My NSB2111 Mod Build (so fancy!)

[Whitey80]

Got a pair of Insignia NSB-2111's a year or so ago from Best Buy when they were last on sale for $50. Used them as kitchen speakers but always had the intent to mod them like the GR Research guy did does here.

Finally got around to it, realizing I had most of the parts already laying around from the vast array of crossovers I had from my car audio days.

Have everything I need for the crossovers, Durham's Water Putty, etc....
Buuuut, I want mine a little "fancier" than the others I have seen. A good friend and frequent business collaborator runs a company that makes exotic wood skins for virtually anything you can think of using an Epilogue laser.

Went to his workshop and picked out some zebrawood veneer for my boxes and used the laser to pinpoint measure all the cuts I needed, then burned 'em out for me perfectly.

 

[Whitey80]

Now to a question for the experienced........

I have finished applying the veneers and would like to get a very high-gloss finish. Can you guys recommend a type to use (varnish, oil or water based. polyeurethane?)??

Will continue working on the cabinets (filling grooves with water puty) and building crossovers. But will finish it off with the coat at the end.

Also, on more question, The original builder recommends using No-Rez to line with. I have a crap-ton of Auralex wedgies panels I can cut down....can I just use that??

(Here are some pics of the finished veneer, thrown back together to get a feel for the look)

 

[Whitey80]

Now to a question for the experienced........

I have finished applying the veneers and would like to get a very high-gloss finish. Can you guys recommend a type to use (varnish, oil or water based. polyeurethane?)??

bump...
No help? I know some of you guys have done this.
I have already sanded the cabs down a bit and used some tinted wood filler to close the grain. I have some Marine Spar Varnish in the basement.

 

[j_garcia]

Almost looks like the PE curved boxes with that veneer on them. Nice.

 

[skyline_123]

Amazing work! You made that look really easy. That machine is awesome!

Now to a question for the experienced........

I have finished applying the veneers and would like to get a very high-gloss finish. Can you guys recommend a type to use (varnish, oil or water based. polyeurethane?)??

Not sure if I fit that category but I can tell you how I achieved a high gloss finish on my speakers. Not that I'd recommend it as it takes forever (I'm still putting in 4-5 hours a day finishing these things). Anyhow, I applied about 8 coats of high gloss polyurethane. I would highly recommend spraying it on with an HVLP gun but you can get away with using a low nap roller and rolling it on. If you use the sprayer, there will probably be less wet sanding to do at the end. Once I achieved a flat surface using 240-400 grit wet/dry sandpaper, I then switch to a higher grit to remove the scratches left behind from the last sanding. Once I've sanded it smooth using 2000 grit, I use a car polisher with an cutting compound like Maguiar's M105, followed by Mag's Scratch X, followed by Mag's finishing compound M205.

This may be over kill but it's ONE way you can achieve a high gloss finish. Good luck!

 

[j_garcia]

Not sure if I fit that category but I can tell you how I achieved a high gloss finish on my speakers. Not that I'd recommend it as it takes forever (I'm still putting in 4-5 hours a day finishing these things). Anyhow, I applied about 8 coats of high gloss polyurethane. I would highly recommend spraying it on with an HVLP gun but you can get away with using a low nap roller and rolling it on. If you use the sprayer, there will probably be less wet sanding to do at the end. Once I achieved a flat surface using 240-400 grit wet/dry sandpaper, I then switch to a higher grit to remove the scratches left behind from the last sanding. Once I've sanded it smooth using 2000 grit, I use a car polisher with an cutting compound like Maguiar's M105, followed by Mag's Scratch X, followed by Mag's finishing compound M205.

This may be over kill but it's ONE way you can achieve a high gloss finish. Good luck!

Dang. I might do that to a car, but probably not a speaker

 

[Whitey80]

Finally got around to posting the photos from the finished product.
Sound infinitely better than the stock units, got rid of the terrible cabinet resonance, and smoothed out frequency response considerably.

 

[skyline_123]

Those look really great! What did you end up doing to achieve the high gloss look?