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View Full Version : Need advice in adjusting cabinets' color hues.



Steve K
06-07-2006, 11:58 PM
A nice pair of 4344s I'm looking to buy (not decided yet) have uneven color hues of the walnut veneer surfaces. One is decidedly darker than the other. I wish I could post pictures but it won't be for a while that I'll get to see them again. The owner says the pair came like that when originally purchased, and I have no reason to doubt him. It just seems the wood veneer itself was of a naturally darker color (different production run?), and not stained or anything like that.
My question is what can I do to even out the color hues of the pair? Can I use a darker oil finish, like Watco's Dark Walnut on the lighter cabinet, and use Natural for the already darker one? Any thoughts are appreciated.

Steve K

Mr. Widget
06-10-2006, 02:50 PM
You need to make sure there is no wax or other contaminant on the speaker. If you lightly sand the clean speaker with 400 grit assuming the grain has raised a bit due to moisture over the years you should be able to get a fairly normal JBL brown walnut finish with Minwax "Special Walnut" stain. After it has dried, a day or so, you can follow up with a couple of applications of "Natural" Watco.

Earlier walnut tends to be a bit more orange in color, but most L100s and later JBLs are in the color range of "Special Walnut".

If they don't chime in, you might PM Audiobeer or Steve Gonzales. They have both posted extensively on rehabilitating JBL cabinets.


Widget

Audiobeer
06-11-2006, 04:48 PM
There's all kinds of ways to do it. Mr. Widget's method is probably the most practicle as you are not having to pull drivers and just mask off the surfaces your not dealing with. If there is a big contrast and it's in the characteristic of the would and not just the pigment then I would strip them both and bleach the darker one then start your staining process applying the stain to match up. If Mr. Widgets method dosen't quite cut it (I think it will help), then you have to ask yourself is all this going to be worth the effort of stripping. If the shade difference is due to light hitting it and changing the patina over the years then stripping alone may solve it. If the case is that the veneer is from a lot so drasticaly different then stripping, bleaching and subsequent staining will do the trick. In my opinion a pair of speakers like that deserve whatever you can give them. If these speakers are not laqured but an oil finish try the method Mr. Widget suggests but use a wipe on NGR stain on the lighter cabinet. Try it on scrap would first. NGR is easy to correct if you screwed up by just scuff sanding off. Once you find the right hue then oil the cabinets.

Steve K
06-12-2006, 01:57 AM
Thank you, Widget & Audiobeer, for your helpful posts.
I really don't have much experience in wood finishing, but aspire to becoming adept at both woodworking and finishing in due time (more like couple of years time :o:). But I'll try to post some pictures when I get the chance, and I'll certainly try the methods you recommended.

Steve K

rjtimmerman
05-02-2007, 06:45 PM
Hello persons,
I have done many touch ups on the Vintage JBL's cabinets.
After working on Learjet interiors-Duncan Aviation finishing shop...gave me a bit of knowledge...for what is worth, here's my 2 cents.
How to achieve the dark orange/brown finish on walnut?
NEVER USE "WALNUT STAIN" on walnut.
(1) use Old Masters WIPING stain MAPLE 11616 first.
(2) use Old masters Penetrating stain MAPLE 40616 second coat
(3) highlight are brought out with combination of half/half
Minwax penetrating 211 Provincial and the Old masters 40616.
(4) I prefer Minwax Antique Oil. Formby's and such can get away from you..and become sticky FAST.
(*) refinishing cacbinets or patch veener work- never use "preglued" sheet backing. This has a thick
5 mils glue, and is very hard to match joints. Use the older paper back walnut veneer and contact cement.
(**) pretest everything first!

I hope this may help sombody out there-on there project.
Regards R.j

Don Mascali
05-03-2007, 05:08 AM
I have used small amounts of "Shoe Polish" added to the oil stains to push the colors a bit. The wax will desolve in the oil.
As an example some Kiwi "Oxblood" will add a little red/maroon to the finished color.

fotodan
05-03-2007, 06:27 AM
If your looking for the amber color that older walnut had, after you've applied your stain, apply a coat of Bullseye Amber Shellac. That will give it the look of aged walnut. I use to have to do that when I was restoring antiques for dealers. Works everytime..;)

Mr. Widget
05-03-2007, 07:59 AM
How to achieve the dark orange/brown finish on walnut...


I have used small amounts of "Shoe Polish"..


If your looking for the amber color that older walnut had...Thanks for these excellent tips...


Widget

Steve K
05-10-2007, 09:30 PM
I'm so embarrassed! Originally, I started this thread because I wanted to try to adjust the color hues of a pair of 4344MkIIs. Shortly after that my business dictated that I move to a new housing that is closer to work, and the new living room just didn't have the space for those large boxes. So I sold them before the move. :banghead: The MkIIs had been sold new until around 2000, so 'used' pairs are still hard to find, and it didn't take long to find a buyer. Anyway, I still had my trusty 4313s and listened to them for a couple of months, but I dearly missed the big sound of the JBL 15" woofers. Now, I found a pair of L300, which was in the process of being parted out by the seller. The boxes were in pretty good shape, but all the drivers and network were taken out of them, so that gave me the opportunity to repair/restore whatever was necessary. For starters, I sanded the veneer and applied a healthy dose of oil to the walnut veneer, woodputty'ed all the cracked and chipped areas of the base as well as covering these areas with matte black paint, and made new spacer boards for the glass tops with poster cardboards and blue and black felt cloths. Also, I've ordered new nameplate foilcals from rj. Next in planning is having the grill frames fitted with JBL blue cloths. When all's done, the appearance, at least, should be an upgrade from a 'B' to an 'A'. But I still have yet to assemble the sytem to 'see' the L300's sound that is so revered here on this forum, but I expect it to happen before May's up.

By the way, I read in an article describing a restoration project for the L300 (Oaklodge Consulting) that there were wheels attached originally. Is this so?

But the tips and advices for the surface veneer finishing that have been posted here are just so valuable that I'd already cut and pasted to a separate text file to archive for a future DIY project. Many thanks again!

Steve K