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Refinishing Forte's


Iteachstem

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Picked these up unexpectedly the other day.  I went to buy an Klipsch SW12 to refinish and came home with the SW12 and a pair of Forte's that the owner had stored in the basement.  Bonus.  They need to be refinished, but the drivers were in excellent condition with no pushed in dust-caps!

 

My basic plan:

1)I just sanded the cabinets.  Now, to refinish the cabinets.  Still deciding what finish to go with?  Thoughts? (Anything but painted black!!!) I've done a dark cinnamon on CF-3's, KG 3.5's and KG 4.2's and a nice modern gray on a pair of KG 3's and a SW10.

2)Rebuild/refurbish the risers (Chunks of the veneer are gone)

 

If I'm feeling spunky:

Ad a little front to back bracing near the woofer

 

If I want to throw money at a 3 decade old speaker set:

New tweeter diaphragms

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

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Simple. A tiny bit of wood putty. Try not to spread it everywhere. A wax filler crayon can work for the deep scratches that may not come out in sanding. Get some Watco Danish Oil in the the color of your choice and be done with it. When you are done, if you do not like the way the risers come out, just make new ones out of solid oak boards and finish the new ones with the same Watco again. Sell the old risers to someone with a worse pair than you. Don't bury yourself in these. Get it done in one weekend. And guys, take it easy on all the sanding. Use Lacquer Thinner before you even touch the paper stuff.

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4 hours ago, 314carpenter said:

Simple. A tiny bit of wood putty. Try not to spread it everywhere. A wax filler crayon can work for the deep scratches that may not come out in sanding. Get some Watco Danish Oil in the the color of your choice and be done with it. When you are done, if you do not like the way the risers come out, just make new ones out of solid oak boards and finish the new ones with the same Watco again. Sell the old risers to someone with a worse pair than you. Don't bury yourself in these. Get it done in one weekend. And guys, take it easy on all the sanding. Use Lacquer Thinner before you even touch the paper stuff.

Agree on using the Lacquer thinner to remove the finish prior to sanding. I use 00 steel wool and Lacquer thinner every time. The veneer is very thin and easy to sand through.

 

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On 10/20/2020 at 12:16 AM, 314carpenter said:

Lacquer Thinner

I miss the good lacquer thinner I used when I did finish carpentry between teaching jobs back when I was starting out.  They had "the good stuff' that you can't buy at the big box stores! ...and boy did it work!!!

 

So now, I try not to use very toxic chemicals as I have two young daughters.

 

Here's some updated pics adding a little bracing.  I can't believe the thin section of wood between the mid and woofer....so, I added my brace-o-matic to help a little bit as well as a front to back brace below the woofer and passive.

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You forgot to sign the brace o magic, I like the idea of dating it. I have 2 SW 12's great for HT. 

 

I love the SW 12's cabinet, stripped and strained mine to match my chorus speakers. Been looking st CLS, ect. for a cheap pair of heavy duty subs for upgrade. Car subs come up cheap sometimes on for sale sites. Good luck with your project!

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/20/2020 at 12:16 AM, 314carpenter said:

Get some Watco Danish Oil

I tried, all of the stores are out of it in the natural color as well as the light walnut.  The only color they have remaining is the dark walnut.  For the Fortes that I want to do, they would look the best with just the natural finish.

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