Quartet Clear Oak Restoration

[Micklipsch]

Now, if I were pursuing a refinish of these, after using lacquer thinner, and possibly light sanding, I would just follow up with some of this and it would impart the same coloring of the oak that’s on it currently? And if so, satin or matte?

[Iteachstem]

15 minutes ago, Micklipsch said:

And if so, satin or matte?

I like Matte finishes...it looks more natural.  Wood is not supposed to be shiny in my world.

[Micklipsch]

6 minutes ago, Iteachstem said:

I like Matte finishes...it looks more natural.  Wood is not supposed to be shiny in my world.

Is the rest of my statement accurate though regarding refinishing these? I’m trying to determine if these are indeed just a clear lacquer on raw oak.

[OO1]

33 minutes ago, Micklipsch said:

Going with this two-step process versus the Trade Secret as this is available today  

 

here are TRADE SECRET pictures before and after , courtesy of   Mike  @MMurg  , no sanding   .

 

[Iteachstem]

18 hours ago, Micklipsch said:

Is the rest of my statement accurate though regarding refinishing these? I’m trying to determine if these are indeed just a clear lacquer on raw oak.

I don't know what Klipsch does at the factory.

 

However, usually some sort of product is used before the lacquer is applied.  This brings out the character of the wood.  For example, I used teak oil on the guitar before I applied a poly to seal it. 

 

You can play around on the bottom of the speakers and try different options and see what you like the most.  I would go with what you like rather than what the original finish was.  I think the finish on a lot of the oak speakers from that era is very dated.

[Micklipsch]

That magic eraser sure does work. I suspected though, it took a bit of the finish off with it. The finish is very sensitive so I figured it would happen, but I’d rather banish the stains than deal with evening out the color later. Some pics during, and after a mineral spirits and water wipe down, then, with restore a finish, and one of the tops with wax applied, but not buffed out yet
 

[Micklipsch]

[Micklipsch]

[Micklipsch]

And these are with the wax buffed off the top. I plan to do another few coats of it and let it sit overnight as the oak just soaked it up.

[CCG]

3 hours ago, Micklipsch said:

And these are with the wax buffed off the top. I plan to do another few coats of it and let it sit overnight as the oak just soaked it up.

 

 

 

Very nice. That's what i need to do on mine. Was wondering what pain and color did you use?

Thanks,

CCG

[Micklipsch]

12 hours ago, CCG said:

Very nice. That's what i need to do on mine. Was wondering what pain and color did you use?

Thanks,

CCG

Hey, thanks. After a wipe down and spot treatment with a magic eraser, I used the two products pictured, restor-a, then beeswax. I also hit some of the heavier trouble areas with 0000 steel wool dipped in the restor-a.

 

I’ll probably order some trade secret since @OO1 vouches pretty hard for it to see what more it can do in my case, but, the results I already got are pretty satisfactory. It’s originally what I wanted to do: get them looking 90% or so without getting invasive with thinners, strippers, or sanding. 
 

I’m still applying beeswax until I see excess sitting on the wood after 20 minute or so wait times. I’ll throw some pics up after that’s done. Other than that, I’m just replacing the two radiator dust caps and repairing the tear in the one woofer, which’ll due until I source another K-10-K, purely for aesthetics. 

[CCG]

19 minutes ago, Micklipsch said:

Hey, thanks. After a wipe down and spot treatment with a magic eraser, I used the two products pictured, restor-a, then beeswax. I also hit some of the heavier trouble areas with 0000 steel wool dipped in the restor-a.

 

I’ll probably order some trade secret since @OO1 vouches pretty hard for it to see what more it can do in my case, but, the results I already got are pretty satisfactory. It’s originally what I wanted to do: get them looking 90% or so without getting invasive with thinners, strippers, or sanding. 
 

I’m still applying beeswax until I see excess sitting on the wood after 20 minute or so wait times. I’ll throw some pics up after that’s done. Other than that, I’m just replacing the two radiator dust caps and repairing the tear in the one woofer, which’ll due until I source another K-10-K, purely for aesthetics. 

