Caring for Klipsch Wood Oiled Finishes...

[SilverSport]

...I have been in the BLO mix camp for caring for my KlipschWalnut or Oak Oiled finishes but never seem to get the finish that I have felt or seen on two pair of Klipsch speakers that i've owned...

...after following the advice of many and cleaning the wood finish first, I have followed up with a mixture of (Dr. Bill's Recipe') Gum Turpentine and Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO)...this has helped to clean off the previous anything and oiled the wood (or so I have believed)...leaving a natural stained wood finish that looks fine but still feels somewhat like infinished lumber (I'm exagerating of course but trying to illustrate my point)

...I recently picked up a pair of Walnut Oiled Klipsch kg4s and the finish felt like an earlier pair of Heresys in Walnut Oil...VERY smooth and almost like it had a poly finish...but still is oiled...I smelled the distinct odor of a recent Murphy's Oil Soap cleaning but the original owner did not recall anything special he had done to them...your thoughts on what might be the difference???...

...are these people possibly adding a wax product (Howard's Feed-N-Wax?) to get this smooth almost lacquer feel to their speakers???...it does appear to me that there is a finish on top of the just stained wood look of my speakers...

Thanks for any experiences or thoughts you care to share...

Bill

[Groomlakearea51]

The "feel" of the wood (cleaned and either ready to oil, or a light oil) relates to the final finish on the wood (veneer) itself. Me? I like #400 grit finish with a random orbital sander. Very smooth, but still has a "wood" feel to it. I've done some pairs with #600 and one pair with #800. Exteremely smooth, but you have to spend more time oiling and rubbing, etc. as the actual micro-surface in the wood becomes less "exposed" to absorb stains and oil. Think of the wood surface at the micro level as peaks and valleys. As you sand, you are "lopping off" the peaks, and as that occurs, it folds or flattens the pores, and reduces the overall surface (at the micro level) to which stains and oils can adhere to penetrate. The less smooth (comparatively, anyways) is easier in many ways to work with when staining and oiling. A very smooth surface also has to be really rubbed well to get as much of the oil to penetrate and leave a "sticky" layer (albeit very thin...) on the surface. The trick is really to "decide" what level of smooth you want, and then do all of the speakers to that level. Same thing applies to oiling. Always use the same oil in whatever mix, on the same wood and it will generally be identical. Walnut is the easiest to work with. Birch is the most difficult (for a variety of reasons whic relate to the wood species itself). Oak is also very easy, and some of the best oak rebuilds I have done were only to #180 grit. It leaves the oak with that "oak" feel where as you rub your fingers on it, it's smooth, but the grains are still pronounced and quite pretty. Hope that is of some assistance.

[colterphoto1]

Great tips from one of the cabinet-masters around here.

A couple of additions from my experience- I use the Watco product but I'm sure the same applies with all BLO mixes. You've got solvent and solids in the same can. Be sure to gently stir or shake the can well before starting and during application. Don't disturb it enough to cause air bubbles, but you have to keep the solids in suspension or you're just wiping on solvents that will evaporate, further drying your wood.

Do not apply to thick or the solids will build up and form a sticky coat. Even more so than with paint finishes, many thin coats is far superior to a couple heavy layers.

An old Klipsch adage (Steve Phillips used to quote this so I'll attribute it to him) was to do the following to bring old aged speakers up to a rich finish.

Oil once a day for a week,

once a week for a month,

once a month for a year.

That would be 11 + 3 + 7 or 21 oilings. A bit much perhaps but it's that combination of many thin coats and all that hand rubbing that smooth out the grain 'fuzzies', fill in the pores, and give that rich lustre like light is coming from the wood itself. My Khorns had lived in a warehouse for 7 years and after dusting, 4 coats of Watco brought them to a rich (if somewhat darker) walnut glow.

1/4" glass tops are a sure fire way to keep speaker tops from becoming damaged. They can be installed after a sufficient drying time (I allow several days after the surface feels dry to the touch). Be sure to use the desk-tabs (nickel sized hard plastic spacers) between wood and glass.

Michael

[colterphoto1]

.

[SilverSport]

 

The "feel" of the wood (cleaned and either ready to oil, or a light oil) relates to the final finish on the wood (veneer) itself. Me? I like #400 grit finish with a random orbital sander. Very smooth, but still has a "wood" feel to it. I've done some pairs with #600 and one pair with #800. Exteremely smooth, but you have to spend more time oiling and rubbing, etc. as the actual micro-surface in the wood becomes less "exposed" to absorb stains and oil. Think of the wood surface at the micro level as peaks and valleys. As you sand, you are "lopping off" the peaks, and as that occurs, it folds or flattens the pores, and reduces the overall surface (at the micro level) to which stains and oils can adhere to penetrate. The less smooth (comparatively, anyways) is easier in many ways to work with when staining and oiling. A very smooth surface also has to be really rubbed well to get as much of the oil to penetrate and leave a "sticky" layer (albeit very thin...) on the surface. The trick is really to "decide" what level of smooth you want, and then do all of the speakers to that level. Same thing applies to oiling. Always use the same oil in whatever mix, on the same wood and it will generally be identical. Walnut is the easiest to work with. Birch is the most difficult (for a variety of reasons whic relate to the wood species itself). Oak is also very easy, and some of the best oak rebuilds I have done were only to #180 grit. It leaves the oak with that "oak" feel where as you rub your fingers on it, it's smooth, but the grains are still pronounced and quite pretty. Hope that is of some assistance.

 

 

we are sympatico on this...and I understood every word...this is what I've done with mine but those two sets from others were done differently...thanks for this Groomlakearea51

Bill

Edited April 28, 2016 by silversport

[SilverSport]

Great tips from one of the cabinet-masters around here.

A couple of additions from my experience- I use the Watco product but I'm sure the same applies with all BLO mixes. You've got solvent and solids in the same can. Be sure to gently stir or shake the can well before starting and during application. Don't disturb it enough to cause air bubbles, but you have to keep the solids in suspension or you're just wiping on solvents that will evaporate, further drying your wood.

Do not apply to thick or the solids will build up and form a sticky coat. Even more so than with paint finishes, many thin coats is far superior to a couple heavy layers.

An old Klipsch adage (Steve Phillips used to quote this so I'll attribute it to him) was to do the following to bring old aged speakers up to a rich finish.

Oil once a day for a week,

once a week for a month,

once a month for a year.

That would be 11 + 3 + 7 or 21 oilings. A bit much perhaps but it's that combination of many thin coats and all that hand rubbing that smooth out the grain 'fuzzies', fill in the pores, and give that rich lustre like light is coming from the wood itself. My Khorns had lived in a warehouse for 7 years and after dusting, 4 coats of Watco brought them to a rich (if somewhat darker) walnut glow.

1/4" glass tops are a sure fire way to keep speaker tops from becoming damaged. They can be installed after a sufficient drying time (I allow several days after the surface feels dry to the touch). Be sure to use the desk-tabs (nickel sized hard plastic spacers) between wood and glass.

Michael

Thanks Michael...I usually make my own mixture from Dr. Bill's recipe' but I may just pick up some Watco as I used their finish product on some Birch KHorns...

Bill