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Today's score!!-BOSE 901-III's-in the garbage!-PICS

Scott's Liquid Gold is a product with some solvent-like qualities that has removed absorbed tape residue for me in a few cases. Might work for you.
 
GD70 said:
The sticky residue is gone. I used Acetone, took it right off. The wood absorbed the moisture from the tape glue over time. So I have to take it down by sanding it off.

I'll try some alcohol just to see if it helps though.
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Acetone would have been my only other suggestion, but it's such an aggressive solvent I wouldn't generally recommend it on veneered surfaces.
 
GD70 said:
The LST's I found on CL, the 901's I found. My best garbage find so far!
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I own AR3a speakers. Having blown tweeters or mids in an LST is a scary thought. 6 mids altogether? Yikes! I'm sure they must sound amazing. Those AR mids are impressive.

If you don't have one yet, should get a Series III or IV EQ to go with those when you have them completed. It's positively amazing what the EQ does for any of the 901 speakers.
 
OoOOooooO, sanding veneer. I just love sanding veneer. Acetone? That's weak stuff, evaporates before it has time to do anything. I generally use a mixture of toluene, xylene and isopropyl alcohol (epoxy cleanup solvent). No ketones though, don't need those. A good swipe of that stuff with a paper towel and you're done.

xo, Biggles
 
You will need atleast 150 wpc to get the 901's to open up. And get the matching series 3 equalizer to go with them. And room placement is critical enough power and proper setup these speakers sound incredible.
 
Copa1934 said:
I own AR3a speakers. Having blown tweeters or mids in an LST is a scary thought. 6 mids altogether? Yikes! I'm sure they must sound amazing. Those AR mids are impressive.

If you don't have one yet, should get a Series III or IV EQ to go with those when you have them completed. It's positively amazing what the EQ does for any of the 901 speakers.
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The mids are good, it was 6 tweeters I needed to replace. I got them at PE which Roy C. helped me choose, so at 23 a pop plus two caps and two inductors wasn't that bad.

I've been scanning on line for the EQ for the 901's and they are a bit pricy. Need to save up a bit but in no rush at this point. I've got plenty to do.
 
drbiggles said:
OoOOooooO, sanding veneer. I just love sanding veneer. Acetone? That's weak stuff, evaporates before it has time to do anything. I generally use a mixture of toluene, xylene and isopropyl alcohol (epoxy cleanup solvent). No ketones though, don't need those. A good swipe of that stuff with a paper towel and you're done.

xo, Biggles
Click to expand...

The acetone worked pretty quickly. I've used the stuff for 40 years.
Do you mix up the stuff you use, or is it commercially available?

The 901 veneer is nice and thick. On the ARa's it's very thin. I was reluctant to strip them and first tried some stainable putty to fill in some nicks on the corner edges, which sucks in my opinion and doesn't stain well at all. I'm a perfectionist and decided to re-veneer so they will be as perfect as possible.
 
First cab done-PICS

I finished sanding the top, did a light sanding on the face strips and sides. One side had some kind of splatter which also stained the wood a bit. I used my xacto and carefully scraped the surface , then sanded, then used 0000 steel wool on all the surfaces. I applied the Watco Danish oil, natural, and the wood looks outstanding! The tape residue stains are gone!
On to the 2nd cab. Here's a few more pics.
Final sanding and oil application.







This was the side with the splatter restored.

Other side was good, but oiled.
 
Nice Job on the wood refinishing. Look as New.
I (shamefully) bought a set New back in early 70's.. V expensive.
They play louder than those wee drivers suggest.
With the Absolutely Necessary! equalizer they are passable to good sound reproducers.
Not outstanding sounds though, all brochure babble aside.
However these Do require a ... Large Concrete wall ...to bounce their sound off.
It's part 'n parcel of their reflected wave operational design.
Sans that in a listening room ,,they are harsh sounding things indeed.
Lacking the requisite 10 x 20 foot concrete wall I Sold mine off in disgust, 6 months later.. for Peanuts.
Replaced with Tannoys.. a whole different Planet in quality sound reproductions Not inexpensive though.
However I still own and cherish the tannoys... 40 years and counting later
 
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GD70 said:
The acetone worked pretty quickly. I've used the stuff for 40 years.
Do you mix up the stuff you use, or is it commercially available?
Click to expand...

