Reviving cloth surrounds

[Vashane]

Have some older Panasonic SB-350 speakers and was curious if there is any experience loosening up old cloth surrounds making them pliable again. Or is redoing surrounds the only way?

 

[Retrovert]

Are those surrounds painted with butylene rubber like the old KLH and AR drivers?

If so, the butylene rubber has crosslinked into a rigid structure after fifty years. You may be able to restore the flexibility by carefully painting it with toluene or xylene. I suggest reading the other discussions both here on AK and at Classic Speaker Pages about butylene rubber surrounds, particularly in redoping, to understand the issues involved.

A new surround permanently alters the driver parameters so rejuvenating is the best first option.

 

[gdmoore28]

THRUSTERS!!!!