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La Scala wood restoration/cleaning?


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Been enjoying my La scalas. They are a bit stained/dirty? I tried the beeswax/orange paste wipe on wipe off and didnt really notice a difference.  Do i need to sand/buff and then what to seal it? They are raw birch and i love that look so want to keep that look and not stain/color/tint them.....

 

Any advice???

20190129_124256-1328x747-332x187.jpg

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  Some fine sandpaper and a palm sander should freshen the looks. 

  Once back natural and smooth a clear polyurethane finish should prevent the wood from turning dark. 

  For long term finish protection a coat or two of spar vanish should help prevent discolorization. There is clear spar varnish in gloss, semi gloss, and no gloss finish. 

  This is perfect.

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Been enjoying my La scalas. They are a bit stained/dirty? I tried the beeswax/orange paste wipe on wipe off and didnt really notice a difference.  Do i need to sand/buff and then what to seal it? They are raw birch and i love that look so want to keep that look and not stain/color/tint them.....
 
Any advice???
20190129_124256-1328x747-332x187.jpg.cb9244214af4b0a431afa3712cfb9134.jpg
They look like they need a good cleaning. Were they ever in a damp environment? Start with mineral spirits and 0000 steel wool. If they are still discolored, try Barkeeper's friend- can be a miracle worker. Then clean with mineral spirits again. I would advise against poly. I prefer an oil finish. Tung oil will not darken the wood.

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FWIW:


I think the wax will have to be removed.  I really think steel wool is dangerous because shards might eventually get into the voice coil gap.  


So, try some no-scratch Scotch Brite well dampened with mineral spirits (outdoors). Rinse the pad frequently.  Mineral spirits should result in a warm color but will evaporate.   


My recall is that Tung oil will darken the wood, if slightly. The same for most any oil or varnish The only way to tell for sure is test on an inconspicuous area (the wisdom of ages).  The bottom hatch or the areas covered by it or inside the top hat are good candidates.  


You seem to want the color of freshly sanded wood but with some protection.


 IIRC, the only finishes which will not color (warm up) the raw wood are clear lacquer (edit: apparently what read is not true, see below) or water-based varnish.  You should read about the latter.  You have to use some water spray to raise the grain, sand lightly, and apply the stuff.  In the can it is the color of milk but sets clear.  (Some woodworkers are use to the warming by a traditional finish.  They put down a coat to varnish first. I think you don't want that.)


Best,

 

WMcD
 

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Tung Oil will not darken them.  You are probably thinking of boiled linseed oil.  I would not recommend any water-based poly.  If they were mine, I'd clean them how I recommended (remove the drivers to do a thorough job) and shellac them.  Shellac will give them a wonderful glow, not darken them and protect them.  I have used it to great effect on Heywood Wakefield furniture.  It shows the grain and is quite durable.  It's also inexpensive and relatively easy to apply.  I suggest you watch a few vids first though. 

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Here is a very good video comparing different finishes.  I read in other Internet articles that tung oil type finish don't color as much as others.  However in this video pure tung oil colors (warms /toward yellow) more than most others. (Edit:  I see there is a change in the grain in the tung oil section and a blemish and these make it a bit ambiguous.  Still, if we observe the change from raw wood (species?) there is a dramatic difference in all cases. )

 

I was using pure tung as in the video which leaves a sightly rubbery finish. FWIW, much of the stuff on the shelf is call a "tung oil finish" which is not pure tung oil 

 

Best,

 

WMcD

 

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Here is another video.  Apparently lacquer does darken the wood, at least from what we see here. Sorry.

 

OTOH we see that water based varnish is indeed very clear, what they call "water white."  

 

Taking these two videos as a whole there is not much difference in applying any wipe on finish.  

 

I'll also take some issue with comments that one or another takes too long to dry or requires too many coats.  IMHO you can put down a coat of wipe on to a pair of speakers is a half hour or less. Let it dry for 12 hours. Doing one application in the morning and one application at night you'll be done in 3 days and have 6 coats down.  Total time invested is 3 hours.

 

Best,

 

WMcD

 

 

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Any oil based finish will darken the wood and many yellow over time, the only finish that will really leave the wood natural is wax and any good car wax will do.

 

Nothing wrong with water based finishes, i have used water based Poly on many wood floors & cabinets with great results and longevity, this would be the second best natural looking finish using a matte finish.

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4 minutes ago, Jvitti1970 said:

@jason str so for my black ones would I need to prepare the surface in any way or just wax or poly over whats already there?

 

Black cabinets need black paint, there are a few ways to get them looking better.

 

Black permanent marker- cheap but works OK.

Black touch up paint- apply to scratches carefully.

Give them to a local auto body shop and have them prep and paint will give the best results.

 

Duratex is another alternative.

 

Do it yourself prep and rattle can spray.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yes anything that you add to the wood is going to change it from it's no finish state-  including wax which also yellow over time and needs maintenance.  A good wax finish offers more protection than a oil finish, but requires 100x more effort to maintain.  Water based poly's will not darken wood it is true, but in the case of OP's speakers- they will show, highlight and preserve every mark and irregularity in them and will make it stick out like a sore thumb whereas an oil finish will blend marks while giving some contrast to the grain that will build up over time with easy applications every other year or as needed.  It would be folly to apply water based poly to birch that wasn't factory new and clean.

 

 

 

On 2/5/2019 at 4:48 PM, Jvitti1970 said:

Could anyone recommend a refinish technique for my 1976 black LaScala’s.?? They have many nicks and scratchesE9F527AC-7FB0-45A4-B14C-2C30832DF177.thumb.jpeg.b8aaefef7b1c8a2a1d57e8170cfc9488.jpeg

 

Is this a lacquer finish or are these industrial models?  If it's the former, there is a specific method for repairing a lacquer finish.  It's involved, but not tremendously difficult, but you will have to color match your shade of black or it will look like shit.

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[mention=66153]Godataloss[/mention] black lacquer. Not industrials
First step would be to clean them good. Dawn and warm water. Then address any damage. Fill dings and scratches and color them to match. Get a set of stain sticks- basically a pallet of markers with stain in them. They're cheap. Home Depot has them. Then watch all the YouTube videos you can about repairing a black lacquer finish. You have to match the finish color or you will make them look worse. If you are not comfortable, you might just leave them as is.

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