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Cleaning smoke from Klipschorns


Milk

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Well, I just picked up two Klipschorns for $1,200. Listened to them at the owner's house and they sound great; however they were in a smoking environment. Obviously bought them knowing a lot of work was going to have be done to get them cleaned, but I think they were still worth it. Any tips on cleaning smoke from the wood, cloth, and as much from the components and driver as possible? I've read from here, and on other sources, that things like a 1 part water - 4 part vinegar solution may help with the wood. Also suggested are using an ozone generator, although guessing will still need to scrub the get any scum off. From the serial number (and obvious appearance) they are raw Birch wood. On that note, I've been having trouble decoding the serial numbers based on what I've read, if anyone can help with that too definitely would appreciate it. I have them stored in my friend's garage while we gameplan how to get this smoke out. On the plus side, they sound freaking awesome!

 

Thanks in advance!

 

-Mike

KC 1.jpg

KC 2.jpg

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2 minutes ago, codewritinfool said:

Dude, that is an amazing score.  You know, you could always replace the grille cloth to get rid of the smoke there.  Not sure about the wood, though.  Ya know, not very helpful, but if you took up smoking....

 

Congrats!

 

Thanks! I'm not gonna lie, was giddy as could be to get them at all. Been on my list for a while. I was definitely debating just getting new cloth, if someone can convince me that cleaning them won't be that bad, I'll keep them though. Just had to reply because you're comment made me laugh...and is a solid point!

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Congratulations for these beautiful Khorn, they are beautiful in this livery :wub:

 

If I had to clean these Khorn, I'd already dust off with a vacuum cleaner and pay attention to the speakers. First gently sand with iron wool grade 0000, again suck the dust. Then I will try to feed the wood with linseed oil, do not put a lot of oil, then wipe the oil that does not penetrate the wood with a soft cloth.

 

http://www.steelwool.biz/Steel_Wool_Grades_Uses.htm

 

https://ardec.ca/en/blog/22/linseed-oil-a-natural-solution-for-wood-finishing

 

For fabric covers if they can disassemble and there is no speaker behind, you can try gently with a small steam cleaner! 

 

Good restoration :)

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For the cloth get some Dreft spray from baby dept at Walmart. spray on cloth then with wet dry vac suck  dirt and smell out. Works wonders on couches chairs car upholstery and smells great after. The wood you could refinish it or just clean it with wood restorer.

The year they indicate you probably need a capacitor upgrade and just incase you didn't know get 1 inch pipe foam or those swim tubes to seal the speaker in the corner. Also seal the horizontal part of bass bin. Also check the rubber washer on the mid driver.

If you want to replace the cloth be advised that is stapled on there with about 1000 -2000 staples. 

 

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3 hours ago, ricktate said:

For the cloth get some Dreft spray from baby dept at Walmart. spray on cloth then with wet dry vac suck  dirt and smell out. Works wonders on couches chairs car upholstery and smells great after. The wood you could refinish it or just clean it with wood restorer.

The year they indicate you probably need a capacitor upgrade and just incase you didn't know get 1 inch pipe foam or those swim tubes to seal the speaker in the corner. Also seal the horizontal part of bass bin. Also check the rubber washer on the mid driver.

If you want to replace the cloth be advised that is stapled on there with about 1000 -2000 staples. 

 

 

Thanks for the advice! Definitely saw all those staples already and was dreading having to replace it for just that reason but, what's a good deal without a little work. Regardless, I'd rather clean it if possible so I'll try that before I straight ditch them. Also saw that pipe foam tip somewhere else on here, what a great idea and will definitely be doing that! As for the caps, we're gonna test them but yeah quite sure it will need replacement and plan on doing it anyway. I've had serious problems with tracking down the year even with the serial number decoder posted a few posts up - I had researched that before but the 35501 S/N didn't match anything, unless I'm reading that wrong.

 

Thanks for the advice! Can't wait to get her cleaned up!

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6 hours ago, mustang_flht said:

For serial numbers read this

 

 

  • KC = Klipschorn - Model Type C, no "collar"
  • BR                Birch                       Raw 
  • ...

 

 

 

;)

 

 

Thanks! Yeah I had read this, but was confused on the year based on the serial number provided, the format doesn't match up with anything in there, unless I can't figure out how to read a S/N, which who knows, could be.

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Google how to removed smoke smells from wood, there are ways with which I am not familiar.  There will certainly be a yellow tar on the outside which is hard to remove.  You are going to have to repeat your cleaning process several times to get as much off as possible. 

 

My dad was a smoker and cleaning his apartment walls after he left was gross and took our family HOURS to get it off, and it was messy.  We used Odo Ban spray which is supposed to kill the smell.  I don't know if that will help your wood or not.

 

After the multiple cleanings (you will hate me for this one) I think it would help to leave them outside in the sunlight for a few days, maybe even a week if you can stand having your Khorns out in the yard or driveway.  The fresh air will help with the smoke smell and the UV rays from the sun will help too.  Obviously bring them in the garage at night.  Any time you smell the smoke that is the stink leaving the wood and eventually it will all go away, it just takes time.

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@wvu80 Yeah I gathered it would take a bit of time, be a little nasty, but willing to put forth the work. My buddy's place, who's garage this is at, has a nice backyard and it's starting to turn summer here, so that might call for some afternoons in his pool with a drink monitoring the Khorns outside for a little bit once we get them mostly cleaned up. Doesn't sound too bad ;). Appreciate the advice. It looks like the online advice, including Klipsch owners, that a couple different solutions will likely work, the water/vinegar solution and potentially a nice lemon oil type wood cleaner may be the best beat - and of course everyone recommends the outside sun option!

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Water and vinegar works well. Damp cloth cleaning of the wood with a water/vinegar and a drop of good old fashioned dish soap will also get the surface film off. Damp cloth wiping of the horns themselves will do wonders. We recently quit smoking and washed our entire place down and it worked well. Something else which will help and requires very little work is to place them in a room with a humidifier. Put the water vinegar mix in it. It will gently steam away odour.

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7 hours ago, Milk said:

 

Thanks! Yeah I had read this, but was confused on the year based on the serial number provided, the format doesn't match up with anything in there, unless I can't figure out how to read a S/N, which who knows, could be.

Yes I saw and I do not know why your serial number does not give you the year! I hope someone on the forum will have the answer.

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@ricktate indeed! We did some research and figured it's 89 - 95, since that's when the AK-3 was used, if I'm correct in my deciphering of the timeline. Picture of the crossover is below! Really love to figure this one out. Posted this question over on the Ask the Historian thread specifically, since I realized I kinda cross posted when my primary intent was to figure out safe cleaning options.

 

kc-xo.JPG

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Good score.

I have had a pair of 1989 K-Horns since new.

Once you have checked out the cross over caps (which you will find to be out of spec) you will be faced with the age old question "Do I just buy a cap upgrade kit from Bob Crites or do I upgrade the cross over?"

Endless threads to be read and debated over; room dimensions and listening levels should be taken into account before you commit to anything.

 

Another thing to check is https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/130970-is-it-the-al-3-or-the-squakers/

Both the K-55 in my K-Horns suffered from this, so I replaced them with Crites A55-G drivers.

 

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How's about denatured alcohol on the wood. That's what I used on an RSW-15 that had been in a smoky environment. The grill was another story. Got a small mortar mixing tub at Homer d Poe and soaked that baby in warm soapy water Then a soak in ammonia seemed to be the most helpful at removing the odor. But it was not 100% effective. But with time it is pretty much gone. This was done in my case because new grills for RSW-15 are pure unobtanium. Your Khorns could have new cloth installed.

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