Zilch Cloth Installation

[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. I LOVE THESE SPEAKERS!

P.S. Sorry about the crappy focus. Guess I still have'nt learned how to use a digital camera.

[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! ]

[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?

[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.



Gary