Acetone can work just fine and sometimes it is nice to have it evaporate so darned quickly. I believe you'll find though that it could very well be the mechanical action of your clean up that is actually doing the work, not the solvent. Depending on what type of work you're doing, it's very nice to let the solvent do the work. And as long as you're not submersing or soaking your veneer in Epoxy Clean-up solvent for hours, it's not going to adversely effect your veneer work. I buy mine, too much work to blend my own.

There are two different routes you can go with the epoxy clean-up solvent. One of which is just buy it off your local hardware store shelf, that will work to thin epoxy paints and for basic clean-up. But what most people don't know, is this standard stuff has trace elements of water and silicone oils. If you want to prep your work, be it metal, fiberglass or wood, you really should buy something by Dupont called prep-sol or similar. These are blends that come from isopropyl alcohol that is anhydrous (no water) and clear of any silicone oils.

I've seen problems arise mostly from prepping metals with standard hardware store epoxy clean-up solvents. You wipe your project down, then immediately come back with paint and it creeps away as though your work had wax schmeared on it. This happens with wood more often than you'd think. Hooboy, you wipe down your work with a good epoxy clean-up solvent? That surface is very nicely ready to accept whatever it is that you're going to use.

xo, Biggles
 
GD70 said:
I finished sanding the top, did a light sanding on the face strips and sides. One side had some kind of splatter which also stained the wood a bit. I used my xacto and carefully scraped the surface , then sanded, then used 0000 steel wool on all the surfaces. I applied the Watco Danish oil, natural, and the wood looks outstanding! The tape residue stains are gone!
On to the 2nd cab. Here's a few more pics.
Final sanding and oil application.







This was the side with the splatter restored.

Other side was good, but oiled.
Click to expand...

Those look great! Well done. I picked up a pair of 901 series III recently at the Route 127 yard sale. The cabinets were in very good condition with the tulip black stands. No eq, for $85. All of the surrounds were shot but drives all worked. Just finished the replacing of the foam surrounds on all 18 speakers. As some one mentioned, the prep work and cleaning was the most time consuming. I left the speakers in the cabinet throughout the process. Relatively easy but time consuming job.

I have since acquired a Series III EQ and a Series IV EQ. I have to say, I like these things a lot! My living room has hardwood floors, 10 foot ceilings and plaster walls. Maybe that set up is a bit of luck because these things are a true experience to listen to. Maybe not for everyone, but with the correct room and set up, they are special.

Since I now have two EQ's that work with these, I might let one go if you are in need of one soon. PM if interested.

Again, great job in saving these things from the dump. I will for sure be willing to take these off of anyone's hands that want to throw them in the trash,:thmbsp:

Hope you enjoy.
 
I would refoam them and sell them on. When you hear the massive midrange coloration caused by the plastic "honeycomb" that's sandwiched between the top and bottom wood pieces, you'll realize why. Just put on DSOTM and wait for the vocals to come in. Been there, done that. I restored a pair of these, rubbing the cabinets down, refoaming the drivers, rewiring them, painting the stands, I was just disappointed in the end.

You can see the thread on my restoration here :

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=392040

Lee.
 
onwardjames said:
Fantastic job, man. Looking great.
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Thanks onward! I really enjoy working with wood. I'm extremely anal about it. I sometimes dig myself in a hole adding a lot more work, (re-veneering a pair of KLH model 6's, and currently a pair of AR-LST-2's) but the end product is well worth it as well as the satisfaction.

Cheers!
 
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