How would you handle this?

Easy Runnin

What a good way to address ?

I figured I would glue it down, then hit the rest with a sharpie. What would be the prefers glue. Or is there a better option like resurfacing the whole front?

halo71

Am I seeing the baffle separated from the cabinet? My preferred glue is Titebond. If I were you I would remove those drivers, glue the joints really well. And use bar clamps to pull it all back together. Then after 24 hours I would use silicone on the inside joints smoothing out with a finger. Sorta like caulking a bath tub. Let that dry another 24 hours before putting drivers back in.

Just my opinion though.

Easy Runnin

No, it not that bad. It's just the felt peeling off the baffle. The baffle is firmly attached to the rest of the speaker. Seems to be a pretty common problem. My RT35is have a similar issue but it's not nearly as bad. In that case I just used a black sharpie where it pulled away. You have to get real close to notice it. This one is a lot different. It's going to be harder to coverup or repair.

halo71

Ohhhh, sorry I am not familiar with that model. I would probably remove the felt entirely and refinish the baffles. There are so many options it would be hard to suggest which way to go. Removing the felt and spraying the baffle black. After removing the drivers, would be the easiest way to go.

westmassguy

Easy Runnin...Is that felt or foam? I've never seen felt deteriorate like that.

halo71...never use silicone inside a speaker cabinet. As the silicone cures, it releases a very acidic off-gas that can corrode any metal it come in contact with, steel, copper, aluminum etc.

halo71

^ That is why I said to wait 24 hours after.......

Easy Runnin

I'm not sure what it really is. It's more like felt. It is definitely not foam. Most if not all RT series speakers of this vintage have something like this on the front baffle. My 35s has the same issue but it was not nearly as bad as this one. I just used a sharpie and colored it in.

The material on the 35s appears to be vinyl. This stuff seems more like a liner in a car trunk. I'm pretty sure I could easily pull it off, but I not sure what to do next. I'm already concerned about the WAF, so whatever I do it must look good. The fronts don't look too bad. It's just the front edge that looks like crap.

Easy Runnin

Here is abetter picture of the 35:

westmassguy

I think I know the stuff you're talking about. They used to make headliners out of it too. It was probably glued on and trimmed while the baffle was still a separate piece. I think halo has the right idea, remove all the drivers, grill cups, mask off the rest of the cabinet, and refinish it.

disneyjoe7

Hmm... IMHO try a hairdryer to heat up the vinyl so you can stretch it, then use wood glue to re-glue it.