Should I repaint 4312 Studio Monitor baffles with JBL Blue?

[thevinoman]

Please forgive me, as I am totally new to JBL/Lansing Heritage, but need to ask a few questions. I am about to acquire a pair of 4312 Studio Monitors that are all original. They are in very good condition, with a black baffle and black fabric grills. After much searching, and considerable confusion, I have seen quite a number of Studio Monitors that have blue baffles.

Questions:

1. Do I understand correctly that JBL offered/produced blue baffles as OEM on certain speakers? Was blue ever offered on the 4312?

2. I think the blue baffle certainly looks very cool, but am worried about destroying the vintage value of these should I repaint them?

3. Where can one obtain a blue paint that is as close to OEM as possible?

Thanks for any replies, I'm sure I'll have more questions as I go along.

Jim

[DES-1]

Not sure why you'd want to alter the cosmetics on a pair that is all original and great shape. If you question the originality of the finish, it might help if you provided a pic of the identification plate with the exact model and serial number, as there have been many versions of the 4312.

If you do a search here on baffle paint you'll find MANY threads on the blue baffle paint. I went through this exercise about a month ago and ended up using a commonly agreed-upon formula, RAL 5007, which is a european originated paint code but can be mixed up at most paint stores. I'm happy with the result (I researched and my cabinet maker purchased and applied). Some JBL Pro monitors had slightly different shades of blue and I never did see a definitive explanation.

[thevinoman]

Thanks for your reply. These are straight 4312, not A/B/etc. Simply asking about the blue baffle as I've seen numerous 4312 with this color, and was just wondering if this was ever an OEM option, etc. I may get them here and decide not to do anything, but right now just exploring and learning.

[SEAWOLF97]

these were my 4312's ... no a/b

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?17712-Speaker-Safari&p=399165&viewfull=1#post399165