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My Sunday project -- KLH Model 17 cabinet refinish

I really don`t know what to say....,but I think I have to many sets of speakers. My Dynaco A25`s need the attention, not my KLM 17s. The 17s have dark grills and the speakers/grills are in near mint condition. The A-25s have white grills.

I guess the info will work on the A-25s.

I`m speechless!

TankDonovan
 
Before wetting the grills with your peroxide mix, do your best to give the grill cloth a vigorous vacuuming. As thourough as the material with withstand. Use the brush attachment to your shopvac, make sure it is clean before you touch it to the grills. That alone in many cases will lift years of accumulated soils. Some grill materials are glued to the frame. If that old glue gets wet through the fabric it will likely leech to the surface as the grills dry, so be extra careful to mist evenly, do not saturate. Only the very surface needs to be treated.
 
More tips on working with tung oil

ARM013 had a great question

arm013 said:
Soundweasel,
Would you suggest multiple layers of tung oil. Repeating the process several times over time or just one application?
Also, After the wax is applied, how do you move the cabs without putting hand prints, fingers, etc into the finish? Or, does the wax harden enough not to worry about it.
Click to expand...

My response:
Tung oil is a penetrating oil, so once the wood is saturated, any additional coats will just "stand up" on the surface of the wood. If its not wiped off, it will take a long time to dry, will always be slightly sticky, and will "pool" in places where the wood grain is denser. It is possible to do a second application (I hesitate to call it a second coat since the oil has actually pentrated the surface) but wait until the first application is completely dry (no longer sticky/tacky). Lightly buff the wood surface with fine steel wool (#000 extra fine). Then use tack cloth to remove all residue (steel wool slivers, "dust" from the dried oil finish, etc). Then use a terry cloth applicator pad and wipe the oil finish on and wipe off the excess. Try one coat first. See how it looks. You may find you don't want to do a second application.

Regarding wax -- Butcher's Wax (carnauba) is as close to bowling lane wax as you'll find. It dries within 15 - 20 minutes and buffs out to a nice shine. Unlike conventional liquid furniture waxes, this stuff creates a micro-thin protective coat. Fingerprints? Not a problem. If you see them on the surface, wipe them off with an old sock.

Here's what Wikipedia says about it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnauba

Thanks to all who replied -- this is great fun and I'm glad so many people are into good looking speakers, not just good sounding ones! :thmbsp:
 
BuckNaked -- thank you for adding the vacuuming part. Once I finished the posting on the peroxide posting I thought "Jeez, I hope people remember to vacuum the grilles first!" Good call!
 
I just picked up a set of KLH twenty's. The cabinets look just like the ones soundweasel started with and they need some work too. This thread is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks everyone! I may have missed it, even after re-reading the entire thread, would soundweasel or someone else kindly go over the details of the initial sanding / steel wool procedure for me or post a link to the post that I missed.
Great thread! :thmbsp: Thanks, again.
 
"Tung oil is a penetrating oil,"

I use Tung oil also.

Tung penetrates and hardens the wood.

I also use the Formby's Wiping Stain. Good products!
 
Soundweasel,

Great post! I've just started freshing up my 17s. I was looking for tips on refinishing the cabinets and volia!

Thanks
 
UltraHog -- here's what I did to remove the old finish, scratches and watermarks. You shouldn't need to stain the cabinets unless you don't like the look of natural walnut.

I removed the old finish on one box with ultrafine steel wool because I wasn't sure how robust the veneer was going to be. The veneer is pretty darn good. I did the other box with 220 grit sandpaper by hand. The problem with using a vibrating sander is that it often loosens up the glue holding down the veneer. Don't use chemical strippers because they can also loosen the glue/veneer. And hand sanding builds burly forearms, too!
 
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