I bought these NLA speakers at such a low price that it was a bargain just for the woofers and
I'm using the walnut veneered boxes as practice for a quick refinishing job. Part of the reason
for this is that I find most walnut Advents to be too brown and often with a red tint that I really
do not like. It seems to me that the color is in the top coat and not really in the wood, but I
know very little about this. I also have some much nicer speakers with various issues, water
mark, similarly scratched, etc.
Plan to move fast on these so I'll probably use our orbital sander for much of the work, I do not
ever plan to do this on speakers that I value.
The plan below has been revised after getting expert advice from General Finishes tech
support that is listed in post 21 below with the title AFTER SOME RESEARCH. Please
disregard the plan below:
The plan is:
0. Wipe down with mineral spirits to remove dirt and grime.
1. Glue down lifting veneer
2. Sand with 150, then 220 to remove much of the finish probably with an orbital
3. Wipe down with mineral spirits to remove sanding dust, and/or with a tack rag.
4. Raise the wood with wet cloth and iron for large scratches
5. Fill gouges, luckily so far I only see a few that matter to me
6. Not concerned about how the bottoms come out but they are good for practice
7. Not concerned about chips along the bottom or back, will use a stain pen to darken them
8. Plan to use Watco Danish Oil in Dark Walnut, sand in first coats, brown paper for final coats
9. Optional is to use Minwax Antique Oil after final coat - is this compatible with the Watco?
10. Will probably top them with Howard's Feed and Wax
Not concerned if this is a complete failure since it is just a learning experience and they can
serve as workshop or garage speakers or give aways in the end.
I learned about shellac, stain, varnish, and wipe on products as a young kid around 12 years old.
Stained some of my early speaker projects, don't remember exactly how I did them.
Fast forward doing nothing up until about 20 years ago got a pair of Dynaco A-25 s cheap that
looked very beat up. Not knowing about the super thin veneer issue, hit them with our Porter
Cable orbital sander and fine sand paper. I tried to work fast and take the minimal amount off,
didn't burn through and they came out looking amazing. I have a vague memory of using
Minwax stain with Watco Natural Danish Oil on top - used what we had in the shop.
Please let me know if I'm way off on this, advice is appreciated.
Front, I've never seen grilles so brown with age:
Right side:
Left side:
Tops - started sanding one:
Bottoms - should have started sanding here:
Long edge chip along back, plan to use a stain pen to darken the white wood:
Front - not much of interest, 5 foam blocks in each. It is interesting that the blocks
do not completely fill the box a bit more could be used or even better fiberglass:
One crossover has rockwood resistors and these are known to fail. Every Advent
I've seen with a failed resistor has been rockwood brand.
Back - not much to see:
I'm using the walnut veneered boxes as practice for a quick refinishing job. Part of the reason
for this is that I find most walnut Advents to be too brown and often with a red tint that I really
do not like. It seems to me that the color is in the top coat and not really in the wood, but I
know very little about this. I also have some much nicer speakers with various issues, water
mark, similarly scratched, etc.
Plan to move fast on these so I'll probably use our orbital sander for much of the work, I do not
ever plan to do this on speakers that I value.
The plan below has been revised after getting expert advice from General Finishes tech
support that is listed in post 21 below with the title AFTER SOME RESEARCH. Please
disregard the plan below:
The plan is:
0. Wipe down with mineral spirits to remove dirt and grime.
1. Glue down lifting veneer
2. Sand with 150, then 220 to remove much of the finish probably with an orbital
3. Wipe down with mineral spirits to remove sanding dust, and/or with a tack rag.
4. Raise the wood with wet cloth and iron for large scratches
5. Fill gouges, luckily so far I only see a few that matter to me
6. Not concerned about how the bottoms come out but they are good for practice
7. Not concerned about chips along the bottom or back, will use a stain pen to darken them
8. Plan to use Watco Danish Oil in Dark Walnut, sand in first coats, brown paper for final coats
9. Optional is to use Minwax Antique Oil after final coat - is this compatible with the Watco?
10. Will probably top them with Howard's Feed and Wax
Not concerned if this is a complete failure since it is just a learning experience and they can
serve as workshop or garage speakers or give aways in the end.
I learned about shellac, stain, varnish, and wipe on products as a young kid around 12 years old.
Stained some of my early speaker projects, don't remember exactly how I did them.
Fast forward doing nothing up until about 20 years ago got a pair of Dynaco A-25 s cheap that
looked very beat up. Not knowing about the super thin veneer issue, hit them with our Porter
Cable orbital sander and fine sand paper. I tried to work fast and take the minimal amount off,
didn't burn through and they came out looking amazing. I have a vague memory of using
Minwax stain with Watco Natural Danish Oil on top - used what we had in the shop.
Please let me know if I'm way off on this, advice is appreciated.
Front, I've never seen grilles so brown with age:
Right side:
Left side:
Tops - started sanding one:
Bottoms - should have started sanding here:
Long edge chip along back, plan to use a stain pen to darken the white wood:
Front - not much of interest, 5 foam blocks in each. It is interesting that the blocks
do not completely fill the box a bit more could be used or even better fiberglass:
One crossover has rockwood resistors and these are known to fail. Every Advent
I've seen with a failed resistor has been rockwood brand.
Back - not much to see:
Last edited:
