Zilch Cloth Installation

[saeman]

At the request of several forum members I'll start this thread to discuss the options I've tested to install grille cloth on the wood framework. Hopefully other members will chime in, not with their failures, but with additional techniques for success.

Since receiving my bundle of blue cloth from Zilch I have completed a pair of 4343 grilles and two complete sets of 4350 grilles. After the initial frustrations of trying to establish my process, I am now producing grilles that are EXACTLY as those done by JBL. My first grille took over an hour and required my wife's help. Knowing that JBL would not accept that kind of labor time I kept trying new ideas. My last grille took about 20 minutes to install the cloth, by myself. I'll consider that acceptable for now.

To get the most out of this thread I'll need to eventually include some pictures. When I do my next grille I'll get pics to show some of the details. For now babbling will have to do.

The first requirement is to choose the type of glue to use. First I tried hot melt glue. I bought a gun and enough glue sticks to do a bunch of grilles. What A Disaster - First problem is that it sets up way too fast. If you're trying to achieve a 1/2" to 3/4" glued border around the frame, there's no way to get an even coat of glue under the border cloth. Rolling the cloth down over the hot glue using a veneer roller was the only way to avoid lumps of glue under the cloth. In many places the glue bled thru the cloth and left an ugly appearance. I then tried wood glue, gorilla glue, construction adhesive and contact cement. Since I use wood glue for all of my veneer work I had high hopes. When veneering you let it dry and then reactivate it with heat. It requires that you coat both surfaces however and you cannot put a coat on the cloth, not knowing exactly where your glue line will be. Method failed !! Gorilla glue and construction adhesive dry too slow and nobody has enough hands to hold the cloth in place until it sets; so forget those options. Contact Cement turned out to be the choice.

With the frame face down I masked all around the frame leaving an exposed 3/4" border. Most original grilles appear to have a 1/2" border - your choice. After that I brush applied 2 coats of contact cement (not the cheap water based stuff, but the smelly kind that gives you a headache after a while). Let the glue fully dry to the touch. I had a few that sat for a whole day and had no problems. One coat will not be enough as there needs to be enough glue so that when heated, it penetrates into the cloth. 3 coats might be too much and it may bleed thru the cloth and foul your iron surface.

Until you get your technique down, cut the cloth with a full 2" border in excess of what you need to cover the frame. Lay the cloth down flat and center the grille frame on the cloth. Plug in your wife's clothes iron and get ready. Pick a corner, any corner, and pull the cloth up over the corner and over your glue border. Take the tip of the iron and press the cloth into the glue just 1" on either side of the exact corner. Go to the next closest corner and stretch the cloth laterally from your glued corner to your new corner (hope that makes sense). You need to get a feel of how much the cloth will stretch. Stretch it to 2/3 rds of it's limit and press the second corner into the glue the same as the first. Remember to keep the frame centered on the cloth while tacking down the 4 corners. Go to one of the farther corners and repeat the stretching and tacking process. Do the same for the 4th corner. If the frame is long, as my 4350's were, go to each side at the center and tack it down. Remember to stretch the cloth from the first side tack to the second before you do the second side tack.

This seems like a bunch of rambling but maybe with pics added later it will all make sense.

The goal is not to just cover the frame, but to achieve a perfect corner that is "wrapped" with no cuts or mitres. Properly stretching the cloth when tacking down the corners is the only way to ensure a good end result.

The frame is now sitting with the corners tacked down. Pick a corner and start an inch at a time, working away from the corner. Stretch the cloth over the glue and apply heat. Once you get 3-4 inches away from the corner in each direction, the job gets 10 times easier. If you stretch the cloth to it's limit it may put too much pressure on your glue and cause future problems. If you do not stretch enough the cloth will sag or blow in the breeze of a big woofer. For now I think stretching to 2/3 of it's limit is the way to go. If you don't take most of the stretch out at the corners you will have the cloth bunched up and have no place to get rid of it.

With the cloth tacked down around the entire perimeter, take a pair of scissors and trim off most of the excess. After that take a straight edge and utility knife and finish trim as "EVEN" as you can get with your 3/4" taped glue line. It's important to trim off all cloth that does not have glue under it. If you do not the exposed edge will fray and leave an untidy appearance. After the edge is finish trimmed take your iron and a veneer roller completely around the perimeter for a final set.

This procedure, if I haven't made it too complicated, has given me perfect results. I may edit this several times in case I have forgotten something or can make it easier to understand. Chime in with any questions.

