Ok so what's best on speaker finish?

disneyjoe7

Water.

Polish.

Piss.

Amora All.

What ?

I like my polks like to keep them nice so I don't think Water is best on WOOD.

VR3

DO NOT PUT ARMOR ALL ON YOUR SPEAKER FINISH!!!!!!

ONLY ON PLASTIC, RUBBER, LEATHER......

Holy...

How about water???

disneyjoe7

car polish?

disneyjoe7

Armora All & Car Polish think we are washing the CAR.

VR3

You could just....take a buffer...soap...and water...turn it on...;)

F1nut

DJ,

For dusting purposes, a well rung out damp cotton cloth followed by a dry one. As long as the original clear coat finish is in good shape that's all that you need to do. All those polishes do is sit on the surface of the wood, they can not and will not help preserve the finish or the wood. Think about this, when building something out of wood you want the moisture content to be at 6-8% max., that is bone dry for all intents and purposes. Why would you want something to moisturize the wood? Moisture is the enemy. That's one reason a clear coat finish is used, it provides all the protection you need.

EDIT: HBomB brought up a good point. If you have city water or treated water, it does contain chorine which isn't good for finishes. In that case distilled water is best. I have well water and forget about things like chlorine.

AsSiMiLaTeD

Water...

I hate furniture polish and have learned not to use it on anything...think it's the worst thing you can do to furniture...

steveinaz

I use a cap full of Murphy's oil soap in a gallon of hot water. Works great, no build-up. Murphy's is fantastic for all fine woods, veneers, etc. It's NOT a polish, its a mild soap. Wring-out the rag well before wiping.

Big Dan R

Try Old English with lemon oil on wood. A great product for conditioning and protecting wood from drying. The wood on my 1.2TL's looks new.

BDR

hotwheelman

Originally posted by Big Dan R
Try Old English with lemon oil on wood. A great product for conditioning and protecting wood from drying. The wood on my 1.2TL's looks new.

BDR

When I had my srs 2's I used old english on them and they looked great. If I missed a session with it they started to look dry. As far as the drivers and front facia I just used a well rung out damp cotton rag and it never hurt the drivers one bit.

disneyjoe7

Isn't Old English a Funiture Polish?

Originally posted by Big Dan R
Try Old English with lemon oil on wood. A great product for conditioning and protecting wood from drying. The wood on my 1.2TL's looks new.

BDR

dorokusai

I use Pledge, and it smells pretty.

The alternate method was wiping them down with the neighbors cat, but he moved around too much.

hotwheelman

Old english is not a furniture polish, no wax buildup here.

danger boy

when i got my monitor 7's recently.. i did the Murphys oil soap as well. it's kinda weird smellig. but the speakers had some kind of smoke or musty build up on them.. like they had been in storage for a long time. they were slightly sticky. the Murphys oil soap cleaned em right up. then i covered them in a light coat of lemon scented dusting spray. now they look at feel much cleaner.

F1nut

Guys,

Murphy's oil soap is a veggie oil based product, one of the worst things you can use on wood.

Old English, might as well use motor oil.

Pledge, silicone just like armor all.

Any piece of furniture, speaker or item made from wood with a clear coat finish on it CAN NOT be conditioned, moisturized, or protected from drying out. All of those products just sit on the finished surface of the item and it is they who dry out, not the clear coat finish or the wood. The companies that make clear coat finishes go to great lengths to insure that nothing will get though the finish. Believe what you will, the companies that make those products are making millions while the best cleaner to use comes from mother nature, water and it's free!

RuSsMaN

Listen up fellas, that advice is from a guy that restores and finishes (expensive) furniture for a LIVING.

I can't BELEIVE what you guys are putting on your speakers (and DRIVERS for that matter).

Cheers,
Russ

HBombToo

Originally posted by dorokusai

The alternate method was wiping them down with the neighbors cat, but he moved around too much.

I used to use my cocker spaniel but at ~35 lBs I got a back acke and gave up on that:D

HBomb

disneyjoe7

Ok, so you WATER that's it.

Sorry to beg this question, but when I buy furniture I buy a kit for a warranty. Kit contains wax hard wax that is, this is put on a table top or hutch & what ever else. Like that stuff adds a nice shine and or protection.

So Polk speakers are best to clean & protect with a damp rag / water only. I'm still puzzled you telling me the 4k dinning room set is best protected by water / damp rag, and speakers too. I just don’t think so, the sun is just too hard on things in Florida without something working for you.

And you mean a Furniture guy can’t see something about oil? Water only with all the work / time needed for a quality finish you say just wipe with a damp rag?

F1nut

DJ,

Wax is one thing, furniture polish is another. Wax is used to increase the sheen of a item and it does help offer a little protection from glancing blows/scratches, but that's it. It can not and will not protect from the sun, the only thing that helps protect from the sun are UV inhibitors, which are added to alot of clear coat finished these days. However, the best protection from the sun are shades and/or installing UV inhibitor film/windows to your house. Back to the wax, lots of different kinds of waxes on the market, most smudge, leave fingerprints and build up over time. If you feel the need to use wax, then I recommend Renaissance micro-crystalline wax. No smudges/fingerprints, but it too will build up over time, so use sparingly...like once every 5 years or so.

Your 4K dining room set is protected by the clear coat finish that was applied at the factory. The damp rag is just a method of dusting and cleaning the clear coat finish. What can't I see about oil? The only thing that I see is a greasy mess and I see no reason for that. A quality finish is just that, it is hard and can not be conditioned, moisturized or protected from drying out...it is dry already.

Just to be clear, after dusting with a damp cloth, you should follow up with a soft dry cotton cloth to remove any moisture left by the damp one.

I just had a table in here that the lady had been cleaning with Windex!!! Needless to say, that finish didn't last long.

hotwheelman

I should mention that the wood top, bottom, and sides of the sda srs that I had did not appear to have any clear coat on the surface and they would get very dry if it were not for the old english. Russ, you have the same model that I had, what do you find with yours?

When I used the old english on them I would apply it and then follow with a dry cotten rag and they looked great and were not the least bit greasy.

disneyjoe7

F1nut,

Sorry you don't live near me, my 4k dinning room set was damaged during a move 8 months ago. I think that a move prior then mine caused the damage, a gasoline-soaked blanket was used on the tabletop. Due to lots of moving stuff causing the pack to run late, drivers asked to come back in am to new house. This was fine due to carpet people still laying new carpet. Next morning with movers we discovered the damaged table top, need to repair or have repaired. The estimate was $800 and $75 each for 2 chairs also damaged.
I signed an agreement for X pre pound well that worked out to be $225.00, I was discussed with that and told them to shove it. So I sit with nice table with a nice table cover over it, until I can have it fixed. :eek:

Originally posted by F1nut
DJ,

Wax is one thing, furniture polish is another. Wax is used to increase the sheen of a item and it does help offer a little protection from glancing blows/scratches, but that's it. It can not and will not protect from the sun, the only thing that helps protect from the sun are UV inhibitors, which are added to alot of clear coat finished these days. However, the best protection from the sun are shades and/or installing UV inhibitor film/windows to your house. Back to the wax, lots of different kinds of waxes on the market, most smudge, leave fingerprints and build up over time. If you feel the need to use wax, then I recommend Renaissance micro-crystalline wax. No smudges/fingerprints, but it too will build up over time, so use sparingly...like once every 5 years or so.

Your 4K dining room set is protected by the clear coat finish that was applied at the factory. The damp rag is just a method of dusting and cleaning the clear coat finish. What can't I see about oil? The only thing that I see is a greasy mess and I see no reason for that. A quality finish is just that, it is hard and can not be conditioned, moisturized or protected from drying out...it is dry already.

Just to be clear, after dusting with a damp cloth, you should follow up with a soft dry cotton cloth to remove any moisture left by the damp one.

I just had a table in here that the lady had been cleaning with Windex!!! Needless to say, that finish didn't last long.

Jstas

Something like Murphy's oil soap shouldn't be used on a regular basis. Like F1nut has already said, water and a soft cloth are your best bet. The only time I really use Murphy's is when a piece of furniture has alot of use, like your favorite arm chair, and it has a crudy buildup of all kinds of fun stuff including oil from your skin, dirt from the air and even pet dander and mildew/mold spores. Murphy's is the only stuff I have used that will cut that kinda crap and leave no residue.

If furniture is sticky, that is because it has furniture polish of some sort on it. Murphy's will take that off easily enough without doing too much damage to the wood or finish. However, using Murphy's every time you go to clean finished furniture is a bad idea. It will eventually leave it's own stickly build-up too which is why I use much less than a cap full. Just enough to break the surface tension of the water so it isn't repelled by sticky, gooey, oily crud on the furniture. You really don't need anything more. Probably about 1/4 of a capful at the most. The heat in the hot water does most of the work in cutting grease and grime anyway. The soap is only to make the water "wetter" so it will be easier to get it to lift off the dirt and grime that is there.

danger boy

i only, only used the murphys oil soap one time. on the monitor 7's. i never have and never will use it an like my RT800i's. that would be crazy. so far the monitor 7's haven't had any ill effects from it.

madmax

Originally posted by dorokusai
I use Pledge, and it smells pretty.

I sniff Pledge, and it makes me feel pretty.

madmax

danger boy

i just finished cleaning all my speakers. with butter flavored Crisco waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! :eek:

gidrah

If they are real wood:

I read a post by a guy that always sells vintage wood cased gear on e-bay. His stuff always looks imaculate and sells for quite the premium. He suggests a mixture of lemon oil, beeswax, and mineral spirits (mixed to a vaseline-like contsistancy). Rub in liberally, let sit, buff with a clean dry cloth.

danger boy

I once stripped.. and refinished a old oak mirror.. and used tung oil on it. looks great.


maybe next time i shouldn't strip.. my neighbors were looking at me funny.

disneyjoe7

Ok, I like TUNG oil....

How about that on Speakers ?

Ok maybe not on my RT800i's but the RTi150's look good for some oil.

danger boy

well Tung oil isn't a wood conditioner.. it's a wood sealer... so be careful on what wood you put it on. do a search on tung oil on the internet and read up about it first.

disneyjoe7

Ok,

So I like something over just water. Would only do this once maybe once again 5-6 years down the road. I agree wax build up is not good. Well anything in excess is bad, wax, polish, whatever.

So can I use a hard wax on my speakers, once. If you agree you would buy these from me down the road, if I had them for sale? So your answer is binding;)

The hard wax I get for my funiture warranty, can I use this.

Standing by with Damp Rag & Dry Rag. Buff on / Buff off.

stevecramer2

With most of the erroneous preaching put aside, here is the real skinny on taking care of your Polk speakers.

All wood furniture & speaker enclosures deserves wax protection. The primary concern with Polk wood finishes that is intact and is the original finish is ‘conservation’. You want to make'm last & be beautiful.

Expect to pay around $15 for a 12 to 16 oz tin of a good quality cabinetmaker's paste wax. No sniffing the wax either (-:

Wax products such as these have traditionally been made from a number of different waxes: carnauba, beeswax, synthetics, and vegetable have all been used with excellent results.

Wax only in small doses. Dust with a damp cloth, then maybe every six months use wax. Don’t over do it, but if you avoid wax buildup, you don't have any protection for your speaker….it does build up, but it builds up clear.

Wax should never create a buildup problem when used in moderation. That's because all the wax you put on doesn't remain there. It gets scuffed, worn off and even oxidizes.

Old wax can be removed with special products developed just for the purpose, but, if the speaker (or furniture) is heavily soiled, (dust everywhere!) you should use a wood cleaning and wax-removing product, such as Liberon Wood Cleaner and Wax Remover.

Some notable brands of wax you can try includes:

Liberon's Black Bison
Goddard's
Butcher's Wax
Antiquax
Renaissance Wax.

Some final tips:

* Dust weekly with a soft, dry, all-cotton cloth.
* Don't use polishes or oils over your coat of protective wax.
* Wipe up spills as soon as possible to prevent spotting
* Use coasters under glasses and vases. No ash trays buddy!
* Reapply a coat of wax when you can no longer buff the coating to a shine.