Veneering advice required

[ProAc_Fan]

I want to tackle veneering my A7's myself. Is the veneer available on ebay suitable for this purpose. Here's an example of the veneer I'm referring to. The present finish is latex paint over that old vinyl veneer that was on the cabinets. Do I need to do anything to prep the surface before using contact cement for adhesion? Should I strip the paint and old vinyl veneer off before attempting to veneer them?I need any and all advice. Please realize woodworking is not my forte. I have all the tools at home but God knows I never use them.


Mike

 

[Rob]

I am surprised to learn that there is MacTac underneath the paint Tim applied. Those A7's from the factory were painted plywood as far as I know. Now there were Voice of the theater decals on the sides. That would be an adhesive backed plastic film I'd guess. Maybe that is where you sampled the underfinish?

If there IS MacTac on there I'd suggest stripping all the old crap off and get down to clean wood before putting on the real wood veneer. This will be a lot of work, but those speakers deserve to be done right IMO.

 

[Wardsweb]

You DO NOT want to use raw veneer. Those pieces would need to be sheered to have straight edges and then the grain would need to be matched to avoid looking like a patchwork quilt. What you want is either some !/4" veneered ply wood or some wood backed veneer. It is easier to cut, handle and glue. You can always use solid wood "angle" or "corner stock" for the edges and that way you will only need to cut rectangles for the top and sides.

 

[THOR]

They look bad ass painted like they are with the decals! Also wouldn't changing them lessen their value?

 

[opt80]

I don't know how to do it,but I knew a guy who fell into a vat of varnish...he had quite a finish

 

[ProAc_Fan]

So my best bet would be to use some 1/4" veneered plywood and then some solid mouldings for the edges. I found some 4'X8' sheets of birch veneered ply for about $40 a sheet. By my calculations I'd need 1 1/2 sheets. Does that seem right? The measurements I need to veneer are 4 sides that are 24"X42" and 2 sides that are 30"X24".

Mike