One thing Leo and I had been debating over for weeks was whether or not we pull the trigger on new speakers. With all of the other house expenses, we wondered if it was worth it to replace speakers that were fully functional…eye sores, but functional. After a lot of thought (& a lot of Pinteresting), we decided with a little love we could make our speakers more of statement piece by painting them. We desperately needed color in the our living room, so we decided to go with a retro mint green color. I secretly love this color so was ecstatic that Leo was into it too!
We wanted to make the process as simple as possible (aka avoiding priming, sanding, sanding again), and decided that chalk paint was our best bet. The end result came out so good I just had to share! Below are the steps on how to paint speakers if you’re looking to try this at home –
Step 1: Wipe down the speakers
Wipe away any dust & dirt with a damp cloth to ensure the paint sticks properly. Let it fully dry before starting the process.
Step 2: Prep your space
This is the most important (& most overlooked) step! Protect your floors & surrounding furniture with masking paper – we taped it down with painter’s tape. Since the speaker cones are very difficult to remove, we opted with keeping them in and taping around them. This required carefully placing the painter’s tape around the cones to avoid accidents. I applied it slowly, making sure I covered all of the spots I needed to.
Step 3: Paint, paint, paint (3 coats!)
We used chalk paint for this project, using FolkArt’s Patina. There are SO many colors to choose from – especially pastels. If you’re into that, you’re destined to find a match! Since our speakers were previously black, I had to layer on 3 coats of paint to get full coverage. I waited about 1 hour between coats to allow the previous coat time to dry. Make sure you keep an eye on the edges & go over them if there are puddles of paint forming. Aim to have a smooth surface after painting to avoid ripples and dried puddles on the edges & corners. After the paint dries, remove the painter’s tape & complete any necessary touch-ups. If you accidentally got paint on the cones, remove it using paint remover cloths (they work like a charm).
Step 4: Apply wax for a little shine
This step is completely optional depending on whether or not you want to add some shine to your speakers. We wanted a little shine, so we purchased Miniwax’s Finishing Wax to add the final touch. Warning – this stuff is full of dangerous chemicals, so be cautious when you’re using it. Wear a mask, have windows open, wash your hands immediately after using. The smell resembles gasoline, no joke. Scoop out a generous amount on a cheesecloth, and rub it on after the paint is completely dry. You’ll start to see a very subtle shine emerge. Wait about an hour for the wax to dry.
Andddd that’s it! Now we have completely new speakers that bring some life to our living room. Another hack – if you have a torn speaker cone & don’t want to put in the $$ to fix it, try applying shoe glue to the broken piece and sealing it back together. You’ll notice that one of our speakers had a hole in the cone, and we were able to fix it using this method. All is working well now!
