Herritage: To refinish or not to refinish - that is the question.

[Yura]

Hey all,
Friend got an old pair of heritage speakers in raw birch. As i understand they came "raw" (no stain, no lacquer, no wax/oil) form the factory. But they are clearly coated with lacquer/clear coat. The cabinets are not in a bad shape, but they do have a few scratches here and there typical for speakers that are more than 30 years old.

So my question is - is it better to:

1- maintain the original condition even with light scratches in the finish/wood

2 - refinish them with the same stain/lacquer

3 - refinish in exotic stain

And by "better" i mean for them not to loose value since all the parts are original and they are single owner pair.

[Budman]

no question in my mind. # 1

birch raw turns a beautiful yellow after 30 years. sanding them makes them turn white.

[odysseyrevolver]

I recently applied a cherry stain to my raw Academy and absolutely love the results.

[Yura]

Was Raw birch actually completely unreated birth face plywood? Or did it have clear coat of some sort, poly, oil, etc?

[Groomlakearea51]

BR was raw.... nothing. However, the factory apparenly would apply a clear coat of lacquer as a customer ordered option. That usually was noted by an "L", sometimes in parentheses on the sticker tag on the back. I've a pair of LS-BR's that have that "option", and have seen it on Klipschorns and a pair of Cornwalls over the years.

[4tay]

I recently applied a cherry stain to my raw Academy and absolutely love the results.

I have seen some Klipsch redone in (red) cherry, and I have decided to do that to my oak quartets. Somne transparent red to let the grain come through will be a lot more appealing to me than a yellowish or dark walnut finish.

[Blvdre]

It really comes down to personal preference. I don't think you'll hurt the re-sale value by choosing any of the options you've listed. I'm with 4tay as far as color pallette - I like red tones in my brown. What tone would fit best with your current decor?

[Yura]

As far decore - there is nothing i can match them with. We are in the process of remodeling our home, so walls/floor/furniture are likely to change in color and texture. At this point I'm seriously considering either leaving raw birch and giving it a few layers of clear Poly or trying to give it brown with a hint of red (peacan/walnut) type of coat.

The cabinets are fully clean form the old poly/clear coat and are pretty white right now. But having just 2 choices instead of 3-4 is just as tough for me.

[Marvel]

If you decide to give them a coat with a tint, you will frist need to gove another clear coat to make sure all the wood is sealed. otherwise, the scratchesthat are through to the wood will show up darker.

Bruce