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Oiling my New Cornwalls


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Mine were definitely laquered. They've never been oiled and have not dried out at all - just dusted and a little furniture polish over the years. Just out of curiosity, why would some be laquered and others not? Was it an option when ordering custom veneers? They were the only pair Myer-Emco had in the store when I bought them new in 1980 (the receipt says I paid $1400). Any idea what their retail price was back then?

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If Andy would be so kind...my dad bought your handiwork in '79 (with your "A" initial on top), but being raw birch Cornwalls (C-BR), I guess he wanted the veneer to match all the dark walnut furniture we had back then. If I'm not mistaken, he used a can of Minwax Wood Finish (oil-based stain) in either Early American 230, or Special Walnut 224. Personally, I wish he had left them raw birch, because the stain finish is drab and dull looking (he used no clear-coat finish/polyurethane). Over the years the Cornwalls have only been dusted, very rarely (if only once or twice) with Pledge.

What can be done to these cabinets to make them look new, without resorting to ZipStrip stain remover and a putty knife? Thanks!

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I'm no woodworker (and I'm stupid to boot)...what is "woadsoap"?

And I just use this product over the existing stain, and let dry?

Then you mention, "if need be re-stain them"...over the existing stain?

Sorry for sounding so dumb, but I work best with step-by-step instructions, and I don't want to screw up these cabinets. If you could please be a little more specific, I'd appreciate it!

Thanks!

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"Woodsoap" just cleans the grunge from the surface of your speaker cabinets...so that they look like they did when they were first stained. It is a cleanser for wood...nothing more...nothing less. The instructions will be on the bottle.

Now, if you want to apply a finish over your stain, then you will be able to do so after cleaning them with the woodsoap and then taking a soft cloth that is LIGHTLY MOISTENED (not COMPLETELY SOAKED DOWN!!) with acetone, and lightly wiping the cabinets down with it. Then, just take some 340 grit sandpaper and LIGHTLY sand the cabinets (this will remove any woodgrain "fuzz" that the acetone produced by lifting the grain of the wood when it was applied)....then wipe them down with a tack cloth. If the stain is uneven on them and you wish to even it up BEFORE applying your finish, then re-apply the stain....waiting until at least 24 hours later before applying the finish over the stain.

Always use a test piece of wood when trying to match up a stain to one that was applied many years before! That way you can ensure you have gotten the correct stain color.

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Oh, it's "wood"soap...okay. I thought you were doin' an Elmer Fudd impersonation...sorry!

Thanks for the step-by-step, I appreciate your help. Once I get my feet back on the ground (and become employed again), I'll invest in the aforementioned products and make these original "HDBRbuilder" Cornwalls look better than ever! You'll be proud of them (again) once I clean up the finish...they'll look better than new, thanks to you, all holy Heritage creator!12.gif

Wow, this response to you makes this my 500th post! Thanks, Andy, for making me an Honorary Klipsch Forum "Freak"...this is better than gettin' promoted to SGT, or receiving my second Army Commedation Medal (with an Oak Leaf Cluster)! Thank you, SIR!

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  • 1 month later...

Andy-

I'll be heading to HD to pick up some of the magical boiled linseed oil for my "new" KBWO additions. The veneer is in great shape, but looks just a tad dry. Above, you mention to

"Flood it on...let it sit a few minutes...wipe up excess...rub with the grain using rubbing pads or heal of hands...heal of hands gives best results but is messier."

Since this would be tough to do with a bass bin in it's normal vertical orientation, I assume you would somehow get the monster so the front was laying flat? The tops will be easy enough to work with, but I'd be interested in your recommendations for the bass cabinets.

Thanks.

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While we're on the topic, how does one go about removing light watermarks and surface scratches before applying the BLO? I know this has been covered but I can't seem to find anything specific in the archives. Thanks for all the good advise!

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  • 9 months later...

So boiled linseed oil should be applied directly to walnut oiled cabinets? Is there another route one should take to achieve the best results? The cabinets are a bit dirty and haven't been oiled some 25 years later. Should I use woodsoap on them first before applying boiled linseed oil?? Or would some fine grit sandaper or steel wool be a better choice? I thought water based cleansers would raise the grain?

Thanks for any help you can offer me.

