Any way to repair or improve damage to the real-wood veneer on a speaker cabinet?

[TechMechanic]

Good morning,

I did this to help visualize where I'd cut and remove the veneer on the side. If the cut is made along a dark vein in the veneer, the replacement strip can be also cut along a dark vein to match where the two edges butt together.

Cheers, Glenn
View attachment 1908714

Thanks, Glenn. I can absolutely smell what you're cooking with the explanation of the repair procedure. But, I've already decided I'm not going to attempt to replacing the veneer myself. With virtually zero experience in woodworking, even with a clear battle-plan, I can't envision it going well on my first attempt. But, your explanation is definitely helpful, as it will help me have a bit better understanding of what needs to be done when I eventually talk to someone about fixing it.

I'm going to be disassembling the cabinets this weekend to get the woofers out so I can replace the inner foam. I will likely re-cap the crossover at the same time so, that will be the best time to get someone to repair it the cabinet, with all the electronics removed. I'll have to start checking around.

 

[TechMechanic]

I can see Glenn working the problem all the way out here in Idaho. And he's right, at least get some $...from somewhere like UPS since there is some insurance on it.
But I might take it to one of those furniture repair folks first to see what they say. Those folks can do miracles for sure.

Yeah, I'll be contacting the seller today or tomorrow and see if there's something we can work out. My brain was a bit fried yesterday after dealing with this transaction for two weeks at this point.

This has probably been the most stressful and downright unpleasant online transactions I have ever experienced. I'm not going to drag everyone through that ordeal but, after deciding on a price, there was some back and forth about how to make the payment, then the guy couldn't figure out how to accept the payment after I made it, then he screwed up the shipping and tried to get me to pay extra for his mistake, then there was actually getting the items (they were shipped six days apart!)... THEN, to top it all off, the second one arrived damaged (actually, I'm amazed both of them were not destroyed. The "original boxes" were 30 years old and had the integrity of thick paper bags) It's been an absolute nightmare. I was kind of in a daze when I posted here yesterday, lol.

I didn't contact the seller yesterday because anything I would have written would have way too much mustard on it. I still believe the guy was acting in good faith, in that he's not trying to actually scam anybody. But, he's a pain in the neck to work with, and kind of an idiot... I needed to take a break from thinking about this before contacting him. Although, I doubt we'll get anywhere with the insurance, since they were packed so poorly. It actually speaks to how well UPS did their job that they got these things from Kentucky to Colorado, mostly intact, in boxes that were coming apart.

I think it will come down to whether the seller is willing to just give me some of the purchase price back. I'd be happy with a 20% refund... A prospect that I don't have high hopes for.

 

[TechMechanic]

Same message got reposted... wasn't able to delete it.

 

[GD70]

Yeah, I'll be contacting the seller today or tomorrow and see if there's something we can work out. My brain was a bit fried yesterday after dealing with this transaction for two weeks at this point.

This has probably been the most stressful and downright unpleasant online transactions I have ever experienced. I'm not going to drag everyone through that ordeal but, after deciding on a price, there was some back and forth about how to make the payment, then the guy couldn't figure out how to accept the payment after I made it, then he screwed up the shipping and tried to get me to pay extra for his mistake, then there was actually getting the items (they were shipped six days apart!)... THEN, to top it all off, the second one arrived damaged (actually, I'm amazed both of them were not destroyed. The "original boxes" were 30 years old and had the integrity of thick paper bags) It's been an absolute nightmare. I was kind of in a daze when I posted here yesterday, lol.

I didn't contact the seller yesterday because anything I would have written would have way too much mustard on it. I still believe the guy was acting in good faith, in that he's not trying to actually scam anybody. But, he's a pain in the neck, and kind of an idiot... I needed to take a break from thinking about this before contacting him. Although, I doubt we'll get anywhere with the insurance, since they were packed so poorly. It actually speaks to how well UPS did their job that they got these things from Kentucky to Colorado, mostly intact, in boxes that were coming apart.

I think it will come down to whether the seller is willing to just give me some of the purchase price back. I'd be happy with a 20% refund... A prospect that I don't have high hopes for.

Once you have the cab at a shop, and have an actual repair cost, that's what the seller should reimburse you, period. Everything on your end was in good faith, seller must do the same.

 

[Andyman]

Glenn's plan is good, but as someone who has tried color matching, I'd suggest reveneering the whole side to do it right, and saving some scrap to use to determine the color match.
Trust me, color matching truly is an art and something not for the squeamish, especially if you are unsure of how the current finish was applied.

 

[TechMechanic]

Once you have the cab at a shop, and have an actual repair cost, that's what the seller should reimburse you, period. Everything on your end was in good faith, seller must do the same.

Yeah, I need to get started on getting a repair quote. Once I get my thoughts in order later today or tomorrow, I'll contact the seller and try to get a sense of how open he will be to pay for it.

I bought these through Audiogon. The few transactions I've made there have all gone pretty smoothly so, I'm not sure how involved they will get.
Does anyone know if they will step in and help mediate cases like this? I've always gotten the sense that they are even less involved in person to person transactions than Ebay.