Advent Legacy, paint or stain?

[RTally]

I bought some #0000 steel wool and Watco natural Danish oil.
I will use denatured alcohol which I already have, saving $10.00

Careful with that steel wool. Steel wool leaves fines, which are small metal pieces. Those pieces not only get embedded in the wood, but they are attracted to the magnets in the drivers. If you must use steel wool, either remove the drivers from the cabinet or protect the drivers by taping cardboard or heavy paper over them, otherwise those metal filings will find their way to the domes, cones, and dustcaps.

When I applied Danish oil to my Legacy speakers, I rubbed the wet oil with 320 or 400 grit (don't remember) wet/dry sandpaper. The sawdust fills the wood pores and makes for a very smooth finish. I put on about 4 or 5 coats. I was really happy with the smooth, semi-gloss finish.

 

[Kit Carson]

Chris you are on track to returning your Advents to their original appearance. With most projects less is best, just do a cleaning and oil application as you noted.

 

[Johnny_Law]

I've re-done 3 or 4 pairs of Legacy cabinets and on each of them I found some kind of finish on top of the wood that seemed original. Without sanding, Watco bounced right off even with 0000 steel wool. I got the best results sanding down to the bare wood (which Advent's marketing alleges is Pecan).

@ChrisPlatt hopefully the denatures alcohol works as a solvent for that original finish so you can apply the Watco to the wood itself. They do look much better with a fresh Danish oil finish!

 

[F1nut]

I did not like the pecan end caps on these Baby Advents, so I applied a base of dark red dye followed up with a black toner coat. After that something like 10 to 15 coats of clear, which were cut and buffed to a high gloss. I also changed the grill cloth to a true black. IMO, they look much classier now.

 

[RTally]

I did not like the pecan end caps on these Baby Advents, so I applied a base of dark red dye followed up with a black toner coat. After that something like 10 to 15 coats of clear, which were cut and buffed to a high gloss. I also changed the grill cloth to a true black. IMO, they look much classier now. View attachment 3048016

Those look mighty fine. I like high gloss finishes. I recall that you have had some practice doing refinishing.

 

[49Stude63]

On my Advents (Laureates and Heritages) I pick a stain that is close to the color of the caps and wipe it on the wipe off any excess to cover any sun bleaching or such and then use boiled linseed oil to reoil the wood. That keeps the color close without dropping the value and the boiled linseed oil brings back life to the wood.