[spkrman57]

Definitely some great craftmanship involved here!

Ron

[Hamilton]

What brand of glue ended up being your favorite?

Thanks.

[Flodstroem]

Excellent, a very good "manual" how to do it. Great explanation. Shall save a bookmark to this post so I easily can find it when Im working with grill cloth. Looking forward to see the pictures you would like to ad to this thread :bouncy:
:cheers:
Regards

[Audiobeer]

Great tips! On the corners since your not using a mitre cut is this method compressing the material enough that it isn't noticeable? Thanks again!

[Steve Gonzales]

Great job Rick!

One thing I wanted to share about the hot glue method is that (I think) you tried to run a bead all the way around the frame in one pass?. What needs to be done is akin to your contact cement method. A thin, 6" (max) bead needs to be laid down at a time for it to work. Then a small piece of wood is to be used to press it in place. Also, you've got to get a feel for how much that is with a few practice runs with small scaps. My L220 grills have mitred corner cuts and I think a few other models do also. I wouldn't dismiss this method so quickly. I have done quite a few grills with it and they look factory also. Some pictures of your initial steps/process[s] would be great and I applaud you for figuring this other technique out and sharing it. Keep up the good work, Regards, Steve G

[Ken Pachkowsky]

I to would like to say thanks for the info. You did a pretty good job of explaining the procedure. I have ruined 2 pieces of grill cloth trying to cover the frames I made for the Westlakes. I got so frustrated I shelved the project till I could figure out a way of doing it. This will help.

The Westlake frames are single piece and have 10 corners each. Your method should work just as well with them. Maybe I will post a picture of one of the frames and you could advise?

Ken

[Guido]

Thanks Rick!

What exactly is "contact cement"? Just to help us overseas guys ;)

[Ken Pachkowsky]

Thanks Rick!

What exactly is "contact cement"? Just to help us overseas guys ;)

Its an adhesive (somewhat clear or semi transparent) that you apply to both surfaces. After application you let it dry to the touch. Extreme caution must be taken when lining up the two surfaces to be glued together because when one surface comes in contact with the other they literally weld together. The problem with contact cement is high toxicity. It should only be done in a well ventilated room. They make water based ones that are less toxic but as mentioned earlier in the thread they don't bond as well.

I hope that helps?

Ken

[JuniorJBL]

Read this :)

http://www.dap.com/products.aspx?subcatid=8

[saeman]

Great job Rick!

One thing I wanted to share about the hot glue method is that (I think) you tried to run a bead all the way around the frame in one pass?. What needs to be done is akin to your contact cement method. A thin, 6" (max) bead needs to be laid down at a time for it to work. Then a small piece of wood is to be used to press it in place. Also, you've got to get a feel for how much that is with a few practice runs with small scaps. My L220 grills have mitred corner cuts and I think a few other models do also. I wouldn't dismiss this method so quickly. I have done quite a few grills with it and they look factory also. Some pictures of your initial steps/process[s] would be great and I applaud you for figuring this other technique out and sharing it. Keep up the good work, Regards, Steve G

Steve - You're right. I ran a thick line of hot glue all around the perimiter of the frame. When I tried to lay the cloth down the glue was dry. Not being one to give up, I took a large hammer and beat the cloth down on to the glue to get it to bond. It did bond to some degree but I destroyed the grille frame in the process. I'll try your technique the next time I do a grille. Thanks

[saeman]

I kinda got busy and forgot about this thread. I did hope to post some more pics but they need to be a sequence, taken hands on while installing the cloth. John P. from Winnipeg will be coming thru my area soon and I thought I would do a grille while he's here and let him take pics of the start to finish process. It will make more sense to see the process v.s. the verbal attempt I made to describe the effort. Later - Rick

[sonofagun]

Contact cement is what cabinet shops use for applying Formica type laminates with. It is also used for applying veneers. You coat both surfaces (to be mated). let the glue dry, and then, place the two surfaces together. They bond instantly. Is what I tell people to use if they wish to glue my grilles in place.

As posted, you want the flammable grade - the water based stuff actually smells worse (IMO)! :biting:

[John W]

Thanks reissen for this excellent how-to. I just finished installing the cloth on my grill frames using the method outlined here and it worked perfectly. :applaud:

[analogman]

Thank you much, I like it, I like it.
What temp setting on the iron works the best for you?
Thank you again,
Analogman

[Thom]

It's probably good that the hot glue didn't work out for you. I understand that there are some industrian hot melt adhesives that melt at quite high temperatures and then the remelt temperature is even hotter, but the common hot glue that most of us have access to has no strength whatsoever in the summer in Fresno, Sacramento, much of Arizona. You get the picture so it's probably a good thing that you switched glues.

