Bob Smith Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 (edited) Hello, I inherited a pair of Klipschorns from my father, who recently passed away. They sound fantastic! I grew up with him owning and selling a variety of tube and solid state amps and various types of speakers, including, if I can recall, Alta, Infinity, Polk, Bose 901, Quad, Magnepans, Carver Hologram and Timelens, equalizers, Stax headphones, and the list goes on. He became a big fan of NAD stereo equipment in the 80s. Some of my most fond childhood memories were stereo listening and shopping with my father. He finally settled on Klipschorns and listened to them for the rest of his life. Anyhow, enough reminiscing. I have a couple of restoration questions. First question: I think this happened during their move. I tried to be very careful, but there are a few scratches on the front of the speakers. I am wondering how to fix those scratches. Please see links to pictures below. I was thinking of using these items based on reading the forums here: Howard Restore-A-Finish Wood Restorer for Cabinets, Furniture, and Other Wood Products, Golden Oak, 8 oz Homax 10120000 Steel Wool, 12 pad, Super Fine Grade #0000, Rhodes American, Final Finish Howard Products FW0016 Wood Polish & Conditioner, 16 oz, Orange, 16 Fl Oz Do I need to put a filler in the scratches? One of them catches my fingernail. Second question: One of the horn mid-range's black paint is coming off at certain spots. Is the metal aluminum or a metal prone to rust? Should I touch it up or leave it alone? Thank you! Pictures: Crossover Mid Range Horn Scratch 1 Scratch 2 Scratch 3 Speaker 1 Speaker 2 Label 1 Label 2 Edited September 20, 2022 by Bob Smith 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OO1 Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 11 hours ago, Bob Smith said: Hello, I inherited a pair of Klipschorns from my father, who recently passed away. They sound fantastic! I grew up with him owning and selling a variety of tube and solid state amps and various types of speakers, including, if I can recall, Alta, Infinity, Polk, Bose 901, Quad, Magnepans, Carver Hologram and Timelens, equalizers, Stax headphones, and the list goes on. He became a big fan of NAD stereo equipment in the 80s. Some of my most fond childhood memories were stereo listening and shopping with my father. He finally settled on Klipschorns and listened to them for the rest of his life. Anyhow, enough reminiscing. I have a couple of restoration questions. First question: I think this happened during their move. I tried to be very careful, but there are a few scratches on the front of the speakers. I am wondering how to fix those scratches. Please see links to pictures below. I was thinking of using these items based on reading the forums here: Howard Restore-A-Finish Wood Restorer for Cabinets, Furniture, and Other Wood Products, Golden Oak, 8 oz Homax 10120000 Steel Wool, 12 pad, Super Fine Grade #0000, Rhodes American, Final Finish Howard Products FW0016 Wood Polish & Conditioner, 16 oz, Orange, 16 Fl Oz Do I need to put a filler in the scratches? One of them catches my fingernail. Second question: One of the horn mid-range's black paint is coming off at certain spots. Is the metal aluminum or a metal prone to rust? Should I touch it up or leave it alone? Thank you! Pictures: Crossover Mid Range Horn Scratch 1 Scratch 2 Scratch 3 Speaker 1 Speaker 2 Label 1 Label 2 the midrange horn is aluminium , so rust , No , corrosion perhaps , the surface can be smoothed with 400 sandpaper , then painted with a spray can This type of crossover is know to corrode between the Monster cable jacket and the copper wiring , I can see corrosion and green already , and it's pretty bad , you're best to chop these wires off and replace with new wiring with fresh soldering and new connectors . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 Sorry about your Dad, that’s rough. I like the Howard’s stuff. Make sure those are oiled and not lacquered before you start. I’m not a woodworker, but my experience with those kinds of scratches is that unless you match the stain exactly, it’s even more annoying. I like the fill pens, but same problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Smith Posted September 20, 2022 Author Share Posted September 20, 2022 2 hours ago, billybob said: Welcome! Thank you. 😃 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Smith Posted September 20, 2022 Author Share Posted September 20, 2022 1 hour ago, OO1 said: the midrange horn is aluminium , so rust , No , corrosion perhaps , the surface can be smoothed with 400 sandpaper , then painted with a spray can This type of crossover is know to corrode between the Monster cable jacket and the copper wiring , I can see corrosion and green already , and it's pretty bad , you're best to chop these wires off and replace with new wiring with fresh soldering and new connectors . Thank you. Valuable information. Unfortunately, what I did not inherit was my father’s electrical engineering skills. I went the creative writing route. Is there a way to get the crossovers refurbished? