Satin White Sierra Line

[doctors11]

Hey Dave. Have you ever considered making satin white a standard color in the Sierra line? I can only imagine it would sell well. I would think it wouldn't be any harder than the satin black.

Any thoughts?

[davef]

Hey Dave. Have you ever considered making satin white a standard color in the Sierra line? I can only imagine it would sell well. I would think it wouldn't be any harder than the satin black.

Any thoughts?

We have offered a satin white finish (custom) for a while now. It is expensive and complex. Black hides imperfections in natural wood, white shows them off. If the cabinets were MDF, sure - no problem, there is no grain and variances in hue to deal with - but with bamboo it is very difficult.

We are considering offering a white matte finish, that is basically the same type of finish as our textured black matte on our domestic cabinets, but in white.

[doctors11]

Thanks for that Dave. I didn't think bamboo would react differently to white stain than wood. Very interesting. I see that white is very popular in Europe and seems to be gaining ground here. Seeing some pictures of the Wharfedale Evo in white also led me to ask as I find them attractive, but of course they're not bamboo.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_336EVO41WH/Wharfedale-EVO4-1-White.html#&gid=1&pid=1

Again thanks for the info.

[davef]

Thanks for that Dave. I didn't think bamboo would react differently to white stain than wood. Very interesting. I see that white is very popular in Europe and seems to be gaining ground here. Seeing some pictures of the Wharfedale Evo in white also led me to ask as I find them attractive, but of course they're not bamboo.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_336EVO41WH/Wharfedale-EVO4-1-White.html#&gid=1&pid=1

Again thanks for the info.

It isn't how the bamboo would react to white stain. Take a look at our natural cabinets, this is pretty much how natural bamboo looks (aside from the sheen). It is an impossibility to hide all of those unique colors with a white stain. In fact, a stain is impossible - for bamboo it would have to be a white dye.

Literally a dozen coats of dye would need to be applied just to hide the colors from showing through and you would not be able to visually inspect until each coat has fully cured (depending on weather conditions, this can take 2-5 days for full cure for each coat). And since bamboo is natural, each sheet of bamboo is quite different from the next sheet of bamboo. There would be no consistency whatsoever from one cabinet to another with regard to the amount of coats, and, if too many coats, than the grain texture becomes completely filled in.

The labor involved just doesn't make this affordable.

We have done a custom satin white for many customers and have lost money each time.

You have to understand that you are comparing a vinyl wrapped cabinet (the white oak Wharfedale) with a real wood cabinet. That Wharfedale is a basic MDF cabinet that is simply wrapped in a white oak vinyl veneer. It is not painted, dyed or stained. When you see a mass produced white speaker cabinet with a wood grain, it is not going to be a real wood finish, it will always be a fake wood (vinyl or PVC) veneer adhered to the MDF. White oak vinyl veneer costs the same as the popular black oak vinyl veneer, both of which are very inexpensive.

[doctors11]

I love reading your posts Dave. It's like taking a continuing education class for this old guy.

Thanks again, and...

Great Sound To You!

[davef]

I love reading your posts Dave. It's like taking a continuing education class for this old guy.

Thanks again, and...

Great Sound To You!

Very welcome!!

[Michael97239]

Hi Dave,

Is the white matte any closer to becoming a standard finish?

Thanks,
Michael

[davef]

Hi Dave,

Is the white matte any closer to becoming a standard finish?

Thanks,
Michael

Unfortunately, this is unlikely at this time. Which speaker are you interested in with this finish?