L100s just like new, well almost

[Wilsonj]

Truly amazing work! How many hours would you say you had invested in this?

I don't think anybody wants to start counting hours unless it's a business. You work on it, you take a break, you work some more, things have to dry, you take a break, you do something over, etc. etc. At some point in time you run out of things to do and you're done. Well maybe for awhile.

[johnaec]

Hey WilsonJ - are you connected with Jorma's Fur Peace Ranch, (in avatar)? I once did FOH at a gig of his many years ago. He and Jack Cassidy are doing a Hot Tuna gig out here in a couple weeks. Incredible Guitar!

John

[Wilsonj]

Hey WilsonJ - are you connected with Jorma's Fur Peace Ranch, (in avatar)? I once did FOH at a gig of his many years ago. He and Jack Cassidy are doing a Hot Tuna gig out here in a couple weeks. Incredible Guitar!

John

No connection other than I really like to crank up the JBL's to Jorma and Jack / Hot Tuna.

[lgvenable]

I'll add that one catastophic hazard of Methanol (MeOH), is that it burns flameless! That's right, you can not see the flame of burning methanol. Not to mention drinking large concentrations of MeOH can blind a person permanently.

As a child , I remember some drunks drinking wood alcohol (meoh) and ending up blind or dead. that said:

To All:

In a properly ventilated area, with latex gloves, its soooo easy to swell the veneer. I assumed everyone would have the proper respect for solvents and treat them accordingly.

However on the tech side, while yes you have to be careful, I used methanol-water (about 10% water/90% meoh) and light swipes to swell the wood grain prior to sanding this week.

It worked so well I lightly swelled all sides, then sanded with various grades of wet/dry sandpaper. It made for a set of beautiful enclosures. It really brought out the burling in my speaker enclosures. If its not your gig, so be it; but I've been a polymer chemist for 27 years; and it worked for me. I have no fear of solvents; as I use them all the time in a GMP environment. You just have to avoid dangerous vapor concentrations/conditions.

In a previous life I had used tung oil on my L100's. Here I've had to use "lab blend", which contains a lot of acetone. I can post the mix later. It too with slight added amounts of water can swell the wood easily . However, a "neat" (undiluted) application easily stripped the tung oil and all surface finishes--waxes etc, with a little elbow grease. It quickly dries without damaging the veneer adhesion; literally in a matter of seconds. Prior to solvent re-application, I waited 30 to 45 minutes to avoid any chance of delamination. Here I used gloves specifically recommended for acetone, and did the work in my ventilated garage door up, side door open. The acetone-lab blend when applied removed ~90% of the water stain I had on the top of 1 enclosure, light sanding got the rest. Perfect job on my wife's 20 year old water stain!!

While some (on the forum) might recommend against it; it worked beautifully for me. A caveat..my L-100s were in immaculate condition except for minor scratches. They have no veneer damage or lifting after ~32 years. After treatment I sanded with 220/320/ 400/600/0000 steel wool. The L-100s were then smooth and ready for Watco.

On the top edges and side edges, I clamped 2" ash stringers (after felt lining the wood surface that went against the box (3M 77). The felt lined surfaces went against the box, and lined up with the top edges. In that way, the sanding block did not creep over the edge and sand (ie round over) the veneer edges.

Worked for me; just remember If you're a smoker..not while you've got the solvents out.

In writing this post, prior to knocking it; remember the paint removers you've used in the past. Far more nasty; as this doesn't require methylene chloride like they use.

BTW, the amount of time per speaker enclosure from swell to sand 220/320/400/600/ 0000 steel wool? <2.5 hours per enclosure to completely scratch free; ready-to-stain. The Watco oil finish will take much longer to get an even, fully saturated application. Great results seen on an enclosure in one evening!

Good luck

[Wilsonj]

While some (on the forum) might recommend against it; it worked beautifully for me. A caveat..my L-100s were in immaculate condition except for minor scratches. They have no veneer damage or lifting after ~32 years.

How do you think This would work on large dents and major scratches?

[lgvenable]

Should work very well, and much quicker than steaming it for sure, The reason it works better is MEOH, which lowers the surface tension of the wood surface, allowing the mixture to wet the wood quicker. The natural resins in the walnut veneer act as sizing agents, preventing water from rapidly wetting the wood cellular structure. You can use larger amounts of water to increase the swelling speed, and perhaps even the iron method (if needed) to help accelerate the swelling. It did'nt have any ill effects on my L-100's.
I could test it on a piece of walnut stock. Check back early next week, and I'll post the results ( too much work this week, plus a college grad to attend this wkend),
larry

[shakes]

I think you missed a spot... Too nice, there has to be a spot somewhere . Oh well, great job...nice pics too.

[Steelyfan]

In a previous life I had used tung oil on my L100's. Here I've had to use "lab blend", which contains a lot of acetone. I can post the mix later. It too with slight added amounts of water can swell the wood easily . However, a "neat" (undiluted) application easily stripped the tung oil and all surface finishes--waxes etc, with a little elbow grease. It quickly dries without damaging the veneer adhesion; literally in a matter of seconds. Prior to solvent re-application, I waited 30 to 45 minutes to avoid any chance of delamination. Here I used gloves specifically recommended for acetone, and did the work in my ventilated garage door up, side door open. The acetone-lab blend when applied removed ~90% of the water stain I had on the top of 1 enclosure, light sanding got the rest.

Hello Lgvenable, can you share with us the recipe of your
Acetone mix ? Im I right when concluding that "elbow grease" is in fact slang for
manual work?