some spots just to get out the gouges and scratches. I kept praying I wouldn't sand through the veneer. I never did.

Cheers to Brian's standards and the craftsmen involved in making these cabs!

Construct · « **Reply #7 on:** 20 Jul 2010, 03:00 pm »

Quote from: Venkman on 20 Jul 2010, 02:12 pm

Best of luck on your project!

I recently refinished some super tower /r's. They had been neglected/abused by their former owner. I was thoroughly impressed with just how thick the oak veneer was. I had to sand it way down in some spots just to get out the gouges and scratches. I kept praying I wouldn't sand through the veneer. I never did.

Cheers to Brian's standards and the craftsmen involved in making these cabs!

That's like refinishing a pair of wardrobes or dressers...

Definitely thick oak.

Construct · « **Reply #8 on:** 20 Jul 2010, 03:09 pm »

RED SHIFT

The sub isn't as red as my other speakers, as I said due to the hardness of the oak. Here is the sub after a clearcoat. It needs some finish sanding. These pics were taken on the way to work, so they don't quite get the reflectivity. There are a couple of "pools" of the clearcoat that need to be sanded away. The clearcoat ran a little-I was a challenge to get the coat "just right" on this wood since it was unyeilding.

Construct · « **Reply #9 on:** 20 Jul 2010, 05:09 pm »

Ok, I am off work wed/th. I am going to apply the elbow grease and another coat of clear. Hopefully this project will be done wed night or thurs.

John Casler · « **Reply #10 on:** 20 Jul 2010, 06:11 pm »

Looking Good

Now to get those RM2's and start the process again.

Construct · « **Reply #11 on:** 20 Jul 2010, 11:19 pm »

Good idea! I am currently soliciting upgrade grant money for research. I only need $4,000. I accept paypal.

Construct · « **Reply #12 on:** 22 Jul 2010, 01:58 am »

Epilogue: The sub came out pretty good, not spectacular. I was given some sage advice that something else would work better in this case. What I could have done, is used a water-based red mahogany aniline DYE. Dyes do in fact penetrate hardwoods much better. Some hardwood drum kits I have refinished used a coral blue stain. You may see this effect on certain finishes on woods harder than rock maple or birch. Oak is pretty hard, North American can be over 1360 on the janka scale with a dense grain. Asian varieties and other lower grade North American (like used on heritage Klipsch for example) are more likely around 850-1,000 on the janka compared to VMPS's oak cabinet which I suspect is 1360 or higher. Evidence is that the Klipsch oak finishes readily take stain, and are easily sanded. The VMPS sub was a bear to hand sand. Live and learn. Now I just need to install the base and write a review.

Construct · « **Reply #13 on:** 23 Jul 2010, 04:46 am »

I am happy to report, that unlike the dayton plate amps, the dayton audio sub amp & vmps sub aren't "humming". I fiddled with grounds and other things to mitigate the dayton titanic plate amp hum, but didn't eliminate it. My new sub is hum free.

Tyson · « **Reply #14 on:** 23 Jul 2010, 06:48 am »

How does it sound?

Construct · « **Reply #15 on:** 23 Jul 2010, 03:15 pm »

Quote from: Tyson on 23 Jul 2010, 06:48 am

How does it sound?

I'm getting there. I am writing a full review. Let's just say, it makes a certain much-vaunted music sub sound "wanting" by compare.

I thought you bailed out of the VMPS stuff for DIY line source or something? I remember reading about your transition from NORH to VMPS, (which caused agony and turmoil among the Norh followers of your advice). DON'T LEAVE US!!!!

Then, it was VMPS ribbon monitors, (I may have assumed you had a sub of sorts OR were very familiar, maybe not) and I lost the plot (so to speak) until now. It was like a mini-drama/evolution/change not atypical of other audiophile journeys.
I remember watching another guy who was (at each stage since 1996) ABSOLUTELY SURE that what he had at the time was THE ULTIMATE. Some 13 years later, he must be on his 7th completely new system and close to $500K deep in expenses. That was high audio drama. I won't reveal who that is, because he is a professional that lives just down the road from me---ironically enough.

jqp · « **Reply #16 on:** 23 Jul 2010, 06:58 pm »

Yes I am one of οἱ πολλοί, the herd, picking up crumbs from Tyson's audiophile meals...I bought nOrh, and Tyson moved on...now I bought his highly modded mgalusha-masterpiece DCX 2496 and he moved on to a DEQ

Mixed metaphors aside, I will be happy to let Tyson try out all the good stuff for me

I still have nOhr though and love my 9.0s and 4.0s. Now I have added 2 new VMPS subs and a Crown amp to go with the DCX. Hopefully this weekend I will be able to work on the sub kits.

Construct · « **Reply #17 on:** 25 Jul 2010, 02:35 am »

Ok, I am past what would be called the "80 percent solution". That is I am very close to dialed in. I have removed roughly four "fingernails" full of damping putty from the PR. That's really just a few grams. I have also set the amp so that it starts to cut about 60hz. I tried higher, but felt that it stepped too much into the mains territory. One thing I will excerpt from the forthcoming full review is this:
You know the sub is blending, and in the zone when it doesn't load the room up with 2nd octave and duplicate the main speakers. The sub should be defined and sensitive enough to tackle guitar strings, yet brutal enough to reproduce cannon shots , organ notes and other 1st octave energy with the same alacrity. I am getting a realistic, palpable attack and body from the guitar strings on "Man of constant sorrow" (O brother where art thou) and symphonic weight from telarc's "space spectacular."
Full review in a few days. I'm bleary from a long work day and it's 91 degrees.

Construct · « **Reply #18 on:** 26 Jul 2010, 08:33 pm »

Ok, It's complete. I have just set it up, and am running a variety of new age, classical, and rock through it. I have been dialing it in. I ran it to cut off about 60hz. The amp indicates it's a -14db slope. At this point, it's very seamless in the system. And as stated before, the impact and fundamental energy it has isn't just defined, it adds a super realism that only comes with displacement and a clean, high output 1st octave.

I have plateaued at this level of redness.

jonbee · « **Reply #19 on:** 26 Jul 2010, 08:44 pm »

I've had 3 VMPS subs over the years, as well as many from other makers (currently using a pair of smallish and good but not comparable ACI Force XLs). If it wasn't for my space constrained condo living VMPS would be my first choice for subs hands down. When I had my last VMPS sub I came up with the term "bass imaging" to describe the effect they had. No sub I'd heard could produce an actual image of the bass instruments and events as we are used to hearing from most speakers from the mids on up. All others add weight and rumbling, but not a clean image of the source as do the VMPS. And they do it at a true bargain price.
Have fun!