Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Painting M3Ti's

So, I picked up a pair of M3s, in maple, and a Monoprice 25wpc hybrid tube amp as a present for a friend who needs a sound system (although he did not realize it at the time).

He hated the way the M3s looked in maple. He dropped by and saw my M22s in white (custom Axiom finish). He likes the M22s in white and wants his M3s in white as well.

So, I need some advice as to how to paint the maple M3s - white. I was thinking, remove the driver and tweeter, rub the cabinet down with denatured alcohol, and spraying with some mat white paint.

Or, painting them with finish remover, then cleaning them with denatured alcohol, and then spray paint.

Any thoughts?

Correction: They are M3V2s

Paint them? Are you kidding?Trade them in for white, dude. While you're at it, if you love your friend, gift him M5HPs.

I love him, but, uh, uh, I think he will be very happy with the M3s. (OK, craigslist ... I paid $100 for 3 M3Tis.) I want them to look good though.

It's a project

If the speakers are clear coated you can scuff them with a scotchbrite or 400 grit wet /dry so they look dull all over and then spray them with some white paint. If they are raw wood with oil they will need a sealer applied or the paint wont stick. Be careful spraying around the holes, doesnt take much paint to make it hard to get the speakers back in.

Sanding, priming, painting,...that's a lot of work when you could be listening to music.

He should just be happy you gave him a system. Isn't he asking for a lot? You need a new friend...LOL!

Listen to Socketman. He's painted a ton of stuff. He's a painter that one. A carpenter too. You'll phuk them up so bad and then Ian won't even want them.

Yeah sure! I will be listening to music while I am sanding, priming and painting! They will be beautiful!

I'm going to listen to Socketman! He definitely da man.

Thank you all.

Are these a vinyl or real wood finish? It will make a big difference in your painting options.

I think that Ian has the most accurate question. Trying to paint anything over a vinyl covering is just a lead-in to disaster.

But I have had success using some of the epoxy paint over plastics so its not to say it cannot be done

FWIW , i sprayed dupont urethane spot clear over the vinyl on my VP100 a few years back. A good cleaning with gun wash and the clear adhered just fine. It would have been a good base for a color coat if i chose to go that route. In the end i just had to have real wood, everytime i looked up at the center channel i knew it wasnt real wood and all the others were, god damn OCD ne way.

They must be vinyl.

wow i know the Axiom covering is realistic but...


That pretty much changes all my recommendations, you will need to wipe it down with a strong solvent(brake cleans) followed by alcohol,not scotch though. then prime and sand with 400 and spray.

You need to establish if it's vinyl. I suggest you hold a lighter to it and see if it melts. A blow torch would be even better. Right Socketman?

Honestly if i were tasked with the job and it is vinyl then i would just take the vinyl off using a heat gun like it did with my other speakers ,do some filling and primer then paint. But yeah , fire works . The nice thing about axioms vinyl is it sticks like a mofo but it leaves very little residue behind when you take it off and doesnt pull the fibers out of the mdf and leave craters behind, just a light sanding ,filler primer and your golden.

tag on back says MAPLE BL
Vinyl or veneer?

First, you have to establish whether it's vinyl or wood. So a torch is a good way to do that, eh? Another way is to place termites on it and see if they eat their way through it. Or maybe a mass spectrometer? Whadya think, Socketman? What should Phil do to establish the composition of his speakers?

I'm not a lumberjack but MAPLE BL sounds like Maple Burl which is real maple. Torch it and find out.

The MAPLE BL stands for Maple with a black grille. If it was real wood there should be a stain colour designation too. No stain would be NAT.

Thank you Ian. No stain indicator, no NAT. Must be vinyl.

They came out very nicely. White, with semi gloss clear finish, and black speaker grills - very dramatic. Very clean. I like them. They sound very nice!

M3s are great speakers.

What a good friend you are!

Thank you all for your advice!

I 'stole' 3 M3V2s for $150, on Craigslist.

Paint and clear cost a couple of bucks. I have a Monoprice 25 wpc hybrid tube amp which I got for ~$130. I have a little APTX blue tooth receiver (the blue tooth receiver in the Monoprice is not very good).

So my friend is getting a terrific sounding little system which cost me about $250. (Actually, these are the M3s I used to experiment with WIMA caps in place of stock, they maybe added another $25 to the cost, don't remember exactly)

Now he can enjoy all the Iranian music he can handle.



As for me, I just read Steve Beaudette's glowing review of the M5 speakers and I'm thinking I'd like to have a pair in one of my systems.

You're welcome for the excellent tips I gave you on what NOT to do.

Do you know how far apart Steve had his M5s, how far they were placed from his front and side walls and how far away he was sitting? This would have all been useful info.

I'd love to know if the soundstage holds together if they're 9 apart and I sit 14' away.

Steve spoke highly of them and it's what I expected given their ground up design which included optimization of the family of curves, newer generation of crossover, cabinet and midrange baffle design, v4 tweeter and HP driver.

This is one of the few three-way speakers on the market and like Craig has said, along with an EP500, it's a high end system for a great price.

I want a pair too for the living room. I'll wait for the wireless version. I am even questioning if they might be an upgrade to my M80v2. Ian figures they don't have enough 'nad-mass for me.

How bout a pic

No 'nad-mass in M3s no matter what color they are.

Mojo you are becoming incoherent put down your scotch.

Dude,I'm consuming sarsaparilla.

I decohered a long time ago into the energy eigenstates of my Hamiltonian, man.

alrighty then

I love it when you feel me.

I haven't found an alternative to the unbearable photobucket. Any suggestions?

So, Mojo, what's the Hamiltonian on das ganze Ding?
Large is its Hamiltonian. (Yoda)

Come on, 2x6. You know the answer is 42!

Wait, let me consult my hitchhiker's guide.