I put the first coat of finish on last night. The speakers are looking pretty good. My last mistake was with the black paint around the opening. Masking would have been the smart thing to do. The paint soaked into the wood grain more than I expected and I sanded through some of the veneer trying to get it off. There are a couple of tricks to at least try hide the mistake a bit. I may even take a step back and splice in a new piece of veneer on the worst part. A grill will always be a possibility. I already have speaker cloth and mounting hardware, since I have a cat that may decide to sharpen his claws on the JBLs anyways.