[bigstereo]

Thanks, riessen for posting the instructions. I used your method and they turned out pretty nice. The backs did'nt turn out as nice as yours but hey, nobody is going to notice. BTW this was my first attempt at this. I'm very pleased.:)
Also thanks to GordonW for the beautiful job on the 2214 surrounds. And to Zilch for making the blue cloth available. :thmbsup: I LOVE THESE SPEAKERS!

P.S. Sorry about the crappy focus. Guess I still have'nt learned how to use a digital camera.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w160/bigstereo/DSCN0810.jpg
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w160/bigstereo/DSCN0811.jpg
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w160/bigstereo/DSCN0808.jpg
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w160/bigstereo/DSCN0806.jpg

[bigstereo]

here is what the grills looked like when I bought the speakers.

[mech986]

Hey BigStereo,

Nice installation job on the grille cloth. Nothing beats cleaning up a pair of speakers like new cloth. Also nice job on refoaming your woofers, there is another thread just started on a pair of 4425's that have the same 2214 woofer, maybe you should post a photo to that thread to show the OP how easy it was to do it.

Regards,

Bart

[bigstereo]

I'd love to be able to take credit for the re-foam but, I sent them to Gordon. He did em.

[joetech]

I have used 3M #77 spray on adhesive. Works very well. Sort of like contact cement but somewhat more forgiving.
You have to put down some newpaper in the middle of the cloth (inside the frame and strech out the cloth. It helps to have a large table to staple it down to temporarily. Then spray both the sides of the frame and the cloth outside and around the back (newpaper covers the inside so don't worry about the overspray). Then in a few minutes after it has set up a bit you can start pulling it up and over the back of the frame. Go all the way around keeping it stretched. Then you can tear out the newspaper from the inside and trim the corners. Staple if you like. I used this method to make some covers for some BIC Formula 4s I was given. I use them in my classroom. Look great and protects the speakers from poking fingers.

Now the real quesion. Has anyone ever tried to redo the round grills on a L88 Nova? Its held in by a wire spring. I tried hotmelt. Not so good. Main problem is they trimed it so close at the factory there is nothing to get hold of to stretch it back into place. It a unique cloth that I've never seen anywhere else. The top half is firmly glued to the frame. The rest is walnut veneer. Ideas welcomed.

[Woody Banks]

I am not sure about the L88's but my favorite method of grill cloth attachment is the spline method. I cut a 1/4" slot with the router and use drip irrigation tube for the spline. The slot may need adjustment for thick material like the Gonzales/Zilch cloth.

[Zilch]

A spline installation tool is available at the hardware store, used for installing window screening.

[OASR horn - COOL! :thmbsup: ]

[Rudy Kleimann]

As Zilch mentioned, window screen replacement tool is very handy. For that matter, I don't see why the piping used to hold window screens in wouldn't be ideal for this too. It comes in smooth and ribbed versions, and the roller is very handy- it has a half-moon groove cut in the edge of the roller, perfect for forcing the piping into the groove on the speaker grille frame - or window screen frame, if you really want to fix that -but with speaker peojects, who has time for those kind of chores?:D

[hoto]

I also ordered the Monitor Blue fr Zilch and start to apply to my 4344 grills, but I tested the 3M super 77, it seems to dry too fast and hard to work around the conners, .I also try the Lepage contact cement (blue/red colour label ,also the green/red colour label), also seems dry too fast and once apply to the frame and put the cloth on, cannot repositioning the conners again.
Also try the Woodbond, same thing happen....

Can someone recommended me a glue which can let me do the job right ,pls provide the exact BRAND NAME as well. (hopefully I can get it in Canada...)

The Monitor Blue grill cloth fr Zilch just too nice and do not want to damage it.

thanks

[rww1951]

I use 3M Hi-Strength 90 Spray Adhesive (available at Lowes and sometimes WalMart ) which is much stronger than 3M Spray 77 which is more for craft work. I use it with Zilch's cloth and follow his directions above. Mask off your frame, spray a heavy coat just under the cloth area on the back only (not the sides). Let it dry to the touch for 5 minutes or so then follow Zilch's instructions. The secert is using a hot iron to fuse the cloth to the dryed adhesive. This method allows you to work the cloth a little at a time. The sheer strength of the 3M 90 is very high, works great, and spraying is easier than messing with brushes and canned contact cement (which also works for this method). Just remember, only put the adhesive on the frame and not the cloth!

