Saved from sure death - Sansui 3300 beauty
- Thread starter Audio Fan
- Start date
Arkay
Lunatic Member
Nice gear saves --that Sansui really does look great! :thmbsp:
I think I understand how you feel about this, having done some similar "transformations". It's really satisfying when the end result exceeds expectations. Most recently, the veneer on my Quantum 2 speakers was dull, dirty (a bit of nicotine film, I think), and looked like it might be loosening or bubbling in one area. I don't think the speakers had EVER been oiled in their life, so the decades-dried walnut was lightened considerably, too. After fixing the bubbling with a warm iron and weighted flat panels, and repairing a few small chips, I worked on the finish repeatedly over a couple weeks, cleaning, sanding, oiling, sanding, rubbing, oiling, etc... I tried the "wet-sanded slurry" approach to fill wood pores and achieve a glassier finish, for the first time, and did little test patches in back first to determine the best sequence to use different products in (primarily Watco Danish Oil first, then Howard's Restore-a-Finish, then more Watkins and finally Feed-N-Wax --but each of them in multiple hand-rubbed coats, with the first two Watkins coats being the sanded "filler" ones), and the final results exceeded my expectations, and matched my hopes. I love the way those once-tired-looking speakers just gleam with a rich depth now. They look so nice, my wife never even complained that I'd brought home more big speakers!
That may be true for that particular cleaner, and most such commercial cleaning products, but real citrus juices can make excellent cleaners. I have a bottle of concentrated lemon juice in the refrigerator that I have used to make DIY cleaner with; the citric acid in it really does help cut through greasy grime (without the help of petroleum distillates), AND it smells nice!
White vinegar, borax, baking soda, salt, lemon juice... some of our grandparents' old home cleaning ideas really DO work, and work well. I use pure baking soda to clean my stainless-steel kitchen sink, because it actually does a better job of making it clean and "gleaming", pretty much effortlessly, than any commercial product I've tried, including the usual cream cleansers. No toxicity to worry about, either; you can eat the stuff, at least in modest amounts! A
I think I understand how you feel about this, having done some similar "transformations". It's really satisfying when the end result exceeds expectations. Most recently, the veneer on my Quantum 2 speakers was dull, dirty (a bit of nicotine film, I think), and looked like it might be loosening or bubbling in one area. I don't think the speakers had EVER been oiled in their life, so the decades-dried walnut was lightened considerably, too. After fixing the bubbling with a warm iron and weighted flat panels, and repairing a few small chips, I worked on the finish repeatedly over a couple weeks, cleaning, sanding, oiling, sanding, rubbing, oiling, etc... I tried the "wet-sanded slurry" approach to fill wood pores and achieve a glassier finish, for the first time, and did little test patches in back first to determine the best sequence to use different products in (primarily Watco Danish Oil first, then Howard's Restore-a-Finish, then more Watkins and finally Feed-N-Wax --but each of them in multiple hand-rubbed coats, with the first two Watkins coats being the sanded "filler" ones), and the final results exceeded my expectations, and matched my hopes. I love the way those once-tired-looking speakers just gleam with a rich depth now. They look so nice, my wife never even complained that I'd brought home more big speakers!
That may be true for that particular cleaner, and most such commercial cleaning products, but real citrus juices can make excellent cleaners. I have a bottle of concentrated lemon juice in the refrigerator that I have used to make DIY cleaner with; the citric acid in it really does help cut through greasy grime (without the help of petroleum distillates), AND it smells nice!
White vinegar, borax, baking soda, salt, lemon juice... some of our grandparents' old home cleaning ideas really DO work, and work well. I use pure baking soda to clean my stainless-steel kitchen sink, because it actually does a better job of making it clean and "gleaming", pretty much effortlessly, than any commercial product I've tried, including the usual cream cleansers. No toxicity to worry about, either; you can eat the stuff, at least in modest amounts! A
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tmccullough
You are who, who you are
Wow, that is quite a transformation. I have to say, there is something gratifying about taking what looks like a steaming pile of crap and turning it back into something beautiful.
Fasterdamnit
Super Member
Outstanding! Enjoy that lush Sansui sound!
DCinDC
I'm here to fix it
Thanks for the great pics!
I've never seen one of those in real life, and I'm interested in them because I believe they are the evolutionary predecessors of the Single Digit Series (Six, Seven, Eight, etc) that I love.
BTW, 409 is safe and effective on anything. and just a reminder even though no one brought it up, NEVER use Windex.
For a receiver like that, I just put it in the bath tub, after the first round of cleaning.
I've never seen one of those in real life, and I'm interested in them because I believe they are the evolutionary predecessors of the Single Digit Series (Six, Seven, Eight, etc) that I love.
BTW, 409 is safe and effective on anything. and just a reminder even though no one brought it up, NEVER use Windex.
For a receiver like that, I just put it in the bath tub, after the first round of cleaning.
squirrelnest
Lunatic Member
Nice restore in that Sansui 3300.....good pics....
That is so nice, i couldnt believe my eyes when i saw the "after" pics :thmbsp:
Audio Fan
YT Channel - https://tinyurl.com/29zytwu9
Ah yes, the 3300. It was a beauty for sure. I eventually sold it to a local school teacher that wanted it for playing records. It was a VERY nice receiver, extremely heavy. There is also a bigger brother, 5500 as well, but I've not seen one first hand.
I put a LOT of hours into that 3300 and sold it for very little, but boy was it gratifying to know someone else is still enjoying it as it was on the way to the dump before I intercepted it.
Old thread I know, but I totally agree with this statement.
It's almost as if the blacked out gear of today is not meant to be seen, it is to remain hidden and out of site.
And that Sansui did turn out wonderful. Great save.:yes:
StereoX
New AK Member
Well, I don't want to turn this into a cat hating thread, this was a case of "Cats gone wild" for sure, but I think best to focus on the turnaround story here and getting a nice piece of Sansui gear up and running again.
Now that I have some daylight, I brought it inside for some better shots. It really does shine.
That is a work of beauty. :thmbsp:
tiga
Super Member
Looks very much like my 5500. I've always wondered how this line stacked up to other Sansui lines, like the single digit series. I think my 9090 sounds better than my 5500 but in all fairness it is much more powerful and has been completely recapped. At some point I'd like to recap the 5500 as well, it has such a great look. You should be proud of the nice job you did here.
10 year old thread, but man, hats off, dude. Great job, and that top is gorgeous!
Also, to heck with cats. Ugh.
Also, to heck with cats. Ugh.
Audio Fan
YT Channel - https://tinyurl.com/29zytwu9
Indeed, an old thread. Although I no longer have the unit, I still use one of the pics as my phone wallpaper, she was a real beauty. Working on speaker restores now that are not quite as bad as this Sansui was, but are quite a remarkable turnaround from where they started.
Still looking for a 5500 though.
Still looking for a 5500 though.