Rectilinear III "Highboy" find - The Snowmen

I've had good success with the stiff brass brush on veneer.
When the tops are to far gone I veneer just the tops. Since no two surfaces get the same light it is a perfect match after over all refinish.
I was feeling sufficient love for a pair of Altec's once and used a microscope and needle to get don't know what goo out of the top grain.
 
I worked on the spot a bit more. Another 40 minute round of BKF and some sanding. I also tried a little household-strength hydrogen peroxide. This might be as good as it gets. Wetted with mineral spirits.

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I also spent a few minutes and patched the torn tweeter with some Sharpie-colored paper towel and Aileen's Tacky Glue and pulled out the woofer dustcap.

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Now to get the paint out of the grain, stain, make grills and recap. I have an upcoming trip overseas that will likely push off completion for a few weeks.

Interestingly, I've made friends with the guys at the local record store and they have some Sony SS-M9 and Dahlquist DQ-10 speakers they want me to work on. It'll be interesting to see how I manage perfection vs. completion when someone else is calling the shots on cost/time. I tend to take my time, but also value my time. Oh well, I'll probably ask for store credit rather than payment. I likes my records!
 
The brass brush was the ticket!

After some negotiations with the wife, I went for a fast acting, but not murderous stripper to get the paint out of the grain. It wasn't terribly effective on thick paint, but was good enough for the little bits in the grain. All it took was a few hours and some vigorous scrubbing with the brass brush. Here's a closeup wetted with mineral spirits.

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I had some Medium Walnut Danish Oil on hand, so I used that. Here's a shot with lots of light. The stain on the top is still visible and prominent, but not a deal-killer.

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A little less light in this shot (and more of my funky garage visible). The actual color is somewhere between the two shots. This is just a first coat; I'll take more pictures after another couple of coats.

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Now to recap, (perhaps) paint the baffles, and make new grills.
 
I had a little time this weekend to work on these. Got another coat of Danish oil on, recapped the crossovers and painted the baffle black.

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I think the baffle turned out nice! I was afraid to strip the latex off of the particle board, so I just painted over it. The black is much shinier in those spots, but that's what grills are for.

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And they don't look half bad with the white grill cloth that came with them. Flipping the grill upside down solved the "covering the tweeter" problem. I probably had them installed incorrectly and the previous owner knew what he/she was doing. There is likely still a new grill in the future, especially since one is cracked.

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The next step is to pull them into the living space for a while to see if they stay or go.
 
Those are beautiful! Given these speakers are at least 40 years old, they look fantastic. Great idea on painting the baffles. I replaced the grill cloth and when some occasion I get sunlight in the basement, I can see the outline of the grill on the baffle. I may do that over the winter.
 
Those are beautiful! Given these speakers are at least 40 years old, they look fantastic. Great idea on painting the baffles. I replaced the grill cloth and when some occasion I get sunlight in the basement, I can see the outline of the grill on the baffle. I may do that over the winter.

I like a dark baffle. When I make a new grill, I now also spray paint the grill surface black before wrapping in cloth. Seeing the fiberboard through the cloth distracts me.
 
I'm accepting all suggestions for new grill cloth. My go-to isn't big enough (Charlescraft Irish Linen).
 
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My contribution this morning to the "Questionable Speaker Upgrades" thread. :p
 
I'm finally getting a chance to give these a listen. They're pretty darn good! Took a couple of minutes to get them dialed in in the small listening room. The wife says they look better than the Vandersteens. I'm not gonna argue, but the sound is quite different. I'm going to have to run them for a couple of weeks.

Still need new grill cloths, badges, and perhaps some stands to tilt them up a smidge.

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Picked up a very nice set of highboys about a month ago. Cabinets are very good, but
need recapping and am looking desperately for a pair of mids for them. There are mids
in place, but not factory...some generic brand. Sound pretty good for a 49 yr old pair
of speakers. May replace grill cloth, has original brown/orange thread cloth and still
have logo's attached. Pictures to follow. Anyone have one or even two of the phillips
midranges lying around, help a fellow karma member out.
 
I see one on eBay right now. Best of luck getting those bad boys playing again!

Picked up a very nice set of highboys about a month ago. Cabinets are very good, but
need recapping and am looking desperately for a pair of mids for them. There are mids
in place, but not factory...some generic brand. Sound pretty good for a 49 yr old pair
of speakers. May replace grill cloth, has original brown/orange thread cloth and still
have logo's attached. Pictures to follow. Anyone have one or even two of the phillips
midranges lying around, help a fellow karma member out.
 
Your restoration looks great!

The local Unitarian church has a set of these. Full range, very smooth. Not as detailed as modern speakers, but very, very musical.

Quantity, as a famous Russian general observed, has a quality all its own.
 
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