HO249 Posted January 11, 2020 Report Share Posted January 11, 2020 Greetings, this is my first post, hope you folks might be able to help. We have a pair of AR LST speakers which were purchased new in 1975 or 1976. I was in the service at the time and had them "drop shipped" to the USA from a base audio store. The speakers still sound marvelous! However, they both sustained water damage on the top surfaces (please see pictures). We're hoping to get this cleaned up as best we can. This forum has numerous threads on cabinet restoration. On a recent thread, some speakers were carefully sanded and refinished with boiled linseed oil. In another project, the speakers were treated with an iron and wet towels; then, they were treated with Howard's Restor a Finish. The other surfaces all look good. They could probably be improved with Howards. I'd appreciate your opinions on how to proceed. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnivore Posted January 11, 2020 Report Share Posted January 11, 2020 Is the wood split on top in that bottom picture? If it's just water stains then sand it down and refinish with one of the recommended finishes. It's time consuming but rewarding. I used Watco danish oil when I did mine which looks nice and is low maintenance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HO249 Posted January 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2020 3 minutes ago, Carnivore said: Is the wood split on top in that bottom picture? It's not split, fortunately. On that particular speaker top, the lightest colored areas are slightly sunken from the rest of the surface, perhaps 1/32". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted January 11, 2020 Report Share Posted January 11, 2020 These are way beyond anything you can fix with any Howard's product. And just sanding will be unlikely to produce an even appearance. You may need to bleach the top and then stain to put color back in. If you don't have previous finishing experience, these are too expensive to learn on and you should probably remove the drivers and take the cabinets to a professional furniture refinisher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HO249 Posted January 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2020 30 minutes ago, genek said: you should probably remove the drivers and take the cabinets to a professional furniture refinisher. OK, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD70 Posted January 14, 2020 Report Share Posted January 14, 2020 Hi! To repair the tops, you'll need to sand them carefully to the veneer surface. Next, get a can of Barkeepers Friend, which has oxiolic acid in it. Make a paste and apply it on the water damage spots. Let it sit until dry and wipe away. You may need to do this multiple times and eventually the stains will be removed, or almost completely removed depending on the severity of the stain. Heres the link to my JBL200's restoration. The cabs had pretty bad stains like your LST's There's lots of pics showing the project. Cheers, Glenn https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/jbl-l200-studio-masters-pics.832069/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HO249 Posted January 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2020 Hi Glenn, Thanks for the inspiration! Your restoration work on the JBL speakers is truly first-rate. I've decided to opt for professional restoration of the LST cabs. They'll be in the shop for 4-6 weeks. The shop is going to replace the veneer on the tops of the cab, and then stain the new veneer to match. We're in the process of removing the drivers and covering the resultant holes. Considering the value of LSTs, I think the expense is worthwhile. I'll post pictures when the work is complete. Thanks again, your enthusiasm is very contagious. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD70 Posted January 15, 2020 Report Share Posted January 15, 2020 On January 14, 2020 at 12:03 PM, HO249 said: Hi Glenn, Thanks for the inspiration! Your restoration work on the JBL speakers is truly first-rate. I've decided to opt for professional restoration of the LST cabs. They'll be in the shop for 4-6 weeks. The shop is going to replace the veneer on the tops of the cab, and then stain the new veneer to match. We're in the process of removing the drivers and covering the resultant holes. Considering the value of LSTs, I think the expense is worthwhile. I'll post pictures when the work is complete. Thanks again, your enthusiasm is very contagious. John Hi John, I have a set of LST-2's, and did the same thing. They were a mess when I bought them. I reveneered the tops and they came out looking brand new. Im sure you'll be very happy with them both visually and sonically. Terrific sounding speakers with uncanny dimensionality. Cheers, Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidR Posted January 15, 2020 Report Share Posted January 15, 2020 Glenn is a wizard when it comes to cabinet restorations. His advice helped me save a pair of AR9s that had water damaged MDF and veneer lifting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HO249 Posted January 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2020 The enthusiasm and freely flowing advice here is really tremendous. Hoping you can help with more questions! The LST drivers were installed with gaskets, but no other sealants. Presumably the gaskets should be replaced when the drivers are reinstalled. From the forums, it appears some folks use gasket tape as a replacement, others prefer moldable weatherstripping materials. Any recommendations? Thanks again for all the advice! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lARrybody Posted January 15, 2020 Report Share Posted January 15, 2020 I like using the gasket tape you can get from Parts Express.Some like cutting new gaskets using a circle cutter. You can get thin foam sheets from Michaels . I have re-used original gaskets before, but they have been compressed and may not be a good seal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aadams Posted January 15, 2020 Report Share Posted January 15, 2020 If your baffles are chipboard you might want to consider tape only. Mortite caulk works well on woofers but it can bond into the porous surface of chipboard and you can pull out significant chunks of mounting surface when trying to remove and replace. Tape will also be easier on flanges of tweeters and mids for future remove and replace. Adams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HO249 Posted January 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2020 3 hours ago, Aadams said: If your baffles are chipboard you might want to consider tape only. Yes, the baffles are chipboard. Sounds like tape is the way to go. Thanks! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnivore Posted January 16, 2020 Report Share Posted January 16, 2020 How does everyone here check the air seal after reinstalling drivers? You can get a cheap stethoscope from Amazon - mine is an Omron brand that cost less than $15. I found out through trial and error it only works if you remove the stethoscope's pickup (aka diaphragm) and use the open end of the tube to go around the perimeter of each driver to listen for leaks while playing a low frequency test tone. With the pickup removed, the leaks are obvious. I was able to seal them by tightening the screws closest to the leakage point just enough to stop it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HO249 Posted January 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2020 A few more questions, if I may... The drivers will be out of our LSTs for a few weeks while the cabinets are refinished. Do I need to take any special precautions with the drivers while they are stored? I figured they probably should be stored face out, especially the woofers. The main concern is damage to the magnets in the drivers - should they be separated at some minimum distance from each other? Also, would there be any advantage to changing out the stuffing when the LSTs are reassembled? The existing stuffing looks fine to my untrained eye. Thanks once again, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aadams Posted January 16, 2020 Report Share Posted January 16, 2020 This thread tells you how to store old AR woofers for prolonged periods. I think a few weeks would qualify as prolonged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teknofossil Posted January 17, 2020 Report Share Posted January 17, 2020 That water damage most likely has soaked through most of the veneer. Is the veneer blistered is these areas? If not in my opinion you might want to consider buying some flexible veneer from Parts Express, Woodcrafters or Constantines (in FL). This product is available with a heat activated adhesive or the type that you use contact adhesive. If you look in the Bose section of Classic Speaker Pages you can see how the early Bose 901's that I brought back to life came out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HO249 Posted January 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2020 2 hours ago, Aadams said: I think a few weeks would qualify as prolonged. Agreed. The woofers are in storage on edge. Thanks! Amazing how much you folks know on these diverse matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HO249 Posted January 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2020 31 minutes ago, teknofossil said: That water damage most likely has soaked through most of the veneer. Is the veneer blistered is these areas? The surfaces are not blistered. Thanks for your suggestion, it's a good idea. But way outside my skill set with these things! The cabs are likely going to the restoration shop on Monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teknofossil Posted January 18, 2020 Report Share Posted January 18, 2020 It isn't a difficult job really. Anyway, what is the shop going to do to them? It has been my experience water stains like that penetrate deep into the veneer. What are they actually going to do to the the staining? Sanding? Dark staining as camoflage? Just as a FYI material cost for veneer and finishing materials would run less than 100 USD. I'd estimate about 1 hour or less to apply the veneer unless the edges of the top require veneering as well. Where are you located? -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD70 Posted January 18, 2020 Report Share Posted January 18, 2020 Oxiolic acid will remove most, if not all of the water stains. That's why I recommended Bar Keepers Friend cleaner. You make a paste and apply it to the stained areas, let it dry and wipe off. It may take 10 applications, but the veneer will look great once the finish of choice is applied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HO249 Posted January 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2020 14 hours ago, teknofossil said: Anyway, what is the shop going to do to them? It has been my experience water stains like that penetrate deep into the veneer. What are they actually going to do to the the staining? Sanding? Dark staining as camoflage? Just as a FYI material cost for veneer and finishing materials would run less than 100 USD. I'd estimate about 1 hour or less to apply the veneer unless the edges of the top require veneering as well. Where are you located? Hi Tom, the shop suggested applying new veneer to the top surfaces, and then staining the newly applied veneer to match. The rest of the veneer surfaces on the speakers are in good shape. From reviewing other posts, all they probably need is minor surface preparation and treatment with Restor a Finish. I live in San Antonio and there are several stores nearby which sell walnut veneer. From viewing some videos, not sure that I could do a professional job of cutting, trimming and applying the veneer. In my judgement, the speakers are valuable enough to justify the cost of professional restoration. However, I do indeed appreciate your suggestions and encouragement! Thanks, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teknofossil Posted January 23, 2020 Report Share Posted January 23, 2020 I understand. Reveneering IMOP is the way to go. You will a very nice system when you are done. I suggest that you consider having the drivers carefully removed and stored away until the work is done and then the drivers reinstalled once the reveneering and finishing is complete. Best of luck! Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HO249 Posted April 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2020 This is to follow up on the thread started in January. Here are pictures of the freshly veneered cabs. I had the shop refinish the rest of the speakers as well. The guy who did work said water had soaked through the veneer and caused the particle board underneath to swell. This clearly would have been beyond my capability to fix. All the drivers are back in place, and the speakers sound great! Next step is to work on the grills. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD70 Posted May 3, 2020 Report Share Posted May 3, 2020 On January 14, 2020 at 10:54 PM, DavidR said: Glenn is a wizard when it comes to cabinet restorations. His advice helped me save a pair of AR9s that had water damaged MDF and veneer lifting. Thanks David! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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