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This probably has been discussed many a time, I did a search and found very little info. So forgive me in advance. What is the best preservitive for altec model 19 cabinets. I was going to spin the woofers and velcro the crossovers to the horn shelf and I thought it would be a good time to oil up the cabs. Thanks, I just dont want damage these speakers they are almost mint.
Hello Juniper.
A question: what are you trying to achieve? Wood does not need preservatives. It's dead. It does not need to be fed. Keep it out of the sunlight and away from moisture and it will last almost forever. If the veneer is in good shape, then a proper furniture wax, such as Briwax or Trewax will add a sheen, making dusting easy and will do no harm. Do not use any furniture polish; these have oils which you will not be able to remove if you ever decide to refinish your cabinets. And the oils attract and hold dust.
If the veneer needs help, post some pics so you can get appropriate input.
great speakers.
congrats.
Les
Les, I think its the silicone in furniture polish that would make it hard to refinish, not oil.Quote:
Originally Posted by les winter
Thanks for the input, as far as what I am trying to acheive, I just want to keep these in as good a condition as I received them. I owe this too the next recipient, and too the next generation of Altec horn lovers.Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio_by_Goodwill
When I was a mere lad, my mom once took me to England where we visited a bunch of castles. All of the wood trim, and furniture was unfinished, hand rubbed, natural and many hundreds of years old. The only thing they ever used was bees wax softened with turpentine. I tried it once on my black lacquer grand piano, rubbing it in with 0000 steel wool. A lot of work, but man, what a shine.
The two best uses i've found for typical "furniture polish" are lubricating the sliding door that goes out onto the deck, and restoring the factory shine to ATV and dirt bike plastics.Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio_by_Goodwill
I've used it on black vinyl covered audio equipment covers........ I think I've used it on black plastic faces, too. I never thought of using it on something mechanical..... seems like it would be too thin.Quote:
Originally Posted by bowtie427ss
The best stuff to use IMHO is Howards ! Get the walnut if your cabs are walnut.It's not stain just pigmented. Restor-a-finish and the Feed & Wax.I've used both with great results.Quote:
Originally Posted by juniper
http://www.howardproducts.com/restora.htm
http://www.howardproducts.com/feednwax.htm
You are correct, ABG. The silicone in furniture polish makes it hard to refinish. The mineral oil attracts and holds the dust.
You guys are pretty hard on furniture polish!
I'll be the black sheep.... :Black Sheep:
I have never used anything but Lemon Pledge on my Altecs since they came out of their boxes new (in 1975). Except for the original foam grills that disintegrated, they are still in perfect condition, absolutely mint. That's a pretty good track record. I wouldn't even consider using anything else on them now.
Then again, I still think a lot like I did when I was 20. :biggrin2:
I use it mixed with Grenadine--packs a nice KICK! :Sick:Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio_by_Goodwill
And it shows ! :wink2: BTW no explanation necessary,we know !! :biggrin2:Quote:
Originally Posted by Nipper
TOUCH? :Winktongue:
FWIW Pledge polish is a dust magnet !
You are supposed to wipe it off. :wink2:Quote:
Originally Posted by Altec Best
Just messing with you AB... Someone has to do it. It goes with the Mod job you know. :biggrin2:
See most of us don't want it collecting in the first place ! :Big smile:Quote:
Originally Posted by Nipper
The Howard's Feed & Wax is Bees Wax & Orange Oil. The Restor-A-Finish you use first then apply the Feed & Wax.Awesome stuff,works great Highly recommend.
Search Howards on any of the other audio forums to see some reviews of what other Folk's who have used it, think of it.
I have a pair that are similar to Nipper's. They were "Pledged" by the original owner for their entire life and that has been how I've continued to take care of them. They look great but are considerably darker than when new. Nothing wrong with that and I will probably just continue treating them this way even though the proper care for a hand rubbed oil finish is an occasional recoat and wax.
I also have another pair that when I got them were completely dried out and sun bleached on top. I kept the Pledge away from them until I was ready to refinish so as not to put any silicone into the dry veneer. Recently I pulled all the components and started the refinishing process. I thoroughly wiped them down with mineral spirits to strip the dirt, hand oil/sweat and mystery chemicals out of the veneer and then sanded them with 220 grit and feathered out a few superficial scratches. I then followed this procedure which I highly recommend. Super Smooth Oil Finish | Article | Woodworking While I'm not quite done, I can tell this is a superior method and the results of wet sanding are well worth the extra effort. This is going to be the same as the factory finish but even better because of the extra care, time and effort that Altec couldn't spend on them in an assembly line setting. I'm using Watco Medium Walnut Danish Oil but I'm sure the Light Walnut would look just as good if you prefer a lighter and more golden look, I opted for the Medium which is a little richer.
