Jump to content

Reconditioning my 1982 Heresy's - Need help and guidance!


SuBXeRo

Recommended Posts

Hey everyone, i think its about time i started a refinish/update thread for my new-to-me 1982 heresys. After some debate, i have decided that i would like to keep the natural wood and restain it. I was debating on doing black but decided i wanted a more elegant approach to things.

I need to build new grills, these will be magnetic and will cover the fromt cabinet frame, i like a nice clean look like that, i want to keep the elegance of the cabinet but i want to update it as well and give it a subtle twist. The grills shown below are basically beaver board i think. I am looking for jetblack speaker cloth, just like what is used on the reference speakers. I am not a fan of the "old style" grill cloth.

Sanding, can these be sanded? will i ruin the veneer? Guidance on this would be much appreciated.

My goal as far as staining goes is to try and get the espresso finish like you find on the Icon W series. I am also unsure as to what gloss finish i should use, lacquer or poly or is there something else. I want to seal the cabinet up and make sure the veneer never pops and keep the finish looking nice. I was thinking i'd do a satin or semi gloss finish.

I am also debating on whether or not i want to do terminal cups or if i want to do a terminal plate + binding posts. Either way i want banana plug ability.

I want to keep the original klipsch sticks on the back, any great way to remove these to keep them? I would like to reapply them to the speaker but if i just kept them and laminated them that would be ok too! I just want to keep them as proof for the speakers.

The woofer looks, well, dated. I was hoping to use this product from parts-express http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=340-513 to give a "wet black look" to the woofer. If this is going to damage or change the gynamics of the woofer, i'd rather stay the hell away from it. It's also available in clear as well!

Ultimately, i want to restore these beauties, update their styling, keep them functional and have them last. All of this should also increase their value in case i ever decide to resell in the future.

The "clients" (take note, i popped the dust cap out with my vacuum, worked great, needle method was bogus)
heresy1.jpg

heresy6.jpg

heresy7.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: Sanding

Perhaps if you could first wipe down the cabinet with a damp rag and then post a photo. It is not clear from the current photo how much is dust etc as oppossed to real damage of the cabinet or finish. If that is not dust on the cabinet, then the surface is probably too far gone for a simple sanding. In either case, yes the veneer can be sanded, but most folks will sand too much (especially on the corners and edges). The veneer is not very think.

Two things to note. The darker the final finish, the more the mistakes will be revealed. The higher the sheen/gloss, the more the mistakes will be revealed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

that is what i pretty much looks like ahaha, ii havent wiped anything down with a rag, i suppose the photo makes things look a bit worse, i mean don't get me wrong either, the cabinets are in roughhhh condition. my biggest thing is making sure i dont take too much away. I am going to be hand sanding these too, ill be getting a nice sanding block and some heavier grit. I guess my biggest thing is to ditch the top layer, reveal the wood, work out some imperfections and then stain it. Atleast if it is stained, it will look uniform. There is no way that i could get rid of all of the blemishes, most of them appear to deep. Its like antique furniture on purpose, people beat the wood to give it a worn look. Having them a little worn looking but in good condition is ok too, i have to work with what i have!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, you can sand your cabinets. When I bought mine, they were painted in green. I first had to scour them before sanding using an orbital sander. I used 80, 120 and 180 sanding paper and I didn't ruin the veneer.

I also replace the back panel with and thicker one (18mm plywood) with banana plugs. I unglued the original sticker by the back panels over a pan filled with boiling water on my hob. The "cooking"[;)] takes approximately 15 minutes before the stickers started to unglue, then I gently peeled it from the wood.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it would be OK to us the PE product on the woofers and would not expect any change to be discernable to the ears.

If your refinishing work doesn't turn out to be satisfactory, you can always fill and paint black. Nicely prepared and painted cabs can look very good.

The best thing you can do, IMO, to help the sound of your "new" Heresy speakers will be to put fresh caps in the crossovers. Those rascals wear out over the decades. Use the same value only, the factory caps aren't high dollar items either and don't have to be for spectacular sound.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i have started the refinishing process today. I dubbed my heresys "the twins". I also wrote in permanent marker inside the cabs on the bottom "the twins" and marked a 1 or 2 and then signed my name and march 2011. Kind of like a time capsule. Hopefully someone someday will have these, crack em open and see that someone tended to them. I might leav a note in them too! (taped down or something of course haha, ill get to that when i get to it!.

I didnt realize, the horns are steel? i was like holy!!!!! quality i say!

I called bob crites today and he suggested that i swap out the caps as well. 35 bux for the kits for both speakers, i will definitly look into as i get closer to reassembling everything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i have started the refinishing process today. I dubbed my heresys "the twins". I also wrote in permanent marker inside the cabs on the bottom "the twins" and marked a 1 or 2 and then signed my name and march 2011. Kind of like a time capsule. Hopefully someone someday will have these, crack em open and see that someone tended to them. I might leav a note in them too! (taped down or something of course haha, ill get to that when i get to it!.

I didnt realize, the horns are steel? i was like holy!!!!! quality i say!

I called bob crites today and he suggested that i swap out the caps as well. 35 bux for the kits for both speakers, i will definitly look into as i get closer to reassembling everything.

O yeah, one thing that kills me, the moto board was screwed AND nailed shut with glue. Basically i just chopped the backs of the staples off and pounded the heads back into the motorboard. When i remount it i will sand it to get some glue off and maybe put some sort of rubber surround in. I started sanding the top of one of the twins just by hand but i am going to wait to get a hand jig to hold the sane paper, i wanna make sure i sand evenly! Already looks better!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WTF did you remove the motorboard?

Horn is aluminum, not steel.

If you are sanding by hand, wrap the sandpaper around a block of wood or your will likely wind up with a wavy surface.

i did remove the motor board because i want to refinish that as well. The best sanding will come if its separate from the rest of the enclosure. I am going to paint it black and then lacked it up with some with a high gloss i think.

II am going to get something, not a block, something that wont hurt my hand sanding for a while. I really want thimngs to come out nice.

Your cornwall came out great. You are lucky though that the whole thing is the birch plywoof, i have a veneer with lumbercore so i cant take things down as much as you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yeah, i think satin might work ahaha instead of high gloss. I was thinking about it last night, ill just use the same poly on the motor board as the rest of the enclosure. I think itll hep to have a shine on it, the cuts for the drivers with the particle board feeling get me, to have them sealed and smooth will help. I know, im anal

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...