jimjimbo Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 The pair of one piece LSI's that I recently acquired have an understandable amount of wear and tear....what I'm looking for is some guidance on the best method and products to clean and polish these fiberglass finished units to hopefully bring them back to life....The photo of the tops are not mine, but look very similar. The photo of the front is of my pair of LSI splits, and what I'd love to be able to end up with, but of course understand that may not be possible. A modest amount of improvement would be great. Appreciate all suggestions. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 I'd just pull the trim and paint them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjimbo Posted February 28, 2018 Author Share Posted February 28, 2018 Uh no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 43 minutes ago, jimjimbo said: Uh no Usually fibreglass comes with a gelcoat covering so that you can finish it without strands of glass popping out. Judging from the picture there might be a clear gelcoat on the surface if there is such a thing. Plan "A" try polishing it and if it doesn't work go to plan "B" which is cover it with veneer. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 29 minutes ago, JJkizak said: Plan "A" try polishing it With that texture, it would be like polishing a sponge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFR1 Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 @jimjimbo First step is to clean with a mild detergent and a soft bristle brush. Rinse and repeat until you see a clean rag as you buff dry. Wet sand CAREFULLY with 1000 or 1500 3M wetsand paper. Sand as little as possible. I would suggest focusing on areas with scratches that you want to minimize. Removal of all scratches is probably not practical. Anything you sand must be repolished. Machine polish, be gentle, using 3M 'Perfect It' compounds. ( I use a 3 step process and can give you product codes if you wish) Finish with a high quality automotive wax. If you choose not to sand and buff, after through cleaning, apply a new ArmorAll product desinged for auto interiors. It does not leave a greasy/gooey mess like the original ArmorAll. It leaves a matte/ satin look. Very nice product. Contact me if you need more help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 2 minutes ago, TFR1 said: Wet sand CAREFULLY with 1000 or 1500 3M wetsand paper. Won't you be sanding the black off and exposing the fiberglass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFR1 Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Not if you go CAREFULLY with 1500 wetsand paper. It is not a simple task. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFR1 Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 I would expect a 5 thousands min thickness of gelcoat over the glass fibers. Maybe as much as 10-15. Not much to work with, but enough to clean the panels up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 12 minutes ago, TFR1 said: Not if you go CAREFULLY with 1500 wetsand paper. It is not a simple task. But the panels are textured not flat. I don't see how you're just not hitting the high spots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjimbo Posted March 1, 2018 Author Share Posted March 1, 2018 1 hour ago, TFR1 said: @jimjimbo First step is to clean with a mild detergent and a soft bristle brush. Rinse and repeat until you see a clean rag as you buff dry. Wet sand CAREFULLY with 1000 or 1500 3M wetsand paper. Sand as little as possible. I would suggest focusing on areas with scratches that you want to minimize. Removal of all scratches is probably not practical. Anything you sand must be repolished. Machine polish, be gentle, using 3M 'Perfect It' compounds. ( I use a 3 step process and can give you product codes if you wish) Finish with a high quality automotive wax. If you choose not to sand and buff, after through cleaning, apply a new ArmorAll product desinged for auto interiors. It does not leave a greasy/gooey mess like the original ArmorAll. It leaves a matte/ satin look. Very nice product. Contact me if you need more help. Thank you Jerry. I'm not looking for perfection. I think this cleaning and ArmorAll might be the way to go. It's going to be a while, I'm still looking for appropriate components and have to make decisions on the trim too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFR1 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 @CECAA850 I understand your concerns. I've had my hands on jimjimbo's LSI's. Most of the panels look pretty good. I have attached a couple of pictures for reference. The deep scratches may require some touch up in places, preferably with a catalyzed urethane paint and a small artist's brush. (I would probably experiment with an air brush as well.) Very fine wet sandpaper will certainly only get the high spots, but with a lot of finesse you can get into some of the low areas. Buffing the panel properly with a combination of wool buffs and foam pads will improve the finish. It is a bad idea to attempt to paint the panels unless you are going to use them as a static display. The painted surface will not be durable enough to take much moving around. Applying a clear, or even black, gel coat could be done, but you would probably not be happy with the end result. Spraying gel coat on top of a panel usually results in excessive orange peel. It just does not flow well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 You could paint with Duratex and a smooth roller then. No added texture and a very durable finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 31 minutes ago, TFR1 said: @CECAA850 I understand your concerns. I've had my hands on jimjimbo's LSI's. Most of the panels look pretty good. I have attached a couple of pictures for reference. The deep scratches may require some touch up in places, preferably with a catalyzed urethane paint and a small artist's brush. (I would probably experiment with an air brush as well.) Very fine wet sandpaper will certainly only get the high spots, but with a lot of finesse you can get into some of the low areas. Buffing the panel properly with a combination of wool buffs and foam pads will improve the finish. It is a bad idea to attempt to paint the panels unless you are going to use them as a static display. The painted surface will not be durable enough to take much moving around. Applying a clear, or even black, gel coat could be done, but you would probably not be happy with the end result. Spraying gel coat on top of a panel usually results in excessive orange peel. It just does not flow well. That surface dictates that it is ready to have the living crap kicked out of it. I's called durability. JJK 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjimbo Posted March 1, 2018 Author Share Posted March 1, 2018 13 hours ago, JJkizak said: That surface dictates that it is ready to have the living crap kicked out of it. I's called durability. JJK That's fine and dandy for their original intended use, but I don't plan on kicking the living crap out of them, and I'd like them to look halfway decent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeM38 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 I have cleaned some pretty dirty fiberglass LSI and just did a set of MWMs that thread is in the pro section. "special thanks to coytee". I used a scrub brush and a pot scouring pad along with bathroom tile cleaner and comet powder.. Both times I scrubbed very aggressively with no damage to the speakers. The Glass finish is tough. It is a project ...at times I felt like I was trying to clean a gravel driveway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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