My Polk RT1000p refinish

[ViperZ]

Original Polk RT1000p towers are very very ugly (sorry Polk), especially with that felt material stuff glued to the front.

After many years and a few moves that felt material looked like crap, the speakers had some dents in them, so I have decided to refinish the cabinets.

First, that multi-layer black paint finish on the sides is another piece of crap. Took me forever to remove it.

Anyway, here is the final result. Red Chestnut finish on the birch veneer.

Before (last year):


Today:




Now please convince me to start working on the CS400...

[Toolfan66]

They look a thousand times better!!

Great job, now get busy on the CS400 LOL

[zarrdoss]

DAMN! nice job!

[danz1906]

Nice Job!

[nooshinjohn]

whollly SHEEET!!! those look fantastic, and far more expensive looking than the originals.
Way to go...

[xcapri79]

Well done Viper! That is an inspiration for me to do the same with my "Black" RTi100's. What finish remover did use? Did you try several different types?

[zingo]

Amazing!

[dpowell]

Those look amazing! Really rich color.

[Mike Reeter]

Very nice...go ahead and finish your center before you get outa the notion.

I need to veneer my CRS's some day...I like the looks of your stain and wood combo...very rich.

[ViperZ]

Well done Viper! That is an inspiration for me to do the same with my "Black" RTi100's. What finish remover did use? Did you try several different types?

Thank you very much for all the kind comments!
(by the way, Maggies MGII and JBL subwoofer in the background were completely rebuilt too )

Regarding finish remover, it was mostly elbow grease. Well, 50-grit sand paper on a rotating grinder attachment to the hand drill. I'd have to say - a lot of sand paper. This type of finish is just a very thick (or multiple thin) layer of a black paint.

On the other hand, CS400 uses simple vinyl finish on the sides, which is easy to remove (hopefully). CS400 also uses hard wood(?) for the front part of frame.

If anyone knows how to remove a power port cover on CS400, please let me know. It seems that the screws are under some kind of felt material, which is glued in place. It would be a shame to rip out that stuff and not finding the screws.

Bigger photos, which show the finish better:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2453/...5d55a00e_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3578/...a12f30c0_b.jpg

[zingo]

I can't even imaging taking the foamy stuff off those speakers... You have the skills and patients good sir.

[Pauly]

Good job, they look OUTSTANDING

[VR3]

Now that is what I call a refinished. You did it RIGHT.

Those look absolutely AWESOME!

[polkie4life]

Beautiful, just beautiful....

Great satisfaction comes from great deeds.

[F1nut]

They look very nice.

[ViperZ]

Thank you!!

Stained the CS400 today... Polyurethane tomorrow...

I didn't like the way the tops of those RT1000p looked (not perfect!), so removed the tops (took me like 3 hours to do it carefully) and replaced the tops. Staining tomorrow.

[ViperZ]

All righty... I think I am done with these:

[Deepc6]

You removed the black a on the sides and foam in the front. Is/was it real wood underneath it?

[Dark]

Amazing work! They look way better than the original judging by the pictures! How have they been holding up for the last 3 years?

I had a similar issue with the look of mine as well (although they were the cherry cabinet which didn't go with anything else in our living room) and ended up going with black suede. I'd still like to refresh the bases a little but at least now they're presentable!

[SCompRacer]

Nice work! I like the new finish better!

[slider2828]

You removed the black a on the sides and foam in the front. Is/was it real wood underneath it?

This.... ^^ They were real wood on the inside?

[ViperZ]

This.... ^^ They were real wood on the inside?

Never answered this question... No, they are not real wood underneath. I used birch veneer to refinish them - top, front and sides.

[chris23120]

Nice Job!