Maintaining Speaker Finish

Hi guys, I wanted to polish my vintage speakers. Any liquid or wax/oil u used that can be bought easily from supermarket ?

Try to find at teak wood furniture shop...i bought it at Rm25 can used it at all type of wood...Last time i use 1 product like aerosol spray from USA but cannot get it anymore (Jusco)...

I often wonder whether applying oil to the speakers will change the sound or not. Honestly I don't know. But in ACE for e.g., there are lots of wood oil, wood polish, etc. Perhaps you can try and then tell us what you find ? It would be useful for the rest of us to know....

hiii... i use Old English Furniture Oil. So far ok la for my speaker.


Old English Furniture Oil
Gently moisturizes and protects wood without wax or silicones. Protects against drying and cracking, giving wood a rich, natural glow as it removes dirt and stains. Perfect for use on teak, oak, walnut, cherry, and all other natural woods including today's lighter veneers. Preserves and restores wood's natural beauty.

Couple of years ago, I very meticulously restored my TT wood plinth. I sanded down the old finish to near bare with orbital sander and by hand to finish till mirror smooth. Then used a very special imported woodstain to acquire a certain woodcolor I liked. I decided not to use any protective lacquer. Its already 2 years gone by and have never resorted to polishes or waxes. I used my own technique to sparingly apply the same stain and buff it down till near mirror finish. Its a joy to look at everytime other than occasionally dust...just dust it off lor!
I suppose loudspeakers always have a very thin layer of acrylic lacquer for permanent protection. Personally I don't quite believe in some aerosol can furniture polish, which can dull up the finish instead. It varies. Don't let me stop you from doing what you think is best.

Ahh ! The old English I saw today at supermarket. Priced at 22.50. Using lemon oil. Any smell ?

hasnul....
jumpa lemon oil je kat sini...
but at website can find almond oil.

yup. locally choices tak banyak. I think I may have buy online.

most speaker boxes are made of medium-density fibreboard (mdf) and the veneer (some cut from real wood, some made of vinyl) is then pasted on the mdf.

rubbing furniture oil will make old dull-looking wooden veneer look good again. i don't think it will affect the mdf or the sound quality.

however, there are some speakers with piano gloss finish. i don't think u shld rub furniture polish on such speakers.

I think you should just go over to your nearest ACE and take a look at their selection. It is quite comprehensive actually. I am sure you will find something you like there, rather than having to resort to the internet. Unless of course you like dealing through the internet.

Hi Hasnul,

Pledge, English Oil, French Oil, Coron, etc. are common oil for wood you can find in DIY shops and supermarket. Before you decide which oil to choose, you ought to check the quality of veneer of your vintage speakers. THIS IS FOR REAL WOOD VENEER ONLY, and not those silk-screened laminates of thin plastic skin, which cannot be re-fnished!

Secondly, you ought to know if you like to maintain the natural tone of the wood veneer. This would have effect in deciding the type of oil used; natural clear oil should be used if you want to keep the natural wood tones of the veneer. Teak oil tends to give you slightly darker colour after drying.

Thirdly, you cannot apply the aforesaid oil directly onto the veneer of your speakers because speakers always come with lacquer which would not allow oil to seep and absorb into the wood grain. If you try to apply oil over it directly, you will have blistering effect, and excessive level would cause tearing effects.

Fourthly, sand paper type used is important, you ought to choose aluminium oxide for initial medium grit and finish with fine garnet paper in above 360 grit. The way how you sand down the veneer is utterly critical, always along the grain and never criss-crossing it. AVOID excessive strength in sanding at all times, as if the grain of the veneer is damaged as a result, you are doomed.

Application of oil should always use a lean free paper/cloth and NEVER over soak it with excessive oil. Ensure you have it lightly moist level and gently rub it on along the grain for best and professional job.

Leave the layers sufficient drying time before second layer is applied. Common recommendation is 6 hrs which is grossly insufficient for tropical country like Malaysia IMO. You need more than 24hrs for best result. Right after 1st layer, all subsequent layers should be applied only once and avoid more than 3x as it would rub-out the earlier layer causing it to have uneven oil distribution.

Personally, I never like lacquer finish as it kills the 'feel' of the grain effect on wood. In order to avoid using lacquer for outer protective layer, you should apply the outer layer a week later.

Jo Ki

yup. ikano ace hardware's wood polishing series is full of rack.
u must get what u want there.

Hi Jo Ki,

What brand u used for your collection of LS3/5a ?
My B&W DM4 finishes/veneer are like those wood grains that can be felt when touch.

Hi Hasnul,

I use Coron (superfine grade) because I like the way how this oil dried and left with a layer of lightly hardened outer skin without loosing the feel on the grain. Coron oil looks rather similar to other oil superficially, but only upon application, you would notice the difference.

I must mention here that Coron, being slightly thicker oil, tends to darken the wood but only slightly. I don't mind this because the colour actually makes the wood looks richer! It leaves a very pale golden hue when dried.

You should know that my LS3/5A comes with many types of wood veneer, and I use only the same can of Coron for different pairs of my LS3/5A that needing to be restored. I have done more than 15 pairs, and it becomes easy after a while.

Let me give you a good tips, after 3rd layer, you should leave it in an airy room for a week for it to completely dry up! And you should use a garnet paper in 360 grit, mount them around a sponge, and lightly rub it down; this is to removing those uneven residue from oiling. Because the oil are hardened, the residue from light sanding leaves behind white powder in the process. Control of pressure evenly throughout, especially around the edges and corner are essential to achieve a good 90 degree corners with sharp edges. You should never over sand this, so when you rub your hand over it and feel smooth and flat, it is enough to completely dust off cleanly before the next layer of oiling process. From hereon, the layer of oil should be lighter than earlier.

The best lean free cloth you can find tends to be too rough and hard to control the level of oil retention; I find a good kitchen tower folded into 1" x 2" rectangular shape being the best.

Jo Ki

Hi Jo Ki,

From the way your explanation goes, this is going to be a risky job. I thought this is a straight & smooth operation eg. apply it to the sponge/buffing applicator then apply it evenly before leaving for few hours. Then rub with lint free cloth !

Thanks for the advice. I will look into this further.

Joki wants it to be a good permanent job ma..and to make it close to the finish of the condition when it was new.

If we just simply do it.. the result may just wear off very soon, or worse, look patchy~

Oh! You cannot simply refinish an old speakers by applying it straight onto the existing surface of the veneer. Lightly sand off the surface without properly and evenly removing the old lacquer would cause patchy finish (Thank you Adrain).

Do you know that when your speakers looks ugly with bad finish, it can never sound "good"?! Ha..

Jo Ki

Guitar polish. You can get them from guitar shops. And cleaners too, i.e. before you polish them. I have them around for my acoustic guitars. Specially made for comparatively sensitive guitar woods and and their finishes. I use them on my my speaker woods too.

the best safest way is to use the biodegradable chemical free "Murphy's Oil Soap"
very less oil just add some water with 1 or 1/2 cap mixed with water, fill your sprayer and give it a light cleaning..it will add clean/add a light shimmer - others in my experience which are oil based collect airborne residue and can give long term issues.better be safe than sorry.



cheers.