Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Paintability of Axiom Speakers

So I was going to order the M60 but a coworker is selling his 2 year old M60 for $400 to get M22 to accomadate this smaller room. Problem is that it is Lite Maple with black grilles and I really needed Boston Cherry to match everything else.

My question is can the tower be painted after I remove all the speakers and cover up the ports and stuff? If so is the paint High gloss, semi-gloss, satin? Does anybody off hand know if they make paint similar to boston cherry? Is it better off to paint or spraypaint?

If this could happen, I could save $500 and put it towards a SVS, HSU, or EP350 sub. THanks for all the advice.

interesting question.. i think it was brought up a long time ago, but i dont remember the final answer.

i to am curious if the vinyl/laminate which covers the axioms has the ability to be painted over.. you would have to do a faux wood-grain.

i would think the guys in the axiom cabinet shop might have the best answers on this one.

bigjohn

They might be able to steer him with directions for moving the current laminate safely, and then stain the wood to his likeing

You could also grab those for $400 and sell them on ebay for $550-600, pocket the difference and order some new ones from Axiom.

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stain the wood to his likeing

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Not sure I'd finish them myself, but...

It's MDF under there... being made up of sawdust and glue, it doesn't take stain worth wolf crap - besides, in the end it would look like stained subfloor - great stuff acoustically, not very pretty. Even painting them - I suggest Zinser or Kiln primer first - have to seal that stuff up tight. It'll take paint/primer differently in different spots - cut ends will soak it up like crazy and even across a face, some spots will contain more wood fibre and sponge it up while other are more glue and will pool (or sag!)

If you are going ahead with it, I'd suggest removing the drivers, binding posts, etc rather than masking them.

Would be kind of neat to see someone do a PPG Radiance candy colour on their speakers... lessee... 2 primers, 2 base coats, 2 midcoats, 2 clears... maybe some flame decals after...

The M60s would weigh an extra 5-10 lbs afterward.

Bren R.

If I remember correctly from the pics chess shot at the Axiom factory, the cabinets are folded rather than cut in a traditional way. As a result the "end grain" of the MDF shouldn't be exposed.

Had to come back and add onto my post...

The more I think about this, the more of a PITA is becomes, you'd have to strip the veneer with a heat gun, which would leave behind some glue gunkies... which would have to be manually removed (couldn't use chemical means - MDF has a tendency to swell when wet - could loosen up your corners - thanks for the reminder that the speakers are folded up, not mitred and fastened, BigWill) then you'd have to sand, prime, paint and probably clear or dullcoat the speakers (or use something like Varathane's Colours in Plastic - stuff is more like painting on a polymer plastic than paint) seems like a lot of work for something that could end up looking like drek.

Maybe use that time to put in some OT at work and just outright buy what you want instead?

Bren R.

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Maybe use that time to put in some OT at work and just outright buy what you want instead?

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My thoughts as well.

IMO, It would be difficult at best (with tons of luck) to have the end result look anything similar to the original qaulity. I've seen it tried many times with various products and have only seen very good results occasionally.

rustolium makes a spray paint designed for vinal and plastic surfaces-you can try that-best of luck to ya

Rough up the vinyl with steel wool, add veneer and stain to match.