How do you restore the wood on an enclosure?

[Mancave]

Aren't most enclosures MDF? How do you make it look nice? I have some speakers to play with.

I also have some polks. They are newer. They feel like and look like real wood. Are they really mdf underneath? I thought all enclosures were supposed to be mdf.

 

[j_garcia]

It is wood veneer. Real wood, just thin and attached to MDF. You can veneer or cover them with all sorts of things or paint them.

 

[Mancave]

I just looked it up. Veneer is EXPENSIVE. Must be why speakers cost so much.

 

[j_garcia]

Real wood veneer is fairly expensive, but there are plenty of vinyl veneers out there that will work. The vinyl wood-look veneers just don't usually look that good though. On the less expensive side, paint is probably the simplest and least expensive, however then your cabinet and painting flaws can quickly become obvious too.