I need to get my 77 CW's out of the garage and back into the house!

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My Lascalas were only 2 years old when I adopted them. I used one of the foam blocks that have two grits, fine and coarse. I used the fine. I sanded them down (with the grain only) and they lightened up a bunch. There were some greasy hand prints on the top and the sanding took it off. I wiped them down with a tack cloth after sanding and started oiling. I would guess that you could do the same thing without having to wash them down because I would think the sanding would remove more than the woodsoap would. (notice all the woods in that sentence?) The instructions on the can of boiled linseed oil said to thin the oil down, I think 2 parts mineral spirit to 1 part boiled linseed oil. I usually don't read that mess but I didn't want to mess these up. I just soaked a rag and rubbed it till it all went away. The first coat soaked in quickly. I had to resoak the rag about 3 or 4 times for each side. I waited about 6 hours and did it all again. The next weekend, I did the same thing all over again but hand sanded with a 400 grit paper and tac ragged them again. I put another coat on the next day. Total of 4 coats. By the 4th coat, a soaked rag would do a side by itself, (with a little elbow grease of course) When the weather gets a little nicer, I am going to drag them out and do another two-fer weekend with a light sanding before I start. Last and for sure not the least, DO NOT WAD YOUr RAGS UP AND THROW THEM IN A PILE. THEY WILL SELF IGNITE, AS IN FIRE. SPREAD THEM OUT AND LET THEM DRY BEFORE YOU DISPOSE OF THEM. I know a man that had a huge house almost finished when the cabinet finishers/painters left the Boiled Linseed Oil rags piled up and the guys house burned to the ground.

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To reinforce what Steve said,

BE CAREFUL WITH LINSEED RAGS. THEY SELF IGNITE, BURN, AND SET HOUSES ON FIRE.

Store used rags in an open steel can or drum outdoors away from other combustibles until dry plus three days or longer, and then they can be disposed. This stuff is dangerous. While you are at it, it might be a good idea to gather all your household flammibles and chemicals, look at an MSDS and storage no-nos list, and get everything stored in a ventilated metal cabinet in the garage or outdoors.

There are enough incompatible chemicals in the average house I could visit and make enough of a bomb(or boowm - Inspector Clouseau) to level the house. Fortunately, I gave that hobby up around the time I started playing with even better explosives.6.gif

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----------------

On 2/6/2004 2:07:10 AM wrench_peddler wrote:

My Lascalas were only 2 years old when I adopted them. I used one of the foam blocks that have two grits, fine and coarse. I used the fine. I sanded them down (with the grain only) and they lightened up a bunch. There were some greasy hand prints on the top and the sanding took it off. I wiped them down with a tack cloth after sanding and started oiling. I would guess that you could do the same thing without having to wash them down because I would think the sanding would remove more than the woodsoap would. (notice all the woods in that sentence?) The instructions on the can of boiled linseed oil said to thin the oil down, I think 2 parts mineral spirit to 1 part boiled linseed oil. I usually don't read that mess but I didn't want to mess these up. I just soaked a rag and rubbed it till it all went away. The first coat soaked in quickly. I had to resoak the rag about 3 or 4 times for each side. I waited about 6 hours and did it all again. The next weekend, I did the same thing all over again but hand sanded with a 400 grit paper and tac ragged them again. I put another coat on the next day. Total of 4 coats. By the 4th coat, a soaked rag would do a side by itself, (with a little elbow grease of course) When the weather gets a little nicer, I am going to drag them out and do another two-fer weekend with a light sanding before I start. Last and for sure not the least, DO NOT WAD YOUr RAGS UP AND THROW THEM IN A PILE. THEY WILL SELF IGNITE, AS IN FIRE. SPREAD THEM OUT AND LET THEM DRY BEFORE YOU DISPOSE OF THEM. I know a man that had a huge house almost finished when the cabinet finishers/painters left the Boiled Linseed Oil rags piled up and the guys house burned to the ground.----------------

Wrench,

Did you disassemble the speakers first? i.e. remove all the components beforehand down to bare cabinets? I am wondering if this would be the best approach?

Glad you told me about the spontaneous combustion. I would have thrown the rags in the trash and left to come back to a foundation. 8.gif

The heads up is much appreciated!

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