How to Clean up faded speaker cones

[colin.hepburn]

Hi all
Has anyone got any ideas on what to use to brighten up faded speaker cones I have my Wharfedale 6.5in Kevlar drivers and my Fostex 126Es

The Fostex 126 cones are aging and fading back to banana yellow from the bright white they were when new I would like to get them back to the white again any ideas on what I could use on them that will not damage the drivers



And the yellow 6.5 inch Wharfedale Kevlar Drivers. where a victim of chip pan oil smoke some years back which would not clean off I was thinking of dying them black so thought about maybe using black printer ink which I have on hand

Any other ideas would be very welcome
Thanks
Colin

[Phil Y]

Hello Colin,

Probably not what you want to hear but what about grills?
The cones are faded on my Tannoy DCs (paper cones) and look fairly awful. They look much nicer with the grills on in my view, even though I suppose this is rather old fashioned these days.The difference in sound is pretty small.
Although I occasionally remove them for a "serious session" the vast majority of the time I am happy to leave them in place.

Phil.

[colin.hepburn]

Hi Phil/All
Yes you are right about the grills it’s the most logical way to go I just thought it would be good to bring the look back into the Drivers so will have to make new grills anyone know of good foam types in sheet-form to use
thank
Colin

[Greg.]

My thrupence worth is that the Fostex’s are a too delicate cone material for any vigorous cleaning. Actually, I think the yellowing is probably natural as they are made from natural fibre. I think it is a case of live with it or follow Phil Y’s lead on grills.

Regarding the Wharfdale’s, being Kevlar they will tolerate more vigorous cleaning, but if you have smoked oil deposits on them which you’ve not been able to clean off, I think you’re probably stuffed on this one as well. Whatever dye, stain or varnish you apply, if it isn’t oil/grease resistant, nothing, including the printer ink you suggest will fix on the greasy bits, so you’ll end up with a very imperfect finish.

I second Phil’s suggestion. Do a google on diy speakers and you will find there is plenty of acoustically transparent speaker cloth available. I would suggest you don’t consider foam if you want maximum transparency. Cloth fitted to a light frame is good. For fixing, if you obtain some small disc magnets (eBay); bury a few of them in the baffles and have correspondingly fitted magnets on the frames. Easy fitting and removal every time

[bob orbell]

Hi Colin, chip pan smoke, bloody hell you like a good fry up , this may be a waste of time but, Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) may work, it is available for chemists. Steady up with the fry ups chum. Bob

[pre65]

Colins probably been frying Mars bars.

[Greg.]

I’d be very careful using IPA. Don’t get it near the dust cap or the surrounds as it could disturb the adhesive.

[colin.hepburn]

Hi All
Yep did try Isopropyl Alcohol at the time but even that did not work my 99.9% Isopropyl has a different job now as hand sanitizer and I am running out now when I got it at the time it cost me about £8.00 a litre now £40.00 plus if you can get it
No Mars bars.philip just some cremated chips and lots of redecorating thou
Yes, the smoke discolored the yellow Kevlar cones staining them akin to nicotine one darker than the other. I am going to do the best options on the Kevlar and use new grills the full range Fostex 126E drivers are turning back into banana.s but are still working well in the frugul horns more on them later

I will also be upgrading the Wharfedale's crossovers these speakers are a bit old now but were used in the building of my J.E Labs Single-ended Amp even thou they are only 87db they work very well with the amp so if I do something to the amp i use them as my reference speakers

[BobbyCo]

Blow off any loose dust and dirt from the speaker with a can of air. Hold the can of air completely level so that no chemicals spray out. Press the trigger to blow dust and dirt off of the front of the speaker and out of any cracks. Make sure to use a can of air that specifically says it is for cleaning electronics.

[bob orbell]

Originally Posted by BobbyCo

Blow off any loose dust and dirt from the speaker with a can of air. Hold the can of air completely level so that no chemicals spray out. Press the trigger to blow dust and dirt off of the front of the speaker and out of any cracks. Make sure to use a can of air that specifically says it is for cleaning electronics.

Ermm, it's not dust, it's discoloration . Bob