possibility of refinishing speaker

Only if you replace the surrounds with deep red ones, like the old Cerwin-Vegas, then you will have a nice looker!
I consider doing something with the dust caps too. :)

Looks like you have been given a lot of wise suggestions. One more I might contribute is go to the library and get Painting with Martha Stewart. That will help you customize your speaks. People luv customized speaks. But if you are in a hurry and you don't have much time and like the satisfaction of doing it yourself and a job well done, man, duct taping is easy! And these days they got lots of custom blacks and varios levels of dull in duct tape. Let us know how messed up we helped you make your speakers. Really or on a serious note you really should seek professional help. Refinishing for an good to outstanding result you need a skilled pro and that will cost a pretty penny.

If those side panels can be removed it would be a relatively straightforward job. It would even be easy to re-veneer them with whatever you choose. If they're not removable however, the job would be MUCH more difficult.

Thanks for the input, decided to keep them as they are