Getting ready to clean up these JBL L36 cabs. Looks like the cab stain "puddled" in water stain. Anything I should do other than start sanding?

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q227/shacky1973/IMGP1990.jpg

:lurk:

After you sand the remaining finish off, you'll be able to determine how the liquid has/hasn't stained the wood fibers. If it has, a bleaching of the wood may be necesary. That's not particularly hard but does require some process knowledge.

Start with 220?

I cringe whenever I hear someone wanting to take sandpaper to veneer. Sanding should be a last resort, not the first. Since it doesn't look like there's any actual damage to the wood, there should be no need to sand.:nono:

Easiest solution is to use medium fine steel wool or a synthetic pad dipped in a solvent that will soften the original finish. Try mineral spirits or naptha, rub gently to liquefy the finish, then wipe with rags to remove. Repeat if needed. Then re-apply new finish. If those JBLs used the linseed oil that many did, this should work fine. It worked on my L80t. If not, try some Formby's Refinisher... it's more aggressive and dissolves most hard finishes like varnish or laquer. I like Minwax Antique Oil as a finish.:yes:

220,221 Whatever it takes! :thmbsp:

220,221 Whatever it takes! :thmbsp:

Should have seen that coming. One of my favorite lines :yes:

As stated, veneer cannot tolerate too much sanding. I read in a finishing book that oxalic acid can be used to remove water stains on wood. I have seen this is the active ingredient in a deck cleaning solution sold at Home Depot, though I have not found just plain oxalic acid. I would try it on a scrap piece of veneer, or maybe the bottom of your speakers just to be sure it won't damage the finish. I suspect you wouldn't be able to sand this out before going through the veneer.

I've used an orbital sander with 60 grit on my Thiels, Infinitys, HPMs, and Marantz cabinets. I sanded my Thiels 3 times because I couldn't get the stain right. I know... I'm a bit nuts, but I haven't screwed up a finish yet. Knock on wood! :D

Shaky, for your speakers start with 220 with a padded sanding block on the bottom of the speakers for practise. Don't go crazy near the edges. Go with the grain until everything evens out. Then use 400. Wipe with a damp cloth. Put several coats of Howard's Restor-A-Finish, allowing to dry in between coats. That's it! Sometimes I'll put a hard drying wax and buff out. Before you start sanding remove the grill. Using masking tape completely cover the frontside. I usually just tape down a plastic garbage bag with tape at the edges.

These Thiels were pretty ugly with chips, dings and stains. These are the ones I started with an orbirtal sander. I used wood putty for filler, finish sanded by hand and stained.

http://onepixeldesign.com/stereo/thiel04a.jpg

The tops of these HPMs used to look like your JBLs. :yes:

http://onepixeldesign.com/stereo/hpm100_top.jpg

Do some searches on woodworking sites.. Seems like I've read that water stains can be removed with a clothes iron on low temp with a towel over the wood. I've got a pair of Marantz's that are waiting this treatment.

Do some searches on woodworking sites.. Seems like I've read that water stains can be removed with a clothes iron on low temp with a towel over the wood. I've got a pair of Marantz's that are waiting this treatment.

I have succesfully done exactly that, using a steam iron, a thick and old / crappy towel laid over a teak table. It had stains from water, spirits and other stuff, mainly glass footprints.

Steaming over the towel and working the iron over the surface without real pressure starts to dampen the stains and most of it starts to evaporate with the steam and into the towel.

The towel needs to be absorbent (at least a bit) and needs to be thrown away or used for similar purposes in the future (can't be cleaned afterwards).

Then, while the veneer is still soft and damp, use a piece of cloth or a large piece of cotton dampened in white spirit to work over the surface. It further dilutes the finish and stains and completes the cleaning.

Most of the surface should be cleaned in the first run, but some points that are particularly stained will need a second, rather localized pass. Some fine steel wool rubbing might get the job finished as well.

A second pass should be done after a couple of hours. You don't want to get the veneer particularly warm as this starts to attach the glue attaching the veneer to the substrate wood.

[QUOTE=SaSi;2161394]
....Then, while the veneer is still soft and damp, use a piece of cloth or a large piece of cotton dampened in white spirit to work over the surface. It further dilutes the finish and stains and completes the cleaning...

What is white spirit?

Light sanding should easily take out the stain.

Since the stain is white and not black that means it hasn't gotten into the wood and is in the finish.

If the finish is black, that means the water has penetrated the finish and has gotten into the wood pores. It is VERY tough to get black stains removed without being able to tell they were there before. This is where a professional has the upper hand. An industrial wood bleach is pretty much the only thing that will get a black stain out.

You are lucky that the stain hasn't gotten into the grains of the wood. Take your time and sand the cabinets down with 220. I like to use a block of hardwood for my sanding block. There is no reason to not completely refinish the cabinets just because they are veneered. Be careful and you won't sand through. It is a lot easier than people make it out to be and will look beautiful when you are done. Look at onepixel's results.

....Then, while the veneer is still soft and damp, use a piece of cloth or a large piece of cotton dampened in white spirit to work over the surface. It further dilutes the finish and stains and completes the cleaning...

What is white spirit?
Perhaps it is called differently in the States, but AFAIK, this is the name used in Europe for the solvent for varnish finish.

White spirits= mineral spirits.

Mineral Spirits, also called Stoddard solvent [CAS 8052-41-3][1], is a petroleum distilate commonly used as a paint thinner and mild solvent. In Europe, it is referred to as white spirit.

Funny, I saw the thread title and was going to suggest using a wrung-out chamois to dry the car (cab)! :smoke:

Nice work on those HPMs onepix!

After palm sanding with 150 grit and Howard's Restor-A-Finish:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q227/shacky1973/IMG_0445.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q227/shacky1973/IMG_0447.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q227/shacky1973/IMG_0448.jpg

...If the (stain) is black, that means the water has penetrated the finish and has gotten into the wood pores. It is VERY tough to get black stains removed without being able to tell they were there before. This is where a professional has the upper hand. An industrial wood bleach is pretty much the only thing that will get a black stain out...

Correct!

HOLY CRAP, SHACKY! THEY LOOK NEW! GREAT WORK! :thmbsp:

Hell yeah shacky, that's what I'm talkin' about!

Nice job. I'm glad to see you got over the fear of sanding them. When the finish is damaged this is the only way to go. :yes: