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Thread: Grille re-covering tips please :)

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  1. #1
    Join Date: Dec 2014

    Location: UK, inactive

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    Default Grille re-covering tips please :)

    I have recently acquired a pair of floor standers with new fangled modern plastic-frame grilles.
    Trouble is the cloth covering is black and I would really like it to be a tasteful brown to match my ultra dowdy interior and 19th century taste.

    I have plenty of experience of upholstery practices and re-covering wooden frames but not really up to speed with a substrate that doesn't cope well with staples

    Has anyone any really useful tips of how to achieve a smart and professional looking result ... or shall I just busk it? (as usual)

  2. #2
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: N E Kent

    Posts: 51,624
    I'm Geoff.

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    As long as the grille cloth is not stretched too tight, just using contact adhesive should be OK. Use it only to the rear of the grille frame though is it may show through the material from the front. I've done this a few times.

  3. #3
    Join Date: Apr 2015

    Location: Southampton, United Kingdom

    Posts: 619
    I'm Paul.

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    Yeah, I've done it a couple of times too and it's all a question of patience, really.

    I actually used superglue on one occasion - the cheapo £1 stuff - and it worked brilliantly !

    Like Geoff said, don't stretch it too hard.
    Start on one side, leave it to dry while you do the other grille on one side, go back to the first and pull it into place - maybe use tape to keep it there if need be - and slowly work your way around, swapping between the two grilles as you go.

    Very satisfying when you sit back and admire your handiwork
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  4. #4
    Join Date: Dec 2014

    Location: UK, inactive

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    Thanks chaps

    Any idea if Copydex would be OK?
    Have used it many times before with natural textiles on wood frames but never with synthetics on plastic.

  5. #5
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

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    I'm Grant.

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    carpet tile spray adhesive is best ive found. gets sticky quick but gives you time to adjust too. a big can is only 5/6 quid too.
    Regards,
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    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

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  6. #6
    Join Date: Dec 2014

    Location: UK, inactive

    Posts: 1,570
    I'm inactive.

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    Quote Originally Posted by struth View Post
    carpet tile spray adhesive is best ive found. gets sticky quick but gives you time to adjust too. a big can is only 5/6 quid too.
    Thanks for the tip Grant ... will keep my eye out for some.

    Once I've tracked down some likely candidates for material I'll probably do some experimenting, first with Copydex and then getting exotic.

    Was also thinking of some narrow-double sided tape as a possibility, there are some very good ones on the market and they can be quite flexible.

  7. #7
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

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    Just spray the back of the frame then when it goes tacky start to stretch it evenly round sides keeping it even tension. Then cut the corners. That's the bit you need to practice
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
    FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -

    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

  8. #8
    Join Date: Dec 2014

    Location: UK, inactive

    Posts: 1,570
    I'm inactive.

    Default

    Sounds manageable Grant and will definitely try that

    Will still do a test with Copydex first ... mainly because it's fairly easy to remove if I decide that brown does make the speakers look a bit too turdy and want to revert back to black.
    Not sure how amenable carpet adhesive would be to that - only experience I have is trying to shift residual crap from floors that have had carpet stuck down (not an experience I would care to repeat
    Last edited by mikmas; 13-04-2018 at 08:54.

  9. #9
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Carlisle - UK

    Posts: 1,956
    I'm Ken.

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    Depends on what type of plastic it is, as to whether the Evo Stick melts the plastic as its solvent based, so do a test first.

    An alternative is to use shellac, which is easier on the plastic (meths based), again dependent on type of plastic.
    We used to stretch big wood screens in fabric printing class at Art Collage this way and get them really tight. You coat the frame a few times and as the last coat is getting tacky apply the cloth and burnish it into the shellac/stretch as you go with a smooth tool like a wooden spoon. Start in the middle and work outward.

    Its an alternative worth considering, but Evo Stick will work if you are careful and check it is safe to use. Thixofix is easier to apply than Evo Stick as it is a Thixotropic material and can even be applied with a roller.

    Whichever method you choose, hope you get the result your after.

    Edit: Copydex won't stick to plastic very well and may peel under tension, so again test before doing the job.

  10. #10
    Join Date: May 2016

    Location: Birmingham, U.K

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    I'm Taz.


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