[Early B.]

Today, I wiped down my speakers with some tung oil (real wood, not veneer). I really like how they "glow" right after the oil is applied. Two questions:

1. Do you recommend putting a satin or glossy finish on these surfaces?
2. If yes, then what is a good brand and type of finish to apply for a novice?

Thanks.

[g3rain1]

I would always go with something softer than gloss. Just personal opinion but glossy anything looks tacky cheep and plastic.

Tung oil by itself is an acceptable finish.

[KTS]

I prefer a satin or low luster finish for 2 reasons, I am not trying to draw attention to the speaker (I just want it to look good as part of the room) and hi-gloss will show any imperfections in fit and finish. Just my style and opinion, I have seen beautiful systems that are hi-gloss and it worked, but the level of skill required to pull that off is beyond my abilities.

Thank you, Kelly

[Zuman]

Have you used Odie's Oil? I really like it a lot, and it's very easy to use. The key thing is to use less than you think and to buff it off (like you would with car wax).
It's not cheap, but it's my preferred  combination of luster, depth, natural appearance, and ease-of-use. If you like a slightly richer-than-natural look, try Odie's Dark Oil. It's not really "dark," but over time the finish becomes darker and richer.
I'm in the final two days of building a pair of CSS towers from solid mahogany. Using scrap pieces of the wood to test a range of finishes, I finished them in Odie's Oil, Danish Oil, gel stain, regular penetrating stain, Howard Feed 'N' Wax, and satin polyurethane. The Odie's Oil finish was preferred by everyone I showed the samples to. I also measured each piece and then kept it in our bathroom shower area for two days to see if it was adequately protected, and the Odie's performed well, showing extremely minimal expansion (granted, it was quartersawn African mahogany, which is very stable).

[SJ David]

I prefer a satin or low luster finish for 2 reasons, I am not trying to draw attention to the speaker (I just want it to look good as part of the room) and hi-gloss will show any imperfections in fit and finish. Just my style and opinion, I have seen beautiful systems that are hi-gloss and it worked, but the level of skill required to pull that off is beyond my abilities.

Thank you, Kelly

Yeah, absolutely in agreement above. Also, with the lighter/natural tone of the finish (looks like Cherry?) you could lose sight of a lot of the wood grain with a gloss finish.

[Early B.]

To close this out, I ordered a half-pint of General Finishes clear gel satin and applied two coats onto the horns. Man, that stuff works great and was easy to apply. No dripping! Looks fantastic.
 

[NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER]

I personally purchased the Odies Oil and tried it on my a sample piece of veneer, and compared it to the general finishes below. IMO, there's no comparison between the two options. The depth in the grain, and the sheen, was simply perfect to my needs, with the general finishes. The odies oil is easier to apply than the general finishes I used. However, I preferred appearance of the General Finishes Products.

The Gel topcoat EarlyB used, may be easier to apply, versus what I used, but I'm pretty patient and determined to achieve a result I want, even if it requires testing on sample pieces of wood, to get a feel on how to work with a given finish product. I did consult with local woodworkers, that showed me various products, and actually seen them on actual various wood species.

 By no means, am I saying this is the only good product on the market. It is simply one I had excellent results with. The photo's of my speakers shown on AC don't do the finish results justice. They depth and luster, constantly amazes me what the General Finishes produced on the Honduras Rosewood. 

General Finishes has all sorts of video and written tutorials for customers to get acclomated with their products, which is a benefit for those new to the hobby.



By the way EarlyB those speakers look fantastic! Great job