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Time to sell some more Howards feed-n-wax...

kfa888

Addicted Member
I found out about this stuff a few years ago. See a lot of chatter about it here. Digging out speakers to do some selling off of the massive pile and found some nice but semi hammered KLH17's. Figured I'll just sell them cheap and grabbed the Howards magic jell and went to it. That stuff amazes me every time. Crap now I need to scrape the white paint scuff off cuz these are going to look quite presentable. Price just went up. :D

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heck even the carvings semi disappear. Watermarks DO disappear. I did NO prep on these at all. Amazing.

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Great Before/After pics!! :thmbsp::thmbsp:

I have been amazed by Howard's so many times that I did not even hesitate to grab some rather beat looking Polk 5's the other day. Howard's magic worked again on them and they proudly sit with the rest of my Polk Monitor collection.
 
Have you tried Howard's Restore-a-Finish? It's a good pre-cursor to the F-n-W treatment. I'm a recent convert.
 
great stuff. Best to wipe down the veneer first. With a watered down rag or paper towels. Wont hurt the wood unless you soak it. Then finish with the howards.
 
5 minutes later...

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Very nice!! Suggestion for the paint and sometimes other unwanted markings. Use rubbing alcohol or denature alcohol. We use it all the time to clean markings off from walls, baseboards, etc. Drys fast, won't normally raise the grain and requires a lot less elbow grease, and of course a lot less harsh and doesn't require a lot of ventilation.
 
Very nice!! Suggestion for the paint and sometimes other unwanted markings. Use rubbing alcohol or denature alcohol. We use it all the time to clean markings off from walls, baseboards, etc. Drys fast, won't normally raise the grain and requires a lot less elbow grease, and of course a lot less harsh and doesn't require a lot of ventilation.

Scraping it of by backblading it with a razor blade works well too. Scrapes the paint off but does not harm the veneer if you do it right. Then hit it with the 0000 steel wool and the Howards magic jell (Feed-n-wax) and your done.
 
Great Before/After pics!! :thmbsp::thmbsp:

I have been amazed by Howard's so many times that I did not even hesitate to grab some rather beat looking Polk 5's the other day. Howard's magic worked again on them and they proudly sit with the rest of my Polk Monitor collection.

Thought the Monitor series used a vinyl veneer?
 
I have had very good luck applying howards restore a finish with 0000 steel wool then using the feed and wax and letting that sit for a few hours per side. I got a set of l56's recently that a friend said the cabinets were junk. After seeing what i did with them he now wants to buy them and does not believe they are the same cabinets.
 
I love that stuff! Usually if a speaker is badly scratched, I'll lightly sand it down or rub it down, before using the products. Then wipe with a barely damp cloth.

One of the best product sequences I've found is (1) Watco's Danish Oil ; (2) Howard's Restore-a-Finish; (3) Howard's Feed-N-Wax. For products that come in different wood colors, I suggest using "neutral", or a shade lighter than you want the final color to be; all of them, even the "neutral" ones, contain a bit of pigmentation or at least natural coloring, and will darken the final wood color slightly. Up to a certain point, the more coats you put on, the darker the final finish will be.

For the first coat, apply liberally and rub LIGHTLY with about 400 grit fine sandpaper, WHILE WET with the product; a sort of "slurry" of the oils and sanded wood will fill any gaps in the grain, giving a smoother, glassier final finish. Being careful not to cause scratches, for the first coat you can rub across the grain, to help push the slurry into the gaps. For subsequent rubbings/sandings, go mostly with the grain, but be gentle. Allow each product/coat to sit overnight for settling in/drying. The next day, rub gently, using a non-scratch kitchen pad, then wipe clean with a "tack cloth". You can gently buff with a clean piece of old T-shirt or similar, for an extra-smooth finish. Then do the next coat/repeat the process. One or more coats with each product, in the sequence mentioned above. Don't use sandpaper for the later coats, and use only the cloth for the final Feed-N-Wax coat(s).

I've transformed hopeless-looking, dried-up, scratched, etc... cabinets into things of real beauty, using these products this way. They're great! :yes: :thmbsp:

The only drawback is that it takes time. If you don't let them sit overnight between coats, the results are not as good. In really bad cases, or cases where I really want fantastic results, it can take 10-14 days to finish "transforming" a pair of speakers, but the results are worth it.

Depending on the humidity/air conditions in your area, you'll probably want to "top up" the finish with a little Feed-N-Wax every 6 to 12 months, thereafter.


(Note: brass wool is better than steel wool. Tiny slivers of the wool can break off and become embedded in the wood. Later, the steel slivers may rust and cause brown spots; brass slivers won't.)
 
I use super fine steel wool soaked in Restor-A-Finish and then wipe off the excess with a paper towel. 24 hours later I apply Feed-N-Wax with an old t-shirt. I am always so proud of how awesome they turn out. I usually stare at them from different angles for about an hour.
 
I've never used Feed-n-wax, but they handing out free samples at the fest this past weekend. Is it good for a first coat on new wood as well?
 
I also use it on my vintage 70 year old German gun stocks but only as a last resort. You never want to touch vintage wood.. :nono:


Used car salesmen used to use pledge on the paint to shine them up. Wouldn't last long, but it did bring back that old faded paint long enuf to sell the car.. :thmbsp:




..
 
I went to home hardware today and bought a bottle of the Howards feed n wax.
I applied it to my cabinets and I could tell a difference the way they look.
The cabinets looked richer and leaves a nice luster to it.

Money well spent.
 
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