Cleaning Vintage Sansui Speaker Cabinets

[Stereofan]

I was recently fortunate to be able to purchase a pair of unused Sansui SP 2500's in their original boxes. The wood veneer cabinets are in perfect condition but over the years the foam inserts left some sticky residue patches on the tops that I would like to safely remove before giving them a good coat of oil and polish/wax.
My question is what cleaning products have you used that are effective in removing the residue without harming the old and still unprotected wood veneer?
Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[budgetaudio6]

If ultimatly you are going to give them a coat of oil and polish them. Use some acetone.
But make sure you are using industrial rubber gloves. Not the kind that you buy 100 of in a small box.
Ive used it along with denatured alcohol to clean speaker cabs.

 

[markw300d]

I've had good luck cleaning gunk off older speakers that were in excellent shape with Formby's lemon oil treatment and 0000 steel wool working with the grain and using a small amount of elbow grease. Most of the citrus oil wood treatments are usually a mineral oil with a very small amount of citrus oil added. Straight mineral oil or even mineral spirits is often used too which is used to thin tung oil. I love the Watco Danish oils for bringing out the wood grain and preserving the wood veneer. My wax is made from beeswax that I get from a beekeeper friend and mineral oil.

Congrats on the speaker score!

Acetone is a powerful solvent and sometimes used to remove veneer so use it lightly. It can be great for removing wax and oil residue though for prep work. I've used it on solid woods but tend to be gentler with veneer. I also used WD-40 to get crayon marks off of a wooden bookcase and it worked well. Good point about the gloves.

 

[budgetaudio6]

Some times used to remove veneer? I never knew that.
Im glad the one pair of speakers i used lots of on still has the veneer on it.
Sanded it then scrub with acetone and rag.

 

[markw300d]

Some times used to remove veneer?

I didn't say it couldn't be used safely and effectively but yes...acetone is often used to dissolve glue in many applications. I've seen spilled nail polish remover (acetone) that was let sit too long ruin a veneered antique dresser. When wiping with a rag, the light amount would evaporate before doing any harm. Being new veneer, I was just suggesting products that were a little more wood and people friendly. I have no idea if any stains or anything were used on the veneer that the acetone may react with. He is not sanding his speakers down. I'm glad that acetone worked for you.

 

[boreas]

Acetone is a powerful solvent and sometimes used to remove veneer so use it lightly. It can be great for removing wax and oil residue though for prep work. I've used it on solid woods but tend to be gentler with veneer.

+1 I shy away from using acetone on veneer. Likewise lacquer thinner. Both are really powerful solvents and might do a lot more work than you had in mind.

I'd start with mineral spirits (paint thinner) or turpentine, combined with "0000" steel wool, and then probably "Danish oil" or a linseed oil preparation. That'll resemble the original finish more closely than tung oil which dries harder and shinier.

Remember using a too weak solvent will only mean you'll have to opt for a stronger one but using one that's too strong can be a disaster.

John

 

[boreas]

I didn't say it couldn't be used safely and effectively but yes...acetone is often used to dissolve glue in many applications. I've seen spilled nail polish remover (acetone) that was let sit too long ruin a veneered antique dresser. When wiping with a rag, the light amount would evaporate before doing any harm. Being new veneer, I was just suggesting products that were a little more wood and people friendly. I'm glad that acetone worked for you.

Acetone's "saving grace" in this instance is its volatility. It evaporates so rapidly that there's a reduced chance that it will soak through the veneer and attack the adhesive. Same for lacquer thinner. Still, as I said, when less powerful solvents will do the job safely and effectively, why opt for the one with the greater risks?

John

 

[markw300d]

why opt for the one with the greater risks?

That was my point. I may have been a little overly cautious but these are basically new speakers and treating them with care seems like a good idea.

 

[awise1961]

I've been using Howards Finish Restore applied with "0000" steel wool followed by the Howards Wax applied by a soft cloth.

Al. Wise

 

[markd51]

I would try something like Howards Restore a finish, Howards Feed and Wax, or maybe even Old English Polish, but I would just try removing any gunk with these products applied to a soft clean cotton towel-rag, not any sort of steel wool, or such just yet.

