Forte I cabinet water damage - options?

[Hollis J]

Hello Klipsch-ers!

 

To make a long story short, I have one Klipsch Forte I with bad water damage on one side of the cabinet. They've been boxed, new, in a basement for as long as I can remember, and recently were moved and one box happened to be on its front side during a flood of the basement. Likely no more than half and inch of water, but it soaked the front side of the cardboard box, and the veneer MDF bordering the face of speaker on that side is wet and expanded. The cloth is now dry, and the diaphragm, dust cap, etc seem untouched. There seems to be some light mold or something on the face (see pic), but as far as I know it can be wiped off no problem.

 

I'm basically wondering what my options are here — I haven't tested the speaker yet, but everything else *seems* to be okay on it (again, they've been in box since I imagine purchase in the 80s). Can the cabinet be repaired/replaced, and what what would that look like in terms of money or labor? If at all possible, I'd like to keep it — they were my father's so they have some sentimental value, plus I know they're just damn good speakers and the other one is perfectly good, practically mint. I'm only a budding "audiophile", if that, so I don't know a whole lot but would really love to know what I can do here, or if I need to do anything — it's possible they still work fine and one might just be a little ugly.

 

Would appreciate any advice!

[RickD]

Look on-line for a speaker cabinet builder. Some will cut the cabinet boards for you and ship as a flat pack.

 

Greg Roberts (Volti) restores klipsch speakers and veneers. Might be pricey. www.Klipschupgrades.com

 

Good Luck

[OO1]

On 10/17/2021 at 2:37 PM, Hollis J said:

Hello Klipsch-ers!

 

To make a long story short, I have one Klipsch Forte I with bad water damage on one side of the cabinet. They've been boxed, new, in a basement for as long as I can remember, and recently were moved and one box happened to be on its front side during a flood of the basement. Likely no more than half and inch of water, but it soaked the front side of the cardboard box, and the veneer MDF bordering the face of speaker on that side is wet and expanded. The cloth is now dry, and the diaphragm, dust cap, etc seem untouched. There seems to be some light mold or something on the face (see pic), but as far as I know it can be wiped off no problem.

 

I'm basically wondering what my options are here — I haven't tested the speaker yet, but everything else *seems* to be okay on it (again, they've been in box since I imagine purchase in the 80s). Can the cabinet be repaired/replaced, and what what would that look like in terms of money or labor? If at all possible, I'd like to keep it — they were my father's so they have some sentimental value, plus I know they're just damn good speakers and the other one is perfectly good, practically mint. I'm only a budding "audiophile", if that, so I don't know a whole lot but would really love to know what I can do here, or if I need to do anything — it's possible they still work fine and one might just be a little ugly.

 

Would appreciate any advice!

I would Start by using a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water on the fascia  , and clean up the mold , then post a picture of the result , the fsacia can be sanded sightly to remove the previous black  paint coat ,  then repainted with a spray can ,

 

( drivers must be removed prior to sanding or painting and newspaper and masking tape must cover the openings to avoid dirtying the inside of the speaker )

[001]

hard to tell how bad the veneer & cabinet are without seeing in person.  can you post other pics showing the tops & how the mitered corners are?  that is what will determine how bad the cabinets are & if they can be salvaged.

 

if the corners of the cabinets are swollen & split they will most likely need to be replaced or some heavy sanding & resealing, contact a local cabinet maker or carpenter if your wood working skills arent up to tackling something like that.  if its just the veneer on the border that is expanded you might get by replacing the border veneer, or worst case if the cabinets are ok & the veneer is bad you could re-veneer the whole speaker but that will probably not match the other one so both would need redone.  check youtube for some videos on how to replace veneer. 

 

best of luck on saving the speaker.  

[Matt6VZ]

It's good you noticed it early - mold can be a nuisance if left unchecked. Now, I'm no expert, but you should consider reaching out to a professional mold removal and inspection company. I found this one called All Dry USA in Texas, and they seem to specialize in water damage restoration. Here's the link - https://www.alldryus.com/texas/cypress-water-damage-restoration/. They could probably assess the extent of the damage and advise you on the best course of action. In terms of cost and labor, it's hard to say without a proper inspection, but I reckon it's worth looking into if these speakers mean a lot to you. Sentimental value can't really be measured in dollars, right?

Edited March 15 by Matt6VZ

[geezin']

OP has been AWOL since Oct. '21.

[Woofers and Tweeters]

3 hours ago, Matt6VZ said:

First off

 

8 minutes ago, geezin' said:

OP has been AWOL since Oct. '21.

It might be that Matt is looking around at Forte posts. Yesterday Matt asked about new caps. I recommended jem, dean and the C word, which got me a warning that we can't say the C word and the thread removed. 

Is there any wonder why 99% of the members are gone? At this rate, the company will be like Altec and JBL. 

Anyone want to make a bet that, since the Heritage line is less than 5% of sales and the ones who buy the Heritage speakers are being driven away, soon they won't need an Engineer in the US on the payroll? 

[geezin']