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Speaker Coating Question (JBL L100)

R

RedDelidder

New Member
I hope this is the correct place for this thread, I was lucky enough to be gifted a pair of 70s JBL L100 speakers by a family friend. They were in great shape, but incredibly dusty, but worked fine otherwise.

The family friend who gifted them to me used a damp rag to wipe the woofer cone before I came to pick it up. I noticed upon getting it home that the woofer speaker coating was smoother in one section compared to the rest.

I googled around a bit and learned that this coating is water soluble and is, as I understand it, important to the overall sound of the speaker.

I feel a bit silly asking this, but I’m a bit of a novice when it comes to speakers and especially vintage speakers, but I want to make sure that this isn’t a cause for concern and if it is, what can be done about it?
 
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I know these photos probably don't give the impression of anything wrong, but I marked the area that feels smooth.

It's probably crazy to worry about this, but I care a lot about this gift really want to make sure I take care of these speakers
 

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Take note of the orientation that the speakers were used in.

You will want to rotate the woofers 180 degrees to give the decades of cone sag a rest.

Also, The fastest way to ruin good speakers is trying to make them "Perfect"!

Ask me how I know...

PS: Nice condition! Now all you need is a Dynaco ST-70 tube amp.
 
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I wouldn’t overthink it, might be that way originally. Even though the Aquaplas was water-soluble, so was the latex paint on your wall and even cars are now painted with water-borne paints/coatings, it doesn’t mean that it will dissolve with a damp rag.

I had a second set of L100As at one time that I bought used and dirty, pretty sure I used a damp rag with a mild soap to clean them without any problems. I would not use anything on the mids and tweeters, but a quick wipe on the white aquaplas woofer should IMO be okay.
 
SaturationPt said:
I wouldn’t overthink it, might be that way originally. Even though the Aquaplas was water-soluble, so was the latex paint on your wall and even cars are now painted with water-borne paints/coatings, it doesn’t mean that it will dissolve with a damp rag.

I had a second set of L100As at one time that I bought used and dirty, pretty sure I used a damp rag with a mild soap to clean them without any problems. I would not use anything on the mids and tweeters, but a quick wipe on the white aquaplas woofer should IMO be okay.
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Yikes~~!

Do not speak of water soluble paint when talking about Detroit steel...
 
Buck Rogers said:
Take note of the orientation that the speakers were used in.

You will want to rotate the woofers 180 degrees to give the decades of cone sag a rest.

Also, The fastest way to ruin good speakers is trying to make them "Perfect"!

Ask me how I know...

PS: Nice condition! Now all you need is a Dynaco ST-70 tube amp.
Click to expand...

Best post ever!!!!
 
RedDelidder said:
I hope this is the correct place for this thread, I was lucky enough to be gifted a pair of 70s JBL L100 speakers by a family friend. They were in great shape, but incredibly dusty, but worked fine otherwise.

The family friend who gifted them to me used a damp rag to wipe the woofer cone before I came to pick it up. I noticed upon getting it home that the woofer speaker coating was smoother in one section compared to the rest.

I googled around a bit and learned that this coating is water soluble and is, as I understand it, important to the overall sound of the speaker.

I feel a bit silly asking this, but I’m a bit of a novice when it comes to speakers and especially vintage speakers, but I want to make sure that this isn’t a cause for concern and if it is, what can be done about it?
Click to expand...

I don’t understand your question are asking what the aquaplast is?

So it’s not really a big deal as your cones look fine in the picture. I’d just use them and enjoy them.

Now if you wanted you get on eBay and purchase some Aquplast and try to respray them. Kenrick sound “kenji” over in Japan will make them look new but he isn’t cheap…

I’ve got a set of the L100s I’m about to dig out and install new binding posts on. Cool speakers man!!
 
RedDelidder said:
I know these photos probably don't give the impression of anything wrong, but I marked the area that feels smooth.

It's probably crazy to worry about this, but I care a lot about this gift really want to make sure I take care of these speakers
Click to expand...

So with a little hot glue and a tooth pick you can pull the dents out of the le25 dust covers, new foam rings are cheap too!
 
jobrewer1983 said:
I don’t understand your question are asking what the aquaplast is?
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Nah, just asking a silly question about whether or not the speaker got damaged by using a damp rag to clean them. Just a little jittery after getting some primo speakers thrown in my lap. Like I said, I'm very new to vintage speakers and didn't want to run the risk of mishandling them, just anxious I guess lol.

Seems like the consensus is that I'm overthinking it, so I'll stop worrying and start listening to some tunes!
 
RedDelidder said:
Nah, just asking a silly question about whether or not the speaker got damaged by using a damp rag to clean them. Just a little jittery after getting some primo speakers thrown in my lap. Like I said, I'm very new to vintage speakers and didn't want to run the risk of mishandling them, just anxious I guess lol.

Seems like the consensus is that I'm overthinking it, so I'll stop worrying and start listening to some tunes!
Click to expand...

Well welcome to the club, and you got some fantastic speakers. I’ve had/have a few sets of the L-100s. Picked up a set of L-100A recently. You should check yours, look at the serial number is there an A at the end?

I’ll be cleaning mine up in a few weeks, I’ll tag ya in my thread when I start it.

IMG_1464.jpegIMG_1465.jpegIMG_1466.jpegIMG_1467.jpegIMG_4290.jpegIMG_4336.pngIMG_4283.jpegIMG_5335.jpegIMG_5332.jpegIMG_5359.jpeg

A few things you can do to clean them up and make the veneer look fresh with little effort. To much to get into now but I’ll tag ya when I start the process.
 
jobrewer1983 said:
Well welcome to the club, and you got some fantastic speakers. I’ve had/have a few sets of the L-100s. Picked up a set of L-100A recently. You should check yours, look at the serial number is there an A at the end?
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Yep, just checked and the serial number has an A at the end. I'm assuming that means that they're L-100As?

Absolutely tag me when you get started on that, I'd love to see it
 
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Hi there. I studied this as much as the internet allowed before reconing a similar woofer so I can speak with at least a small amount of theoretical and actual experience. The short version is: I don't think it's a problem.

Aquaplas was added to the cones of several JBL woofers to add weight, which lowers the resonance frequency, and possibly to add some stiffness. It's essentially a clay and water paste, i.e. when it's done it's dried mud. It remains soluble with water forever. However, there is quite a lot of it on those cones so a small missing amount is not going to affect the sound. If you are very concerned there is a dealer on eBay that sells small jars of it. You will probably have to put a thin coat on both cones to match the color, but really it is not a concern unless you can see it and it bugs you. It's great to see new people are discovering those old JBLs, especially as a gift!

And welcome to AK!
 
SaturationPt said:
His are the early L100A, based on the word CENTURY on the foilcal and the white grill pegs, should have the metal pushbutton terminals also.
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Yep!! I’ve got a later set with the orange JBL logo on the foilcal, and has the orange ring LE25s. He was gifted a great set!!
 
Any insight or advice regarding whether I should be thinking about replacing the capacitors and cleaning the potentiometers? I've noticed that the audio cuts in and out when I turn the dials so I'm assuming they could use a little contact cleaner.

I'm pretty handy with a soldering and electronics due to my career, but when I looked up how to remove the crossover circuit and saw that it involved removing the foilcal with a heat gun, I'm a bit hesitant to touch it.
 
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