[hoto]

Thanks for the suggestion...but when I use the 3M super 77 on the conners, once I put it on and try to reposition it to get the FLAT back conner, the glue came out and not stick back to the frame any more. I can not re-spray it again just on the conner...Do I need to spray LOTs on the conners in order to have enought glue to re-position it? I assume it may lift 3-4 times before I have a clean conner.

[bigstereo]

I also ordered the Monitor Blue fr Zilch and start to apply to my 4344 grills, but I tested the 3M super 77, it seems to dry too fast and hard to work around the conners, .I also try the Lepage contact cement (blue/red colour label ,also the green/red colour label), also seems dry too fast and once apply to the frame and put the cloth on, cannot repositioning the conners again.
Also try the Woodbond, same thing happen....

Can someone recommended me a glue which can let me do the job right ,pls provide the exact BRAND NAME as well. (hopefully I can get it in Canada...)

The Monitor Blue grill cloth fr Zilch just too nice and do not want to damage it.



thanks

This is what I used with the hot iron method, it was cake.

[robertbartsch]

Wow; this is helpful since I will need to repair a couple of grills soon.

Has anyone here built radio controlled airplanes from balsa wood? Covering the wings with iron-on shrink wrap material seems similar to the contact cement iron-on procedure used for grills in this post.

Question: Anyway, my OEM grill frames are about 2 inches thick and they are tappered with the front being slightly smaller (i inch) than the rear which attaches to the cabinet. The factory cloth is NOT cut at the mittered and tappered frame corners, so it seems to have been stretched to cover the odd-irregular shape. Has anyone covered a frame with a tappered design; does this present any special issues not discussed here?

Thx...

[Gary L]

Great thread and outstanding tutorial. Thank you for sharing your experience and taking all the time here.

A few years back I bought a pool table for the finished basement. It needed new cloth on all the bumpers and the slate. I went out and bought the same stuff the pros play on, Simmonis 860 felt I think. They sent it with a can of MAZZCO spray adhesive, much like the 3M stuff for automibile interior trim and headliners. This stuff is fantastic for applying the grill cloth and I believe you would find it much easier to work with.

I have used the 3M stuff before but found the sprayer tends to clog up and starts spitting balls rather then an even spray.

The felt on my pool table has never even thought about moving or releasing but I did ned to recover one bumper and it was as simple as could be because the felt came right off from where it was and left nothing behind.

I do also like the window screen spline idea if your frames are the type that can use this method.

These grills were done with the Mazzco spray because they just have a 1/8th inch thick backer board in an aluminum frame.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v722/Gamalot/Speakers/15grill4.jpg

Gary

[johnhb]

I have done L-100s, 65s, 150s, 4312, even 212s this way. Install a router upside under a table or buy a router table. Use a 1/8 inch straight bit. Put a fence about 3/8 in on back of grill and router a groove all the way around about 3/16 deep. It is very easy to do. Buy a pack of 1/8 inch screen spline at the hardware store and the roller installer tool. I install the spline on opposite sides then pull it back from the corner and re-pull the cloth back and re-install. Easy and perfect every time. Easy to pull the spline out and install new cloth. Never a wrinkle. I cut the excess with a razor blade. The groover is tighter and works better in MDF I have made but it also works on the JBL particle board. You will never touch glue again.

[Ken Pachkowsky]

As I recall, it was Steve xxx from Bakersfield,Ca that found the source for JBL Blue cloth? Am I mistaken?

:hmm:
Ken

[Ken Pachkowsky]

I have done L-100s, 65s, 150s, 4312, even 212s this way.

John

Great idea....thanks so much.

[John]

As I recall, it was Steve xxx from Bakersfield,Ca that found the source for JBL Blue cloth? Am I mistaken?

:hmm:
Ken

Yes Ken ,you are correct and then he hooked up Zilch and the rest is history.:D

[Woody Banks]

As I recall, it was Steve xxx from Bakersfield,Ca that found the source for JBL Blue cloth? Am I mistaken?

