Wet Look

mmadden28

Anybody ever used The Wet Look stuff available at Parts Express on any of the vintage Polk drivers? Just thinking about it as some of my drivers don't have the same gloss all the way around anymore, I guess from years of dust. Is this basically the same stuff the factory puts on them?

They have it in Clear and Black

The Wet Look™ is a new generation of high gloss polymers formulated especially for the speaker industry. This superior coating provides a protective "coat of armor" for your paper cone speakers. A special U/V inhibitor has been added to reduce the decaying effects of the sun's ultraviolet rays. The Wet Look™ makes paper cones resistant to water, humidity, sun, and salt. Best of all, it's easy to apply and cleans up with soap and water. 4 oz. plastic bottle.

zarrdoss

No but thought of using it, if you do it please post a before and after pic. good luck

leroyjr1

Just use a little water.:D

Face

That doesn't sound like a good idea.

hoosier21

Windex and a lint free cotton cloth will bring them back

madmike

I used windex on my 5B's and they look like new now. Just took a lint free cloth and sprayed windex on it and gently rubbed the dust off that way, works and it's cheep.

vmaxer

let us know how it turns out please

bigaudiofanatic

Here is what I use. Use it in the car and on speakers, works great and does not attract dust like armor all. Of cores I probably would not use this on paper woofers nor would I use windex.

http://meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+G12924

mmadden28

Oh crap! So I'm going to try the Windex thing out--while I was under the hood I discovered a frozen driver. :eek::(

Dammit! :mad:

How the heck does that happen? It was working fine and hadn't been moved since they got put there except maybe adjustments of a few inches here and there.

I'm pulling the driver now....in the SDA SRS 2's which ones are the dimensional drivers? Inside or Outside (or shoulld I say right side or left side when referring to the Right speaker)??

By the way, the Windex trick did not work. still dull on the bottom side--I'll get some pics.

strider

Man, I'd think that if you put anything extra on that driver it'll change the characteristics of it. One of the tricks that I've done on my homemade speakers is to use puzzle coat, diluted, on the raw paper cones. It did change the way they sound. They were positive in my case, but I'd think coating a driver already coated with something would slow it down and change it's resonant properties.

mmadden28

OK I'll start a new thread on my frozen driver woes....

Here's a shot of the top side which is still nice and shiny. This is the original driver dated 1987


and the same driver - bottom/dull side


Polkaudio painted/applied something on those drivers--what is it?

Unless I get an all thumbs up, I'm not likely experimenting with any of the paint on stuff. I can't imagine the stuff goes on thick

I might try the Meguiars idea out--Any body have any warnings about that?

ben62670

Windex works great.

nooshinjohn

+1 for the windex. Spray it on a lint free towel first. Anything else is a bad idea.

ben62670

....

Systems

Say NO to chemicals on your cones and surrounds.A mildly damp cloth is all you should use IMO..

kawizx9r

mmadden, I remember reading somewhere on the forum that the tackiness surface on the driver was because Polk dipped their (paper?) cones into something that made the cone even more rigid as well as adding weight. I'm not making this claim, just something I read on an older thread on here

Anyway, the dullness on your driver looks like the surface was rubbed out so you won't see that finish anymore if you try cleaning it some.

-Freddy

Face

strider wrote: »

Man, I'd think that if you put anything extra on that driver it'll change the characteristics of it. One of the tricks that I've done on my homemade speakers is to use puzzle coat, diluted, on the raw paper cones. It did change the way they sound. They were positive in my case, but I'd think coating a driver already coated with something would slow it down and change it's resonant properties.

I agree.

RJMELKON

i also agree

NJPOLKER

Yeah me too

mmadden28

I think what I'll do after giving each driver a gentle cleaning with windex, is flip them so the shiny side is down and the dull side up, since the glare shines down from the ceiling they won't bother me so much--Not that the grills are off anyway, but when I take them off to show them to somebody I want them to look nice.

If I can't repair the one bad driver I found, then I may experiment with other solutions on it.

LONG TIME BUYER

fellows, ive been using armorALL for over 15years no problems what so ever. everything that you may want to use to protect your speakers,is in this stuff.also you need to get one of those cloths that feel sticky to your hands. not sure what there called but im sure some of you guys have probably picked one up ,and they do feel like they stick to your hands. this is what you want to use with your ,only original armorALL .spray some on the cloth and lightly rub in a circle.ever wonder what takes the cat hair off your speakers this will do it easy.just dont over spray it. you can lightly rub your rubber surrounds also. the key to it is the cloth .with the armorALL on it ,it rubs very smoothly over there speakers LONG TIME BUYER

LONG TIME BUYER

long time buyer wrote: »

fellows, ive been using armorall for over 15years no problems what so ever. Everything that you may want to use to protect your speakers,is in this stuff.also you need to get one of those cloths that feel sticky to your hands. Not sure what there called but im sure some of you guys have probably picked one up ,and they do feel like they stick to your hands. This is what you want to use with your ,only original armorall .spray some on the cloth and lightly rub in a circle.ever wonder what takes the cat hair off your speakers this will do it easy.just dont over spray it. You can lightly rub your rubber surrounds also. The key to it is the cloth .with the armorall on it ,it rubs very smoothly over there speakers long time buyer

note; this is for the polk audio speakers with there dampling coating covering the cone. Works great.

Systems

My experience with Armorall was not good,I applied it to the surrounds on a pair of 6.5" SEAS woofers to try and brighten them up. At first it had the intended result but with time the surrounds changed colour and they appeared to be less compliant(stiffer).I tried to remove the discoloured residue but could not.For this reason I do not recommend it's use on surrounds.

VR3

Armor all is an ok product...

It is important to understand though that when you apply it to anything the oils in the armor all over time will dry out the natural oils that the item originally had. Therefore you will have to apply armor all on a regular basis to keep the product "shiney" and oiled as it once was before you applied it the first time.

Systems

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

Armor all is an ok product...

Sure for car dashes,tires etc.IMO not suited for the rubber surrounds of drivers.

mmadden28

I'm glad that came up. I was also wondering if somethign could be done to the surrounds to prevent the rubber from dry rotting-which will eventually happen someday right?

How can that be prevented. How long will the rubber surrounds last?

Face

mmadden28 wrote: »

How long will the rubber surrounds last?

Longer than you.

NJPOLKER

I think in a environment like your home they should be around longer than you. Also keeping the grills on should help since extended periods of light slowly degrades the rubber. I use windex to clean my speakers occasionally and I keep the grills on 99.5% of the time.

NJPOLKER

Face wrote: »

Longer than you.

I can see we have similar thoughts Damn thats scary :rolleyes:
Posted at the same time too.

mmadden28

I just always see old rubber that's rotted and become brittle or gummy like old rubber bands, or hard pencil erasers, or even old tires, etc.
What makes the rubber in the surrounds different?

LONG TIME BUYER

gv#27 wrote: »

sure for car dashes,tires etc.imo not suited for the rubber surrounds of drivers.

what to you think tires are made of.