Super Smooth Oil Finish | Article | Woodworking
Any (before and after) pictures?Quote:
Originally Posted by timoteus
I like the deep wood grained look. Sorry, but a too smooth, coated finish just starts to look like formica/vinyl veneer. I need woodgrain to be three dimensional onless it's a grand piano.
Thanks for all of the advice everyone. Howards feed and wax I have on hand so I guess I will try that first. Thanks once again!!!!!!!
Please comeback and tell us your results. Thank You ! :wink2:Quote:
Originally Posted by juniper
I've made up a mixture of bees wax and linseed oil before, but I've never used it on speaker cabinets. I did it for a vintage-ish commercial grade credenza that I purchased for my TV/audio cabinet. The results are mixed. It darkens the scratches a bit too dark, and it doesn't give much of a shine. It does look better then before, However. It could be that it isn't the best to use on whatever the original finish is........ maybe a lacquer?
It would be nice knowing what the original Altec finish is? I think they called it oiled walnut? It does appear there is a poly type sealing on top of the oil though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio_by_Goodwill
Was that boiled linseed oil or raw. I can imagine that the linseed oil isn't drying and allowing the bees wax to be polished to its real shine. I believe that all waxes are just wax dissolved in a solvent which then evaporates, leaving just the wax to then be buffed out. Car wax should work great. Even Thomsons water seal is just wax dissolved in a solvent, works great until the wax wears away. I guess you should use a good wood finish oil first, let dry completely and then wax with the product of your choice.Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio_by_Goodwill
All the literature i have seen just says hand rubbed oil.But IMO there is some stain mixed in with it as well.My oak cabs have a very light stain looks kinda like (Orange) in color a bit but the veneer has like little birdseyes/tigers streaks in it.Georgeous IMO ! If you look at the top of the cabinet you can see what I'm talking about,just above the horn to the left and right. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by juniper
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/hbmc...2010/10/76.jpg
Very nice AB!!!
How long have you had those?
Thanks for that article Timoteus.Quote:
Originally Posted by timoteus
I could be wrong but most wood oxidizes eventually and turns darker with age.
I think I used raw, but I'm not 100% sure, as I have both. Bees wax isn't all that hard. It certainly doesn't look shiny in block form, so I kind of assumed it was just the nature of the material. Mixing bees wax and linseed oil isn't something I came up with all by myself. I'm sure I read about it someplace.Quote:
Originally Posted by VolvoHeretic
My father was an excellent carver in his youth. I grew up to the smell of bees wax and turpentine. 50 years later those pieces still look good. Not high gloss, though.
I've never used the Watco Danish oil so I can't comment on it,but I have used Howards and love it.Similost on Audiokarma has used both and heres his take.
AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums - View Single Post - How to spruce up Dynaco A25 cabinets
Altec Best, are those klipsch speakers on top of your 19's?????? Your 19's are very nice!!!!!!!!!! I tried the the feed and wax great advice. I will post some pics if I can figure out the protocol?
I've used both Howards and Watco finishes and they are two different formulas. Watco is a blend of stain (if not Nautural), polymerized oil and solvent. Howards Restore-a-finish is a stain, a proprietary blend of solvents, and a bit of polymerized oil. It is the blend of solvents in the Howards that sometimes offers superior results in that it tends to dissolve the original finish that is being treated. Watco is the more duable finish. Lately, Ive used this tung oil finish from Garret-Wade. I use it primarily on raw wood. If the original finish on the 19's is, indeed, an oil finish, stripping off the dirt, polishes, and wax and then applying a polymerized oil is probably the best bet.
Attachment 899Thanks for all the help. Here are the before and after pictures.
Yes they are ! Cornwall II's.They sound good, had some mods done on them,but they aren't my 19's ! :wink2:Quote:
Originally Posted by juniper
BTW - Your Welcome ! I'm glad you went with the feed and wax,stuff works great don't it ? Your cabs look like they came out great !!! :Thumbs up:
For your pictures,you can just use a photo hosting site like Photobucket.You can just post the (IMG) code or you can direct link/insert image,your choice.I don't like to use the attachment links on Hostboard because you have a small limit that you use up fast and it has an automatic re-sizer so your images get downsized.
Altec Best, just gave a friend a pair of mint birch cornwall 1's,who was in need of a pair of speakers. They sound good after modding them. You can play almost any recording on them and they sound good. My 19's to my ears are very source dependant for my ears, in the space I have. When the recording is clean, they are spectacular!!!! Next time I post pictures I will use your advice. Thanks again!!!
Has anyone tried this, stripping off the wax, and applying a polymerized oil? I need flip my my 416 8b's and it would be a great time to add some protection. I used howards last time and it seemed to fad within a few months..Quote:
Originally Posted by westend9