:hmm:
Ken

Ken
You are correct! It was Steve, but I don't think you have his last name spelled correctly.:D

Woody

[BMWCCA]

Ken
You are correct! It was Steve, but I don't think you have his last name spelled correctly.:DSo, how do you spell Gonzales? :blink:

[hjames]

As I recall, it was Steve xxx from Bakersfield,Ca that found the source for JBL Blue cloth? Am I mistaken?:hmm:

Ken, You are correct! It was Steve, but I don't think you have his last name spelled correctly.:D

So, how do you spell Gonzales? :blink:

add some more XXXs ? :blink:

[Ken Pachkowsky]

So, how do you spell Gonzales? :blink:

Yes it was Gonzales.....:D

[Woody Banks]

add some more XXXs ? :blink:

Heather

I always forget, are the XXX's hugs and the OOO's kisses or is it the other way around?

[4313B]

#1 (http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=77044&postcount=1)

I just finished up a 4345 grille and you are right, it was cake and working the cloth made sense once I started. Thank you for the instructions and goodbye hot melt nightmare; I always hated making grilles using that method. It took forever and required a ton of manipulation to make it come out perfect. This contact cement method is crazy easy and looks absolutely perfect. :yes: I'll go ahead and put it in the Tech Section where it belongs.

[Wagner]

#1 (http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=77044&postcount=1)

I just finished up a 4345 grille and you are right, it was cake and working the cloth made sense once I started. Thank you for the instructions and goodbye hot melt nightmare; I always hated making grilles using that method. It took forever and required a ton of manipulation to make it come out perfect. This contact cement method is crazy easy and looks absolutely perfect. :yes: I'll go ahead and put it in the Tech Section where it belongs.


AND it's authentic and true to the O.E. method in appearance when done.

I love it! :bouncy:

Thomas

[brad347]

Just used this tutorial to apply grille cloth to my 4345s. Instead of the original Zilch/saeman blue, I went with a rust-colored orange that matches my room better from acoustimac.com

A couple of things that I learned throughout my process (came out great, looking perfect from the front and near-perfect-- almost factory-- from the back):

1) It's worth it to stress once again to JUST barely tack the corners down. If you tack too much down at the corners, it will make it more challenging to get a wrinkle-free corner when you are finessing it to get the sides tacked down.

2) Once I had all the corners tacked down, I had better luck working "corners in" as opposed to "down the line" as seemed implied in the original tutorial. In other words, get both corners on a side pulled/stretched so that the pattern on the fabric is straight, and then stop. Go to the other side, and do the same. Then, working toward the center is easy and your corners look even with respect to the pattern/grain/whatever you want to call it.

3) Don't understate how important stretching the fabric is to getting good, wrinkle-free and mitre-free corners. In addition to doing the "2/3 stretch" from corner to corner, also don't be afraid to grab a big hunk of fabric and stretch it up when you're making the transition from "corner" to "straightaway." This will allow you to work with the fabric instead of against it--and make a nice even wrinkle-free corner.

4) I found it best to start not with the frame literally "centered" on the fabric, but to approximate the first and second corner-to-corner "stretches" when centering. In other words, if my first stretch is left-to-right, I'll start with the frame over toward the right a bit more, knowing I'm going to stretch the fabric that direction. This helps the frame stay centered after all stretches.

5) I had GREAT results with the "tolex glue" from www.tubesandmore.com and I thought it was perfect for this application. I had about 1/4 quart leftover from a guitar amp I recovered recently, and decided I'd just give it a shot before going to the Home Depot. Well, it worked like a charm. I don't know what it is, but it is very strong and not stinky at all. The "iron" method outlined in the OP really helped activate it and tack it down, and despite the fact that I used the factory-like 1/2"-ish border and stretched fairly (not extremely) taut, it does NOT seem to be going anywhere. We'll see how it holds up over the long haul, but for now it really seems perfect. It's designed to keep vinyl covering on guitar amps, etc, so I'd imagine it's not designed to lift off easily. Best of all it is NOT stinky at all like the stronger versions of contact cement. The glue is very workable-- apply it to the frame and let it dry/tack up, then apply the fabric. It grips so good you really don't even need the iron, but I used it anyway for good measure and it really did seem to provide an extra measure of strength.

6) If your grille has a center reinforcement bar, use this to your advantage as a visual straightedge to keep the grille grain/pattern straight as you are doing your corner-to-corner stretches.

---

Big thanks to saeman for the tutorial. It allowed me to do these grilles perfectly on my first try, and it went a lot better than the Jubal grilles I did just improvising-- though those eventually came out OK in the end (not as good as the ones I just finished though). Hope my observations help someone.

