cannot believe this....

[legendary70]

I am very disappointed to of had just notice my infinity sm152 woofer has a one inch cut. I am pretty sure my grandson got to it the other day when my daughter was washing her car. I just had a long talk with my daughter and explained how upset this makes me. These are basically vintage speakers. My family knows how I feel about all my electronics. Going out of my way to take care of my stuff....then this. Just lack of supervision.

Sorry......just upset.

I cannot hear any rattling or distortion coming from the speaker. Thank god!!

Should I leave it alone? Try n fix it. If so how? Ideas?

 

[slipperybidness]

Dang, that is painful for me to look at! Sorry for your bad fortune.

It can likely be repaired, but I have no experience with that. Maybe just replace the driver, but probably hard to find a replacement.

TLS may be the person to ask. Maybe he will come along, or you should send him a PM.

 

[afterlife2]

Look at Z's video:

 

[legendary70]

K. Thx. I hope that guy comes from n. They told me silicone?

 

[legendary70]

Tls!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[afterlife2]

He is asleep just PM [URL='http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/members/tls-guy.29650/']TLS Guy[/URL] he will get back to you. Silicone won't last. That method in the video is the one often used.

 

[zieglj01]

Look at Z's video:

That was a paid actor standing in for me.

 

[JohnnieB]

I dropped a vacuum cleaner handle through a paper woofer once.

I removed the driver and repaired it with newspaper soaked in thinned Elmer's glue. Kind of like paper mache. Put the driver back in and it sounded just fine. Repair lasted long after I owned the speakers.

Don't know how technically correct the repair was, but...

 

[Swerd]

The video showed a paper coned woofer.

Does the paper towel/Elmer's glue repair also work on plastic coned woofers? I don't remember which Infinity models had plastic woofers.

 

[zieglj01]

The video showed a paper coned woofer.

Does the paper towel/Elmer's glue repair also work on plastic coned woofers? I don't remember which Infinity models had plastic woofers.

The Infinity SM152 is polypropylene coated woofers

 

[tyhjaarpa]

Ouch.. I feel your pain. Hopefully you can get this repaired and it won't cause any issues in future!

 

[JohnnieB]

So they are poly coated paper?

Either way, the repair dries ridgid. It might work on poly as well, don't know. If your plan is to replace the driver anyway, try it. What have you got to lose, besides the respect of your friends.

One thing I will say, who applies the patch to the front of the cone? Seriously? Apply the patch to the back of the cone and you'll have a hard time seeing the tear. My surround was not damaged though, so can't tell you if that works. My guess would be no, since that has to remain flexible.

 

[KEW]

The Infinity SM152 is polypropylene coated woofers

that could be an issue. Polypro is notoriously difficult to glue. It is like Teflon, not much sticks to it.

Crazy glue comes in various viscosity (up to gel). I might try putting a piece of cheap (thin) masking tape on the back then flow medium to thin (the thinnist is too thin) crazy glue through the tear from the front (position so gravity works to your advantage). It will not stick to the polypro, but when it dries rigid, it will be mechanically sandwiched into and around the polypro.

 

[Swerd]

The Infinity SM152 is polypropylene coated woofers

With polypropylene, a white polyvinyl acetate glue like Elmer's might not work. Polypropylene is non porous.

I don't what else might work…

http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/repair/home-repair-materials-basics-ga2.htm

 

[KEW]

Actually, the silicone might work well if you can work it through the crack like I suggested with the crazy glue.

 

[zieglj01]

With polypropylene, a white polyvinyl acetate glue like Elmer's might not work. Polypropylene is non porous.

I don't what else might work…

For me - I would use some thin towel or tissue (between the crack), and then
coat it with some Polyurethane.

 

[slipperybidness]

Hmmm....for polypro, perhaps a 2 part epoxy might work. I've been quite happy with this flexible epoxy
http://www.amazon.com/Mid-cure-15min-epoxy-Bob-Smith/dp/B001NI8MLM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1429392154&sr=8-3&keywords=flexible+epoxy

BUT I'VE NEVER USED IT ON A SPEAKER CONE, JUST GENERAL STUFF AROUND THE HOUSE, RC CARS STUFF LIKE THAT. I use this brand, but I typically get the 5 minute curing epoxy.

I can tell you that at work we have many fume hoods and counter tops made out of polypro. When I need that repaired, the guys do some kind of fancy "welding" on it. At least that's what they call it, I've never seen them do the repair.

Also, check out the products at PE
http://www.parts-express.com/cat/speaker-repair-parts/23

 

[Swerd]

I can tell you that at work we have many fume hoods and counter tops made out of polypro. When I need that repaired, the guys do some kind of fancy "welding" on it. At least that's what they call it, I've never seen them do the repair.

That's because, next to teflon, polypropylene is the most chemically resistant plastic material around. It's also a whole lot less expensive than teflon, and its more workable.

I'll guess that "welding" involved melting a bit of the plastic, just like welding steel. I'm not aware what glue works well with polypro.

Notice that bottle of Elmer's White glue in Z's video was some type of plastic. It doesn't cure while in the bottle.

I guess it might be the best idea to try what Z suggested with polyurethane glue like Gorilla. The worst that can happen is that the glue won't hold.

 

[KEW]

It looks like Locktite has what you need.

Loctite® Plastics Bonding System is a two-part cyanoacrylate adhesive that sets in seconds and develops tremendous strength with just one drop. The activator primes hard-to-bond surfaces such as polypropylene and polyethylene.

Cyanoacrylate is crazy (or super) glue, but the activator "priming" the polypro is the trick, because crazy glue by itself will not stick any better than anything else recommended here.

I worked in the plastics industry and we had a situation where it was necessary to bond polypro. The best solution we came up with (with the involvement of 3M adhesives group) was using an industrial grade epoxy and molding "dovetails" in the polypro so we ended up with a mechanical connection (we didn't glue the polypro, we "trapped" it). That was 10 years ago. Nice that Loctite (and likely others) have finally cracked that nut.

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/sg_plstc/overview/Loctite-Plastics-Bonding-System.htm

But, really, for your application, I think anything that dries solid can make the mechanical connection if you flow it on both sides of teh cone.

Flexible epoxy (as recommended by Slippery) has a nice durable toughness to it.

 

[zieglj01]

Notice that bottle of Elmer's White glue in Z's video was some type of plastic. It doesn't cure while in the bottle.

I guess it might be the best idea to try what Z suggested with polyurethane glue like Gorilla. The worst that can happen is that the glue won't hold.

That is not me or my video - a gag by afterlife2. afterlife2
pulled up that video.

I have used polyurethane on poly cones before - however, it still
looks like the OP's foam surrounds are nearing their end. I would
be careful around them and with repairing the foam tear.