Recovering grill, badge removal

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I picked up a pair of TSi300s to upgrade my 7.2 surround system. The grills have minor cloth damage so I plan to recover them. 1. Anyone know of a source for matching speaker cloth? 2. What is the best way to remove and reinstall the Polk badges on this model?

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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,834
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    Quaz wrote: »
    I picked up a pair of TSi300s to upgrade my 7.2 surround system. The grills have minor cloth damage so I plan to recover them. 1. Anyone know of a source for matching speaker cloth? 2. What is the best way to remove and reinstall the Polk badges on this model?

    Instead of assuming we know how the badge is mounted how about posting some pics?
    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."


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  • Quaz
    Quaz Posts: 4
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    Front and back of badge. Looks like plastic posts are hot welded in place.

    Gn0iVNn.jpg
    80i172F.jpg
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,834
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    Thanks for the photos. I agree, they are hot welded and I'm sorry to say that I have no idea how to remove them without causing damage.
    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

  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,712
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    It will take some time but you should be able to use a razor blade to shave down the posts on the back to remove the mushroomed nubs that keep the badge in place. You'll have to glue them back in, though.
    Expert Moron Extraordinaire

    You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!
  • Quaz
    Quaz Posts: 4
    edited November 2021
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    Jstas wrote: »
    It will take some time but you should be able to use a razor blade to shave down the posts on the back to remove the mushroomed nubs that keep the badge in place. You'll have to glue them back in, though.

    I will try that, but they aren't really mushroomed. I believe hot welding is done like soldering where melted plastic fuses the entire post and hole together. I may need to drill out each post from the back side until I can pry the badge without damage. To reattach it without the posts, I'll need to fill the holes from the back with epoxy. I just don't want to ruin the badge as there are no replacements available.

  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,712
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    No, it's not hot welding.

    There's no heat introduced at all.

    It's called ultrasonic welding

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_welding

    Which is why it's hard to undo.

    But those mushroomed parts are going to prevent removal and you will have to remove them. You might also have to drill out the posts that are welded. You should be able to glue the badging back on when finished.

    However, the grille cloth is most likely ultrasonic welded too and you're not going to be able to get a glue to adhere to that well because of the dissimilar materials that are bonded together at the point. You will likely need to sand or shave that down to get new cloth to stick to the frame.

    I don't know what the frames are made of but if you can find the molding embossing that has some letters and numbers next to some symbols and take a picture of it, I can tell you what it is made of and what kind of glue you would need.

    For the badging, though, an alternative would be to carefully cut the fabric around the badge with a razor. Get as much of it gone as you can. Cover the badge with masking tape and then put your contact cement down. Then lay your fabric down and cut a slot in it over the badging with a razor. Make some small relief cuts too so it doesn't bunch up. Then press it down with a toothpick or popsicle stick so it stick around the badging. Trim any excess off and go about recovering the rest of the grille.
    Expert Moron Extraordinaire

    You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!