[markd51]

I would imagine it is tricky getting the corners right, without a need of mitering, and avoiding bundling of the material? It the Zilchcloth that stretchable-workable that bundling-bunching isn't a huge problems at the corners?

Also, may I ask what heat settings are you using on a clothes iron? I'm sort of gathering that setting at the higher "cotton" setting may be too hot. Thanks, Mark

[lgvenable]

I used this same method, but three years ago to mount my speaker cloth from Zilch. I used Weldwood contact cement; which I allowed to dry completely prior to tacking down the grill cloth. I found that I could make a longer piece at each corner, which allowed you to pull it out further (like you were bisecting the angle).

I used the iron to barely tack each corner, and then worked down each side. You're right you have to carefully work to prevent bundling at the corners. The JBL Navy cloth i got from Zilch (and I assume just like SAEMAN's would stretch enough to allow you to form the corners. At the end of the day, after completely tacking the cloth down; I take a brand new utility blade and cut along a metal rule 36" long, and give nicely trimmed edges. Obviously you cant cut deeply, as the idea is to cut the cloth, not the wood. It took some practice, but in the end I got technique.

Then I read SAEMAN's technique, which is roughly the same as what I did then. The technique also worked on my L100T's, where I painted the frame with the Weldwood contact cement; except the corners were narrower and worked even better. The inner plastic edge in the L100T works for guiding your blade as well. A word to the wise, take a small piece of plastic and embed your knife tip on it when doing an edge slit, that way the tip wont puncture down into the grill face (on L100T's) as you cut the extra grill cloth off.

JBL (apparently) on the other hand applied the grill cloth via heat sealing with a press all at one time (on L100T's). I'd guess they had a hot knife edge that trimmed all the way through the grill cloth for a clean trimmed edge.

[markd51]

Again, may I please ask folks, what recommended heat settings do you suggest for the iron? Thanks, Mark

[lgvenable]

you cant run too hot or you'll cause the surface of the cloth to become shiny, which is basically just on the edge of melting the upper threads of (presumably ) the polyester in the grill cloth. Since the Weldwood was a contact cement, as I recall I used the lowest heat setting to set the adhesive. Use a silk or rayon setting.

Watch carefully that you dont burnish the surface. Do not use any water or steam, just a dry iron. The hotter you adjust it the better the grab will be, but watch for burnishing.Just take out the iron and play around to find your lowest setting where no burnishing occurs. I seem to recall using an old tee-shirt between my iron and the grillcloth to prevent any chance of burnishing. This technique also allows you to use a higher temp iron w/o issue.

And take some scraps and practice your technique, especially on corners; until you understand exactly how to finish a corner. Trust me it'll be the best 20 to 30 minutes you ever spend, since you dont want to have to pull off a speaker grill cloth and start over because you screwed up the corners....

After I got my technique down PAT I applied Zilch's cloth to four sets of L100T's flawlessly.

[markd51]

you cant run too hot or you'll cause the surface of the cloth to become shiny, which is basically just on the edge of melting the upper threads of (presumably ) the polyester in the grill cloth. Since the Weldwood was a contact cement, as I recall I used the lowest heat setting to set the adhesive. Use a silk or rayon setting.

Watch carefully that you dont burnish the surface. Do not use any water or steam, just a dry iron. The hotter you adjust it the better the grab will be, but watch for burnishing.Just take out the iron and play around to find your lowest setting where no burnishing occurs. I seem to recall using an old tee-shirt between my iron and the grillcloth to prevent any chance of burnishing. This technique also allows you to use a higher temp iron w/o issue.

And take some scraps and practice your technique, especially on corners; until you understand exactly how to finish a corner. Trust me it'll be the best 20 to 30 minutes you ever spend, since you dont want to have to pull off a speaker grill cloth and start over because you screwed up the corners....

After I got my technique down PAT I applied Zilch's cloth to four sets of L100T's flawlessly.

Thank you very much for your advice. Mark

[vmax700]

I appreciate this thread but a video or pic tutorial would really help me as I get lost in the nomenclature regarding specifically attaching the corners. This according to what I am reading is the foundation to get right before any other area of cloth adherence is started. I appreciate all the effort that has gone into the thread.

[brutal]

Someone post how to do a B460 grill and I'll send lots of XXX and OOO.

I borked mine up pretty bad.