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Smith Posted September 20, 2022 Author Share Posted September 20, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, deang said: Sorry about your Dad, that’s rough. I like the Howard’s stuff. Make sure those are oiled and not lacquered before you start. I’m not a woodworker, but my experience with those kinds of scratches is that unless you match the stain exactly, it’s even more annoying. I like the fill pens, but same problem. Thank you. We miss him. Great tip. We have those furniture pens. I will try one in the back first and see how it appears, then apply the Howard’s. My wife wants to eventually stain the Klipschorns a darker color to match our other funiture, but it does seem very tricky. From pictures I’ve seen on eBay, the veneer is super thin and easily damaged. We might just live with the oak look and not risk it. Edited September 20, 2022 by Bob Smith 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWOReilly Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 1 minute ago, Bob Smith said: Thank you. Valuable information. Unfortunately, what I did not inherit was my father’s electrical engineering skills. I went the creative writing route. Is there a way to get the crossovers refurbished? Yes! You’ll also need to rewire to get rid of those corroded cables. If it were me? I’d leave it if they sound good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWOReilly Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 2 hours ago, OO1 said: the midrange horn is aluminium , so rust , No , corrosion perhaps , the surface can be smoothed with 400 sandpaper , then painted with a spray can Or are they pot metal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 18 minutes ago, Bob Smith said: Is there a way to get the crossovers refurbished? That’s where I can help, but wait a while first. Part of it will involve a rewire, and I’m in the process of working on a rewiring kit, and I promise it will be painless (no soldering). As for the networks, they can be recapped or you can buy replacements from me (I’m Klipsch Authorized). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWOReilly Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 6 minutes ago, deang said: That’s where I can help, but wait a while first. Part of it will involve a rewire, and I’m in the process of working on a rewiring kit, and I promise it will be painless (no soldering). As for the networks, they can be recapped or you can buy replacements from me (I’m Klipsch Authorized). I thought you’d chime in. Almost tagged you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 I really need to write an instruction booklet, or a good ‘how to’ thread with this series of Klipschorns. I just realized it would be more work to recap these than to build replacements. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to resolder that 10 AWG Monster cable to the new parts without a propane torch! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 If you have the very basic skills, a light sanding with 220 paper (like 5 strokes), wipe with a dry cloth then follow with tac cloth and apply three coats of semi gloss or high gloss oil based polyurethane and they will look like new. I have a beautiful pair of Chorus that were refinished in matte, I just did this over the weekend and they were taken to the next level. Nice a smooth and shinny. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Smith Posted September 20, 2022 Author Share Posted September 20, 2022 1 hour ago, CWOReilly said: Yes! You’ll also need to rewire to get rid of those corroded cables. If it were me? I’d leave it if they sound good. Ah okay. So one of those wait till it fails scenarios? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Smith Posted September 20, 2022 Author Share Posted September 20, 2022 (edited) 30 minutes ago, tigerwoodKhorns said: If you have the very basic skills, a light sanding with 220 paper (like 5 strokes), wipe with a dry cloth then follow with tac cloth and apply three coats of semi gloss or high gloss oil based polyurethane and they will look like new. I have a beautiful pair of Chorus that were refinished in matte, I just did this over the weekend and they were taken to the next level. Nice a smooth and shinny. Taking notes. And will check Youtube to see if anyone has done something similar. Youtube is a good teacher — pause, rewind, and rewind, and rewind some more. Edited September 20, 2022 by Bob Smith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Smith Posted September 20, 2022 Author Share Posted September 20, 2022 31 minutes ago, deang said: I really need to write an instruction booklet, or a good ‘how to’ thread with this series of Klipschorns. Please do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Smith Posted September 20, 2022 Author Share Posted September 20, 2022 49 minutes ago, deang said: That’s where I can help, but wait a while first. Part of it will involve a rewire, and I’m in the process of working on a rewiring kit, and I promise it will be painless (no soldering). As for the networks, they can be recapped or you can buy replacements from me (I’m Klipsch Authorized). Do you have a website or mailing list? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWOReilly Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 15 minutes ago, Bob Smith said: Ah okay. So one of those wait till it fails scenarios? Could be years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mboxler Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 1 hour ago, deang said: That’s where I can help, but wait a while first. Part of it will involve a rewire, and I’m in the process of working on a rewiring kit, and I promise it will be painless (no soldering). As for the networks, they can be recapped or you can buy replacements from me (I’m Klipsch Authorized). Hey Dean The Mid Range Horn picture shows a T5A autoformer, indicating this is an AK-2 crossover. Will you bother just recapping these or will you upgrade them to AK-3's? Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 33 minutes ago, Bob Smith said: Taking notes. And will check Youtube to see if anyone has done something similar. Youtube is a good teacher — pause, rewind, and rewind, and rewind some more. To my surprise I used disposable brushes and they worked great. Put in a plastic bag a little wet and they stayed just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.