Restoring cabinet appearance on Realistic Nova 6s

[Anonky]

So I’ve got a pair of realistic nova 6s with some water stains and just generally faded wood stain. They’re otherwise in good condition. See the first 6 photos. I have the grills for both—I just had them one off at time of the photos. Anyways, what is the easiest way to go about restained them to get better lookin cabinets?

Semi-related: the remaining four photos are a pair of wharfedale w60ds in good condition except some crushed corners one of which I’ve built back with some filler stick, reveneered, and stained. I guess it’s too late to ask because I’ve already halfway done it (admittedly not the best job, my first try) but is this the best way to fix crushed corners? They also have some scratches on the cabinets. How to best address these?

any advice is appreciated, particularly on the nova 6s.

 

[Lavane]

I have a pair of Optimus 2B's that are the same speaker as the Nova 6. The only difference is the grill and front edge of the cabinet. Mine looked a lot like those when I refinished them. First I sanded them down to get all the stains I could out. I used 200 grit if I remember right. Just take it slow so you don't burn through the veneer. Then I used some Minwax Provincial stain. You can use whatever you like. Once dried, re-oil. I used a low gloss wipe on poly coat on mine though since they are used in my garage.

 

[doctorolds]

Let's address the 6's for now. Those are not bad really. I realize that you're fairly young and new to AK, so welcome aboard! Just for reference, is your desire for the finished project to be presentable or near perfect? I am seeing only one bad corner really. Let us know you desires, and post a close up picture of the bad corner If possible.

 

[Anonky]

Let's address the 6's for now. Those are not bad really. I realize that you're fairly young and new to AK, so welcome aboard! Just for reference, is your desire for the finished project to be presentable or near perfect? I am seeing only one bad corner really. Let us know you desires, and post a close up picture of the bad corner If possible.

Thanks for the welcome! Near perfect ideally. The corner I think I can fix on my own with the method I used for the wharfedales. Fill the corner sand it down to be flush with the mdf then apply get matching veneer and stain. I really am curious as to how to fix the stain issues on the cabinet as a whole and make it as good as reasonably possible.

 

[Anonky]

Thanks for the welcome! Near perfect ideally. The corner I think I can fix on my own with the method I used for the wharfedales. Fill the corner sand it down to be flush with the mdf then apply get matching veneer and stain. I really am curious as to how to fix the stain issues on the cabinet as a whole and make it as good as reasonably possible.

I’ll definitely need to do a better job than I did on the Wharfedales since it’s on the front of the cabinet

 

[Anonky]

Let's address the 6's for now. Those are not bad really. I realize that you're fairly young and new to AK, so welcome aboard! Just for reference, is your desire for the finished project to be presentable or near perfect? I am seeing only one bad corner really. Let us know you desires, and post a close up picture of the bad corner If possible.

The bad corner

 

[doctorolds]

Take a read through this thread and see if you may want to attempt the repair correctly.

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/klh-twenty-three-restoration-pics.649507/

 

[doctorolds]

Looking for any type of update, concerns, or questions.

 

[safebet]

Those Nova 6 should not take too much effort to restore to decent cosmetics, @Lavane is spot on, er...spot off. Nicely sized and decent sounding system. Enjoy them.

 

[Anonky]

Looking for any type of update, concerns, or questions.

I think I’m going to try and replicate what he’s done in the link you sent. Sand the whole shibang down to get rid of scratches (doing so lightly as to not penetrate veneer), cut out the damaged corner veneer in triangles that can be easily fit back, place new veneer on corners, rebuild significant missing mdf with JB weld filler stick, sand the new veneer flush to original veneer then stain the entire cabinet. Does that sounds like a fair plan? Will hopefully get to this next week.

 

[Anonky]

Had a spare hour this morning so revisited the wharfedales. As opposed to the last corner I “repaired,” for this one I tried to follow the example given a bit better. Instead of just reveneering the area that was damaged, I cut out a geometric shape (triangle) so as to get a better end result. Here are the results so far. I still have to stain it obviously. Not perfect, but it looks much better than my first attempt. First image is the corner stripped then second and third is it reneveered.

 

[Lavane]

One other thing, the glue used for those cabinets, and other RS models, isn't the best. NEVER have the larger Nova's or Optinus speakers shipped. More than likely they will arrive as a flatback after coming apart in shipping. I have one larger cabinet I put back together and the other is still apart. Over time the cabinets loose seal and leak. I ran glue around all the inside seams in the Optimus 2B's I have. There was very little and in most of the joints, no glue on the joints at all, just around the inside seams.

 

[glend123]

Had a spare hour this morning so revisited the wharfedales. As opposed to the last corner I “repaired,” for this one I tried to follow the example given a bit better. Instead of just reveneering the area that was damaged, I cut out a geometric shape (triangle) so as to get a better end result. Here are the results so far. I still have to stain it obviously. Not perfect, but it looks much better than my first attempt. First image is the corner stripped then second and third is it reneveered.

Looks good. What kind of veneer is that?
it will be interesting to see if you can get it to match the existing color.
I have the same speakers with both tops water damaged and need a total replacement. I ordered 2 pcs of walnut veneer off ebay but they are much more grey color than I expected.

 

[Anonky]

Looks good. What kind of veneer is that?
it will be interesting to see if you can get it to match the existing color.
I have the same speakers with both tops water damaged and need a total replacement. I ordered 2 pcs of walnut veneer off ebay but they are much more grey color than I expected.

I ordered 25ft of 3/4 inch wide walnut veneer from Amazon. More length than l need for these corner fixes but I’m sure I’ll do more in the future. Wouldn’t be ideal for repairing a large area though. I’ve already stained this veneer as a test and the color came out matching well. Birch wood Casey walnut stain. Pictures of products below. I also plan to post updates to this thread as I progress they both the wharfedales and nova 6 repairs, respectively.

I’m not sure what veneer I should use for the nova 6 corner repair. Any input is appreciated.

 

[NH-MAN]

My brother had some Nova's but his came with the orange Phenolic ring tweeters which I never see on AK I wonder why?

 

[Anonky]

My brother had some Nova's but his came with the orange Phenolic ring tweeters which I never see on AK I wonder why?

I frequently see phenolic ring tweeters suggested as a replacement option from parts express. Maybe the originals were replaced? I’m not the original owner of my pair so can’t say for sure but the original owner I bought them from acted as if these had not been modified at all, and I believe him

 

[NH-MAN]

I frequently see phenolic ring tweeters suggested as a replacement option from parts express. Maybe the originals were replaced? I’m not the original owner of my pair so can’t say for sure but the original owner I bought them from acted as if these had not been modified at all, and I believe him

No, he got them new for Christmas from our parents. I wasn't saying yours were different as they are like all the others I have seen just his were different. Maybe his was a last production run or something.

 

[Anonky]

No, he got them new for Christmas from our parents. I wasn't saying yours were different as they are like all the others I have seen just his were different. Maybe his was a last production run or something.

no I feel you. I don’t 100% know the history on these so mine could very well be replacements honestly.

 

[doctorolds]

Great job @CadeL! I'm glad to see that you have chosen to take the proper way to repair cabinets, at least in my opinion. You will only get better at it if you continue. I appreciate the update, and wish you luck with your project(s).