partsexpress speaker laminate (1 Viewer)

[zane]

i was wondering if anyone has used the partsexpress speaker cabinet laminate, it comes in 4 different finishes and comes in 2'X10' rolls for $13, i'd need a bit more than 1 roll so it'd be around $25 for 2 rolls but its gonna cost me about $70 for wilsonart laminate, I'm just wondering if its worth spending $50 more to go with thick hard laminate as opposed to flexible laminate

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Zane,

I went with the P.E Vinyl Laminate because I do not have
the tools to work with true hard laminates nor the experiance.

On the other hand I have much experiance working with vinyl
adhesive products.

The way I look at it is this, this is the same type of matertial
that many OEM manufacturers use on thier products and the
results are nice, not as nice as the real deal but still
very nice none the less. And it's much easier to work with.

One tip that P.E doesn't list in thier instructions, if you
are going to use the darker colors (Dark Cherry, Black Ash)
I suggest getting an appropriately colored spray paint and
painting all of the corners and where you are going to butt
the material together so even if your seams aren't perfect
you won't be able to tell from 3" away...

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Zane, the Parts Express material is in no way a laminate - it's vinyl, so you can't really compare the two. Real laminate will ve very durable and scratch-resistant over a long time, like countertops. The PE vinyl is the budget solution. I have a roll of the black ash and will try it soon. Brian Bunge has used another of the colors, I beleive, so maybe he'll chime in and share his experience.
Brett, instead of painting corners/edges, you might try using a fine-point black magic marker to fill in any exposed cabinet at the corners or edges.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Hank,

yeah a sharpie would work also. I will just spray all of
the edges and the middle of the bottom where it will seam
together, it's faster and easier to do that way.

As far as durability, Vinyl will last and look good if it
is taken care of, Vinyl is amazing, I have vinyl logos on
my Corvette that I designed and my friend cut with his 24"
Roland cutter, I have them in the most inhospidable of
places (like under the hood) and it holds up.

Any laminate can be damaged if not cared for, same for the
vinyl coverings.

of course if you have the time, tools and experiance real
laminates and veneers are absolutely gorgeous.

 

[zane]

i'm thinking about just saving up the money and going with wilsonart flat black laminate, what's entailed in applying laminate, do you just over cut the laminate sheets for each side and apply them with adhesive and after dry go around the edges with a flush mount router bit? that sounds like i can handle that is there anything thats hard involved with applying it

 

[Brian Bunge]

Hank,

I've only used the black vinyl. It looks much nicer on the cabinets than on the roll, that's for sure! It is a bitch to trim and yes, the black sharpie covers most sins.

Zane,

I just ordered 4 sheets of WilsonArt black laminate today. All you have to do is apply contact cement to both the box and the laminate (at least 2 coats on the box), let them dry, then stick 'em together. A flush trim bit will do the job as well. You'll need some sort of J-roller to help bond the laminate to the box and squeeze out minute bubbles. If you're using large pieces you'll want to lay out small strips of wood or sheets of wax paper and slowly work from one side to the other removing the strips as you press down the laminate.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Hey Brian,

Here's a question for you concerning the application of a
Laminate.

Say I had a 15" Cube (for simplicities sake) and say I put
a 45 degree bevel on all of the edges. How would I apply a
Laminate on this cube? Do you have to cut strips the same
width as the bevel cut and apply those seperately from the
lager sections covering the flat surfaces?

 

[Brian Bunge]

Brett,

I haven't tried that yet, but I assume you'd have to be able to trim the laminate at the appropriate angle so that the adjacent sides matched up properly. I don't think it would be an easy task.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Brian,

Yep I didn't think that would be easy!
Heck even with vinyl it wouldn't be easy!

Hope ya had a good turkey day

 

[Pete Mazz]

Say I had a 15" Cube (for simplicities sake) and say I put a 45 degree bevel on all of the edges. How would I apply a
Laminate on this cube? Do you have to cut strips the same
width as the bevel cut and apply those seperately from the
lager sections covering the flat surfaces?

Depends how flexible the laminate is. With thin veneers, I've just wrapped them and trimmed. The thicker stuff requires doing it in pieces. It's a little tedious, but not hard. The thicker materials don't really look great when finished, because of all the edges. The thin stuff looks great tho.

Pete

 

[Brian Burgoyne]

I'm all thumbs when it comes to cutting and trimming and gluing. If you had a nicely sanded and smooth MDF sub cabinet, couldn't you get creative with spray paints, textures, etc? I would probably just stick to basic black anyway. What are basic recommendations for this?

 

[zane]

fyi partsexpress has their vinyl on sale for $9 a roll till the 2nd of December, i think they're normally $13 or so, i'm about to pick up 2 rolls of the black and finish a tempest enclosure, i figured if i don't like it then i can save up and get some laminate

 

[Saurav]

I just used some of this stuff on my first speaker cabinet attempt. It does look much better on the cabinet than it does on the roll or on the website I didn't have any special bits on the router so I just used a straight-edge and exacto knife, Worked quite well on the edges, it's hard to see any errors unless you get really close (I trimmed every edge, didn't try any wrap-arounds because my box is far from perfect).
My only problem is the corners, the vinyl tends to come off if the box is dragged across carpet or something like that. I'm thinking about putting in metal corner guards, I found some interesting looking ones at hardware restoration sites (they're supposed to be used with trunks/chests). If anyone has any other ideas on how to make the corners more durable, I'd love to hear them.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Hey Saurav,

I haven't BS'd with you in ages...

You still in love with your Forplay?

One thought, You could use a nice oak or poplar corner
moulding around all of the edges to contrast the black ash
and to add some "design" I think if you picked the right
corner moulding it could look very sharp and that would
also protect the vinyl..

I plan on wrapping mine the way P.E says so I don't run
into that problem.

 

[Saurav]

Hey Brett,

I moved on from the Foreplay to a passive transformer-based linestage a while ago. I used the teak finish vinyl, not black ash, so oak or poplar won't look quite as contrasting. What does corner moulding look like? Won't it have the same problems I have with the current vinyl? Or is it a more durable finish?

I plan on wrapping mine the way P.E says so I don't run into that problem.

You'll still have a corner on the front surface though, won't you? Or will you do a full wrap on the sides, and another full wrap back-to-front? That would put two full layers on the top and bottom surface. but that might work.

In any case, I tried folding it around an edge and that works fairly well, so you should be able to do it that way quite easily.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Saurav,

Corver Mouldings are wood trim that go on 90 degree corners
in homes, they make so many different types and cuts that
I would think something could be found that would look good.


Yes I am going to do the full wrap if I can, the only place I will have a seam will be in the middle of the bottom which won't matter since the feet spikes will
keep it off the floor.

Do you still have the Forplay?

Want to sell it?

 

[Saurav]

Sold it a while ago, sorry. It was a great preamp, and I learnt a lot from building it. I think you should try building one for yourself, it's a lot of fun
I'll look for moldings when I'm in the hardware store. That makes sense if they're wood, wood should be much tougher than a thin layer of vinyl. Thanks for the help.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Saurav,
I may build one someday (Foreplay) I am not sure yet..
I found a prebuilt Tube Linestage that looks very well
constructed in the $400.00 price range with all point to
point wiring. The Symphones (can't recall the maker) it's
either a Chineese or Japaneese based company the units are
low volume hand built and they look to be extemely over
built..
I need better amplification first... I would love to get
a Parasiound 5 channel (2200?) that's 2 grand.... Ohh
where does the madness ever stop

 

[Saurav]

That sounds pretty good, I've seen a few companies in Asian countries producing tube gear that is surprisingly good for the money. Have fun

 

[zane]

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