AR4 + AR3a Comparison Pics!

Eunomians

Diggin' 4 LP's Worldwide
Finally finished restoring my AR4x speakers...


While I was at it, I sanded and stained a pair of walnut speaker stands that match my AR3a walnut stands perfectly!

Have a look at the pics, the mighty AR3a's now have itty-bitty babies!! The AR4x's & stands look identical to the AR3a's and stands!!!



I refinished the cabs with numerous layers of oil and sanding. All little gouges were filled in, sanded and stained.

The walnut surfaces look mint.

I removed the old & dingy grill cloths and slapped on some new material (the same as the grill cloth material on my AR3a's).

I added some NOS Acoustic Research Logo Badges.

I also cleaned up the pots.

These lovely AR4x woofers have cloth surrounds...


Don't these AR4x's look real cute next to their parents! :banana:

I tried to get decent scale comparisons between the AR3a's and AR4x's. Hopefully you'll see how small & cute the 'lil guys look compared to the beastly AR3a's.

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They look stunning!

and I love love love the stands!

How'd you fill the nicks in the wood on the speakers?

The speakers came out excellent!
 
thedelihaus said:
How'd you fill the nicks in the wood on the speakers?

Luckily, the speakers had very few gouges/nicks to begin with. I first sanded the speakers following the grain, then I filled in the nicks with wood putty. Then sanded the putty down. Then applied some fresh stain, then some sanding, then an oil coat, sanding, oil coat - I coated these baby beasts with oil 7 times over 7 days with 24 hours in between applications. Taking ones' time seems to be the best way to do the job. Anybody can do it :banana:

Cheers
 
My i ask for advice?

I am no woodworker or painter. I have just finished sanding a pair of AR2a's and have almost decided to apply non-gloss varnish. What's the difference between applying varnish and the several layers of oil you just applied?

regards,
Foo
 
I'm no woodworker or painter either. It's very easy to apply oil!

There is a slight differnce with varnish and oil:

Varnish is more protective, but needs to be applied in a very dust-free area. Dust sticks to it very easily. Varnish also takes a much longer time to dry. It also needs to be applied very carefully with a brush. It is very easy for the brush streaks to stay in the coat, it's not easy to apply without those leaving streaks.

Oil is much easier to apply. You don't have to worry about brush streaks or dust sticking to the coat.

The basic way to apply oil is:

You need a few brushes, oil, #0000 steel wool and a clean old cotton t-shirt.

Gently sand the wood following the grain with the #0000 steel wool. Wipe off the dust with a moist piece of cotton t-shirt.

Fill an old cup (disposible plastic cups are great) with some oil, and apply it to the wood following the grain. Wait 5-10 minutes for it to dry, then wipe the surface with a clean t-shirt.

Then wait 24 hours. Then repeat the process over again (remember to very lightly sand the surface with the #0000 steel wool). You will have to use a new brush because the old one will have become hard from the oil from the day before.

Repeat at least 3 times. You don't need to sand the surface anymore at this point, but you can if you want to before oiling again.

The more you repeat the entire oil application, the more wonderful the finish will be. More oil = more protection and more glossy shine.

There are many oils to choose from, but I highly recommend Tung Oil. You can try Danish Oil if you like as well. But for Walnut wood, Tung Oil is like magic. The AR4x is the second Walnut cabinet AR restoration I've done using this same method with this same oil. The first restortation was for AR3a.

Another trick is to place the speakers with their backs on top of some old books or blocks of wood. Make sure that you've got a few layers of old newspaper or, better yet, some old cardboard boxes underneath everything. Make sure that you remove the speaker grills!

Also, when you apply the oil, put on lots of it, it's okay for it to drip off of the speakers.

If the speakers have scratches or gouges, before you begin the oiling process, you can fill the gouges with wood putty. Then sand with #120 sandpaper. Then you can stain the speakers. The closet stain color for Walnut AR speakers is not 'Walnut', it is actually a more reddish 'Mahogany'. Use a red Mahogany stain. First, sand with #0000 steel wool. Then appply stain with a brush and immediately wipe off excess with cotton t-shirt. Let dry for 24 hours. Then you can apply the oil. Be careful staining though. If you have minor scratches, you don't need to stain the wood. The sanding+oil will make the scratches disappear pretty nicely.


Cheers :smoke:
 
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Nice job on the speakers, they look terrific. And thanks for the instructions on how you refinished them. Can you post a close up of the cabinets?

Thanks
 
Great pictures! I'll be starting on my new (to me) AR-2ax's next week.
 

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pmsummer said:
Great pictures! I'll be starting on my new (to me) AR-2ax's next week.

Wow, those AR2ax's look like they're in nice shape. The grill cloths look minty. Those are gonna be fun to restore :tresbon:
 
Duffinator said:
Nice job on the speakers, they look terrific. And thanks for the instructions on how you refinished them. Can you post a close up of the cabinets?

Thanks
Here are some more freshly taken pics - mostly closeups.

It is hard to get the pics to show the actual color due to the surface being shiny/reflective. I believe that the supposed AR Walnut color is more of a red Mahogany type of color. Anyhow, I have several vintage ARs sittin' around here to use as references for color.

By the way, the point of this post is really to show folks how easy it is to refinish these old speakers. If I can do it (I'm worthless) anybody can do it :yes:

Hope this helps.

-Cheers :music:

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Eunomians said:
By the way, the point of this post is really to show folks how easy it is to refinish these old speakers. If I can do it (I'm worthless) anybody can do it :yes:

Hope this helps.
It does. Wow, they look beautiful!
 
Eunomians . . .Those look gorgous!!!

I picked up a pair of AR 2ex's about a month ago and am just using them as stands right now. After reading all the posts about how great vintage AR speakers are and seeing your excellent restoration, I know what my next project is going to be.

Thanks for sharing with us!!!
 
lordfoo said:
My i ask for advice?

I am no woodworker or painter. I have just finished sanding a pair of AR2a's and have almost decided to apply non-gloss varnish. What's the difference between applying varnish and the several layers of oil you just applied?

regards,
Foo

I am a hobbyist woodworker and would highly recommend oil over varnish/polyurethane: Oils penetrate the wood, and the finish can therefore easily be reapplied in the future when stains, watermarks, sun bleaching and scratches may require it. Varnish, on the other, forms a hard surface that is very hard to remove when re-finish is required at some point.

Think about it this way: If AR had varnished their speakers when they were new 30 years ago or so, the excellent refinish job displayed here would have been much more time-consuming, if not impossible, to do.

Imagine your speakers will live for another 30 years. Make it easier for yourself or future owners to bring them back to "as new" condition - use oil, not varnish.

For that hand-polished look look, use paste wax as the final coat. Reapply wax as needed.
 
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Hi Njord,

Me thinks I will try convert to oil. Thanks for the "impassioned" push for oiling instead of varnishing.

By the way, here's the speaker I will try out the oiling procedure:

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