The oils in those products may adequately dissolve any crud. Always try the least agressive methods first. Mark

 

[Stereofan]

Thanks for all the great advice and suggestions. I stopped at the local Woodcraft store and was advised to use a product called Mineral Spirits first with a clean cloth and if it didn't work then do it again except apply with a light rub of 0000 steel wool. Turned out that it did need thw steel wool and it all came out without too much effort. The spots are now shiny aside of the dull veneer but that will change with an application of boiled linseed oil and then a good coat of wax.

 

[budgetaudio6]

that is nice to hear. Just do the same to both speakers so they match.

 

[westend]

Thanks for all the great advice and suggestions. I stopped at the local Woodcraft store and was advised to use a product called Mineral Spirits first with a clean cloth and if it didn't work then do it again except apply with a light rub of 0000 steel wool. Turned out that it did need thw steel wool and it all came out without too much effort. The spots are now shiny aside of the dull veneer but that will change with an application of boiled linseed oil and then a good coat of wax.

Good to hear the foam residue cleaned up well for you.
Reading between the lines, here, but you mentioned that the finish that was under the packing inserts is shiny and the rest is dull. That leads me to believe that the finish has been altered by aging and the bits under the foam have been preserved (so to speak) by being covered. This would infer that it is probably a laquer finish. I actually owned the same speakers but can't recall what finish they had. Laquer was used extensively for speaker cabinets.
My concern is that you are going to apply Linseed oil and that may not be the best course of refinishing. Applying oil over laquer can be tricky, oil finishes are penetrating finishes and if applied on a non-porous surface tend to wrinkle and stretch, leaving the final surface sometimes rough. I think your Sansui's would be better served by using a different product for bringing back the lustre of the original finish.
The following is one way of refinishing lacquer finishes: First, clean the surface with a solution of TSP and water. This will remove soil and remove a lot of oxidation. Second, use a solvent such as mineral spoirits or lacquer thinner, lightly, with a rag, to remove any additional residue. Third, lightly sand, either with 400 or greater, wet and dry sandpaper or the newer abrasive pads. Apply new finish using either a brushing lacquer or spray. I think you will find that a spray lacquer works well on the ornate grills that are on these speakers.
If the above sounds too daunting, you could always try applying just wax in an inconspicuous area to see if it does the job. Sometimes that is all that is needed.
Good luck on refinishing your speakers.

 

[dnpainting]

Thanks for all the great advice and suggestions. I stopped at the local Woodcraft store and was advised to use a product called Mineral Spirits first with a clean cloth and if it didn't work then do it again except apply with a light rub of 0000 steel wool. Turned out that it did need thw steel wool and it all came out without too much effort. The spots are now shiny aside of the dull veneer but that will change with an application of boiled linseed oil and then a good coat of wax.

The areas that are shiny may just be the paint thinner has not completely evaporated out. You can also do the same process you used to get rid of the sticky substance over the entire speaker cabinet to make it uniform. On lacquer finishes I've done, I've started with 800 wet sandpaper (lightly, following grain) all the way to 2500 wet sand (with 1200 and 2000 grit in between)then polished with a regular furniture polish (Jubilee with bees wax) with great results.

 

[bluesky]

Good advice! Thanks

 

[chromehunter]

Never use acetone

If ultimatly you are going to give them a coat of oil and polish them. Use some acetone.
But make sure you are using industrial rubber gloves. Not the kind that you buy 100 of in a small box.
Ive used it along with denatured alcohol to clean speaker cabs.

Never use acetone unless you want completely strip the finish off your cabinets.

 

[budgetaudio6]

One day i bought a sub. Stank of cat piss. Yeah i know its bad. Real bad...Acetone got rid of it. From the veneer. Dish soap on the grills. Now they are completely piss-smell free.
That sub is now recoated with walnut restore a finish. Veneer is oak. Wonderful results.

 

[vol4]

When i was a young kid we had an old Japanese wood worker for a neighbor. I remember him telling my dad to always wipe down a used piece of funiture with straight ammonia before any kind of sanding or recoating. Not doing this will just work the old wax,polish or what ever is on there deeper into the raw wood. I know it stinks. But when you see what that clean white rag looks like after you do it. You will understand! I've used the pre refinish ammonia wipe down on everything. Gun stocks,cars,new raw fiberglass(Very important step!).

 

[Grainger49]

Hopefully this will help. For sticky stuff, Goo Gone works well.

In general for wood I use Murphy's Oil Soap. It is amazing what it will remove. I cleaned a desk my mother had, for 40 years and she smoked, with it and it changed colors.