Oh this is so cool and thank you for sharing. So do you think I'd be able to clean this first with the magic eraser (is that a mr. clean)?

then after that I will apply the two. I have the lemon beeswax. I'll just get the restore. . Thank you again

[Micklipsch]

1 hour ago, CCG said:

Oh this is so cool and thank you for sharing. So do you think I'd be able to clean this first with the magic eraser (is that a mr. clean)?

then after that I will apply the two. I have the lemon beeswax. I'll just get the restore. . Thank you again

In my amatuer opinion and from what happened with mine, you're going to end up lightening those areas up with the magic eraser (yes it's Mr. Clean brand). Since the damage covers such a large surface area rather than a few small spots that could be covered with a quarter like mine, it might be best to just use the eraser with mineral spirits over the entire top until you get a uniform fade, then come with multiple applications of that same golden oak restor-a-finish until it's to your best liking, then seal with your beeswax, wiping on and buffing off with a cloth, likely doing multiple coats until there's excess remaining after a 20 minute dry time. 

I was faced with the same dilemma of just stripping/ sanding off the tops then trying best to match with the sides but I'm not sure how that might have turned out, and at worst may have lead to stripping/ sanding the entire cab if the differences were stark. I feel what I did was a happy medium. If I were to strip or thin, then lightly sand in the future, I'd probably consider moving to an oiled finish as @Iteachstemsuggested. 

 

I have some disused CF2 cabs in black that I want to practice on, stripping, filling etc to get technique down. They seem to be oak underneath the satin black which leads me to believe they were factory rejects (I've read Klipsch would send rejected specimens straight to black paint), since I believe ash was otherwise used for satin black finishes. 

[CCG]

2 hours ago, Micklipsch said:

In my amatuer opinion and from what happened with mine, you're going to end up lightening those areas up with the magic eraser (yes it's Mr. Clean brand). Since the damage covers such a large surface area rather than a few small spots that could be covered with a quarter like mine, it might be best to just use the eraser with mineral spirits over the entire top until you get a uniform fade, then come with multiple applications of that same golden oak restor-a-finish until it's to your best liking, then seal with your beeswax, wiping on and buffing off with a cloth, likely doing multiple coats until there's excess remaining after a 20 minute dry time. 

I was faced with the same dilemma of just stripping/ sanding off the tops then trying best to match with the sides but I'm not sure how that might have turned out, and at worst may have lead to stripping/ sanding the entire cab if the differences were stark. I feel what I did was a happy medium. If I were to strip or thin, then lightly sand in the future, I'd probably consider moving to an oiled finish as @Iteachstemsuggested. 

 

I have some disused CF2 cabs in black that I want to practice on, stripping, filling etc to get technique down. They seem to be oak underneath the satin black which leads me to believe they were factory rejects (I've read Klipsch would send rejected specimens straight to black paint), since I believe ash was otherwise used for satin black finishes. 

Thank you for the kind posting. If you dont mind I added you in follow becase me and @MicroMara have been working on interesting speaker cabinet restoration and modifications since when I started December 2022. We both came up with a small non-popular klipsch speaker that got modified and it it really rocks. I'm almost done with the project besides the finish restoration and I will add a bottom box (not a plinth) but a sandbox semi-attached (screwed) that in theory will give ab excellent bass dynamics.

I am also in a hunt for another 8 inch tower speaker that is an excellent project for this sandbox. The goal is, getting your speaker set to its optimum performance. I have another tower speaker with a 6 inch single woofer that can easily drive a 550 sqft room. Without the proper sandbox, I would have not filled up that room. Thank you anyway. CCG 

PS. This other speaker I'm currently looking for just came with ash black. I really like the butterscotch finish so I may need some advise on how to transform that color. But I'll wait first when I get that speaker. Thanks.     

[Micklipsch]

17 minutes ago, CCG said:

Thank you for the kind posting. If you dont mind I added you in follow becase me and @MicroMara have been working on interesting speaker cabinet restoration and modifications since when I started December 2022. We both came up with a small non-popular klipsch speaker that got modified and it it really rocks. I'm almost done with the project besides the finish restoration and I will add a bottom box (not a plinth) but a sandbox semi-attached (screwed) that in theory will give ab excellent bass dynamics.

I am also in a hunt for another 8 inch tower speaker that is an excellent project for this sandbox. The goal is, getting your speaker set to its optimum performance. I have another tower speaker with a 6 inch single woofer that can easily drive a 550 sqft room. Without the proper sandbox, I would have not filled up that room. Thank you anyway. CCG 

PS. This other speaker I'm currently looking for just came with ash black. I really like the butterscotch finish so I may need some advise on how to transform that color. But I'll wait first when I get that speaker. Thanks.     

No prob. There’s restoration pros on the forum that you should definitely follow as well. 
 

This guy took his ash wood, black factory painted Choruses, stripped it all off and refinished with a clear stain. They look absolutely stunning. I’m really tempted to do this to my satin black CF4s. 

[CCG]

On 4/16/2023 at 10:19 AM, Micklipsch said:

Hey, thanks. After a wipe down and spot treatment with a magic eraser, I used the two products pictured, restor-a, then beeswax. I also hit some of the heavier trouble areas with 0000 steel wool dipped in the restor-a.

 

I’ll probably order some trade secret since @OO1 vouches pretty hard for it to see what more it can do in my case, but, the results I already got are pretty satisfactory. It’s originally what I wanted to do: get them looking 90% or so without getting invasive with thinners, strippers, or sanding. 
 

I’m still applying beeswax until I see excess sitting on the wood after 20 minute or so wait times. I’ll throw some pics up after that’s done. Other than that, I’m just replacing the two radiator dust caps and repairing the tear in the one woofer, which’ll due until I source another K-10-K, purely for aesthetics. 

I went to the hardware store trying to get the restore a finish I didnt know what color so I went back home...

So its "golden oak". 😹👻

Thanks,

CCG

[Iteachstem]

On 4/16/2023 at 5:13 PM, Micklipsch said:

This guy took his ash wood, black factory painted Choruses, stripped it all off and refinished with a clear stain.

You have to really inspect what the veneer looks like before you think it will turn out beautiful.  For example, when I bough this used pair of KG 4.2's, I new they needed a sanding as the veneer had some pretty deep scratches.  Also, I knew with a pretty decent degree of certainty, that these would not be a great candidate for anything other than a paint job again because the veneers were so different.  Most of the time speaker companies pair the the mismatched veneer speakers and those are the ones that end up being painted black, etc.  However, it's such a great feeling when you remove the black and expose some beautiful wood... making you think why in the world would anyone ever paint it black?!?!

 

 

[Mikekid]

You did a great job on those Quartets! Great speakers 🤩. All of the helpful posts and images on this will be able to help others too. No doubt.👌 Great folks here in this outfit! Been here since June 1999🤝  ~Mike   (Will I get a 25 year plaque when, or if I hit it?🎉🤣)

[Micklipsch]

3 hours ago, Iteachstem said:

You have to really inspect what the veneer looks like before you think it will turn out beautiful.  For example, when I bough this used pair of KG 4.2's, I new they needed a sanding as the veneer had some pretty deep scratches.  Also, I knew with a pretty decent degree of certainty, that these would not be a great candidate for anything other than a paint job again because the veneers were so different.  Most of the time speaker companies pair the the mismatched veneer speakers and those are the ones that end up being painted black, etc.  However, it's such a great feeling when you remove the black and expose some beautiful wood... making you think why in the world would anyone ever paint it black?!?!

 

 

Yep. Like I have these two disused CF2 cabinets and they certainly look oak underneath the satin black. I read that Klipsch sends its rejects (in that case these were probably slated to be a light or medium oak) straight to black paint, or atleast used to. On the other hand, my satin black CF4s are ash. 

Question--those KG 4.2s, is that exactly how they looked after stripping/ sanding? Nothing applied to give them those brown and blonde colors?

[Micklipsch]

44 minutes ago, Mikekid said:

You did a great job on those Quartets! Great speakers 🤩. All of the helpful posts and images on this will be able to help others too. No doubt.👌 Great folks here in this outfit! Been here since June 1999🤝  ~Mike   (Will I get a 25 year plaque when, or if I hit it?🎉🤣)

Thanks! Not much effort and they landed around 90% without thinning/ stripping/ sanding, which is great. I should've posted the grilles taking a shower. The grime running off them after probably decades of neglect is always satisfying. 

Just need to get the new radiator dust caps on, patch the one woofer--or replace whenever my WTB post hits--and I'll basically call it good.