L-96 Restoration

[DMMD]

This is my first JBL cabinet restoration project... and I want to first off thank:

1) Steve Gonzales
2) Wardsweb

Without their e-input, I would have made far more mistakes than I did.

So- this pair of L-96's had been in storage for over 5 years. Neglected, water-damaged, kicked, beat, looked like dogsh*t. Nice name carved in the side, lacking corners, a bit piece chipped out of the top... you get the picture. I though, hmm... I guess the drivers are nice.

I'll spare you the GORY parts... here are the three sides of the BEST looking one. That round water mark has lifted/bubbled- the surface is WAVY...from the MDF swelling underneath. YIKES! I also later discover...there's a patch just under the surface... not the veneer glue, but a putty patch where there was a thin spot...

[DMMD]

Now here is the Hot Iron in action and some fill work in progress, pre-disguise.

Last pic... grain lift pretty successful after 4 passes.

[Audiobeer]

Take your time and follow the advice of those two. Patience is the key. When you get down to hiding blemishes via pencils, Dry or NGR stains you can really fool the folks. But for a simple and beautiful restoration, patience and finesse will give you beautiful results!

[DMMD]

Time for the first bit of finishing. Where did the doobie's graffiti go?

[DMMD]

TO be continued... that's Day 1 (Tues) and Day 2 (Wed)

Interesting when you find a fill patch that was "original" to the JBL OG veneer!

[DMMD]

Soaking.... coat 2 There are 3 major fill areas/patches in this photo.

[DMMD]

By the time you get to finishing, the mask no longer wards off the fumes!



Watco Drying.

Minwax Finishing Wax next.

To Deft or not to Deft? That is the question.... I may leave them open grain and build up the wax a little. Thoughts?

NB: Drivers reinstalled. I rotated the woofers since there was a slight settling from them bring in storage so long.... or so that's what I figured, there was about a mm difference in top surround width and bottom surround width. Same exact difference on both speakers. I think I remember reading that this can happen somewhere in this huge archive of information.

NB #2: Steve.... thanks again for chatting with me. Where else will you find JBL devotees that will call you out of the blue to thank you for a JBL rescue of an L96. Although, for a monitor this size, these little speakers move a LOT of air. The Le10H-1 is pretty steller. You are all right about this one...

Thanks for the tips and.. thanks for looking. This concludes the majority of this project. The rig they are connected to is still top secret!!!!

[Zilch]

Let me be the first to say it: They're BEAUTIMOUS!!!

[Sound GREAT too, I betcha....]

[Charlie4350]

Agreed. Very Nice.

[johnaec]

Beautiful! I need to do the same to the bottoms of a set of L96's I just picked up...

John

[pmakres1]

Very, very nice indeed! Excellent job. I've always been a big fan of the L96.
My 4313B's were all gouged up like that too and I fixed them up using similar
techniques. I'll never understand these cases of Audio abuse...but it's always nice to see them end up in a good home, getting the proper TLC..!

Very nice work!

Best regards,

Peter

[pmakres1]

The rig they are connected to is still top secret!!!!

Sure we can't see some pics of the rig??

[Steve Gonzales]

Very impressive transformation! You don't know how it WARMS the heart to see some abused JBL's come back to life again. I really enjoyed the chat and welcome anyone that might need an opinion or help too. It looks as though you followed the steps that were outlined EXTREMELY close, well done Sir!. I suppose a lot of people like the WATCO/ WAX combo just fine, as it is beautiful. I urge you to do a "test drive" of the DEFT SATIN on an enclosure that is broken or has no value (read: NON-JBL) but still has real walnut veneer just to see the "depth" that this final step gives to the grain, it is beautiful and really reminds me of a well cared for older speaker (JBL) that has aged gracefully and taken on that soft luster and patina; it's just a thought. Thank you for caring enough to restore those great bookshelf wonders, Steve G

[Guido]

INCREDIBLE!

[jblnut]

Beautiful work !!!!