Polk LS70 front edge peeling solutions?
attym
Posts: 33
Hello, I just picked up a pair of LS70's They have the rosewood sides. The black laminate on the front is peeling off. Its almost as if its only being held down by the drivers themselves in spots. I can see most of the MDF underneath. Maybe I didn't search well enough, but Ive only seen mention of the issue.
I figured I could re-veneer the front or remove it all and paint perhaps (maybe not the best solution).
I'm just looking for past experiences fixing the issue. It seems to be very common.
Glad to be here!
I figured I could re-veneer the front or remove it all and paint perhaps (maybe not the best solution).
I'm just looking for past experiences fixing the issue. It seems to be very common.
Glad to be here!
Post edited by attym on
Comments
-
Once the glue let's loose there's nothing that can be done to reattach it without it looking funky. I believe Parts Express sells something close to the original material that could be used to replace it.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I made the call to just peel it off completely rather than having it flapping in the breeze. Now, it looks like I built them myself. I think I like the idea of painting the flat or satin black. Any paint suggestions (type of paint, spray/brush, prime?)
Also, it seems these might have seen some moisture. One side of one of the speakers, the rosewood material is lifting ever so slightly. This is causing a 1mm or so gap between sides of the box. I can just barely fit the head of a flat screwdriver in. Meaning, its open, but not huge. I could run a bead of silicone in there, would that help? Any suggestions on this development? IS this a deal breaker in terms of sound quality?
Have I been here long enough to already have two issues?
Images attached
-
ok, I ordered a roll of Dayton VL218-BT Black Textured Vinyl Laminate from parts express. I'll start here.
thanks for the suggestion. -
I had the same problem with a cs350. I peeled off the laminate, used sanding sealer on the ends of the mdf, lightly sanded everything, and painted the mdf with a textured black paint.
I think it looks as good if not better than original.My equipment sig felt inadequate and deleted itself. -
Yea, the Rosewoods all had this problem. It was exacerbated if direct sunlight hit the speaker. Fortunately for me, this occurred while my speakers were still under warranty and Polk upgraded me to black 90's.
-
Yup...just cutting to the chase and replacing the material is fast and best. I made my living doing restoration work for years. By the time you fidget through other "solutions" you could have done the best thing already!
I don't know exactly how to help you with the Rosewood thing without knowing a couple things. Is it a true wood veneer? Does it have some millage to it? How much "gunk" is under the peeling veneer?(Is it flexible or hard?) Regardless...most of these types of fixes can be as easy as pie and by just knowing a few things, brought back to at least much better to perfect.
I'd never think I'd be saying that particle board/MDF/HDF is a great product for things, but it has proven so for speaks....with delam being a possible issue. Good adhesive engineering is a big deal and have dealt with that 50 thousand ways from Sunday. Big veneer surfaces are a nightmare, but something as isolated and as small as speakers, bet I can help. -
I'm pretty sure the rosewood is vinyl.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
-
"used sanding sealer on the ends of the mdf, lightly sanded everything, and painted the mdf with a textured black paint. "
This will be option 2. I like the sound of it. -
I think I can shoehorn this in without thread-jacking::loneranger:
I have a pair of RTA 8T's with no peeling at all, but I would love to lose that nasty faux-
walnut vinyl and replace it with wood veneer. I've got the skills to apply the veneer
e-z enuff, but I was hoping someone could tell me of a good way to un-apply the vinyl.
I'm guessing that pulling the drivers and trying to lift/scrape with a heat-gun would turn into
a goo-fest, but I don't know. I do know how to handle a heat-gun with finesse and realize
using one would likely cause me to need to repaint the front baffle (no problem to me).
I've done plenty of painting and stripping, but have never tangled with a vinyl/particle-
board combo. I don't want to leave any trace of the OE adhesive.
Any hints from anybody that's been there?
It would be much appreciated. -
Well, I just answered my own question, stumbled into a killer thread right here @ CP;
a mombo tutorial on stripping vinyl/recovering w. WOOD veneer, covered in excruciating
detail:
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?61901-Veneering-my-Monitor-10-s&highlight=veneering%20monitor
I notice attym saying the following regarding the delamination:
"I could run a bead of silicone in there, would that help?"
My $0.02 is, DON'T. Two reasons. One, silicone is NOT as adhesive as people think
it is - not by a long shot. Especially not on wood products. Two, and this is important,
once you use silicone on any substrate, you can kiss all other options goodbye forever
for any, and I mean any, sealant/adhesive/finish.
Silicone leaves a residue that penetrates into porous substrate, and nothing, absolutely
nothing will stick to silicone except - wait for it - more silicone. Not paint, not stain, not
glue, not even epoxy. -
Dang, submitted that before I was done. Anyway, even trimming squeeze-out
can be a pain with that acid-cure trash they sell in hardware stores.
Have you thought of a dental syringe and some Tite-Bond or something like that?
Mask just outside the joint and have weights or clamps handy?
Good luck with it. -
It looks like the side separation is still "sealed" but I'm going to reinforce the seals with carpenters adhesive or something strong.
Silly question, but I'd rather ask before I find out the hard way... I've removed the 4 screws from the woofers... how do I get them out? Pry? I got a screw driver under the rubber edge (that connects to the surrounds?)... but it won't budge. Technique? -
ok, figured out how to get the woofers out.... as simple as I figured, just didn't want to damage anything. I actually cracked the plastic air port but I'm sure I can track one down.
I use the black laminate and it came out great... Not 100%, but 95% (working on getting out a few edges that won't stay down flat) and thats a huge upgrade from what I had. It was very easy and exactly what I was hoping for. Thanks for the help. I'm sure I'll be back soon!
-
Right on! That black lam looks to be better than the original look.....and your done! Fixing edges on laminates is easy and looks like it'll be easy to detail out. I have the LS70 Blacks w/veneer. (I like the looks of yours better.) Vinyl is a VERY difficult fix. Have you attempted that yet? I use Elmer's thinned with drops of water based polyurethane and drops of water, ice cube it to shrink the vinyl and slight pressure clamp once tooled,pre-clamped and checked. Only thing to consider is gloss of poly,wiping your vinyl clean so it doesn't show a smear where excess was squeegeed out....using a dulled and taped razor blade edge. Care needs to be taken to not scratch or re-stretch the vinyl. If there is a lot of spots....use the complete re-vinyling method,faux grain with a couple thin tinted topcoats.....or just paint. (Just some suggested avenues.)
