Speaker maintenance

[highfigh]

So this stuff here? Will that help any dull spots or micro swirls in the finish? My speakers still look great, but up close in the right light at the right angle I can juuuust barely see some swirls and I have a dull spot on one edge where the dogs' tails will sometimes brush against.

*Edit: I meant this stuff here. I fixed the link above too.

Look for 'swirl remover'. It's in the same aisle, but it's made specifically for that use. It would be similar to 30,000 grit. Once you use that and make sure the swirls are gone, look for a product called 'Race Glaze'- I found out about it when I had some body work done and the shop had used it on the new paint- super slick & smooth. Indoors, it should protect for a long time but fine scratches are inevitable because the surface would need to be harder to prevent them. Meguires makes great products and they do make swirl remover.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Look for 'swirl remover'. It's in the same aisle, but it's made specifically for that use. It would be similar to 30,000 grit. Once you use that and make sure the swirls are gone, look for a product called 'Race Glaze'- I found out about it when I had some body work done and the shop had used it on the new paint- super slick & smooth. Indoors, it should protect for a long time but fine scratches are inevitable because the surface would need to be harder to prevent them. Meguires makes great products and they do make swirl remover.

If you do use race glaze on a vehicle, keep in mind it does NOT last very long. It looks good and can be applied with a rotary buffer even, but it needs to be covered with a quality wax after being applied. In a former life I was a professional paint detailer and it’s still a hobby. Nerd

 

[Verdinut]

Hi, I have just joined this forum and have 40 years of experience in building maintaining and repairing audio equipment and I was naturally interested in this thread. However after reading some posts I thought for a moment I was in the good housekeeping forum with all the talk of polishes and cleaners etc. I feel that keeping loudspeakers in good condition means maintaining their ability to produce accurate undistorted sound. So with that in mind, some suggestions: rotate bass drivers 180 degrees to help reduce cone sag and therefore coil rub and tighten all bolts to stop any rattles. While the driver is out put a couple of silica-gel dehumidifier packets inside or If your speakers are ported, drop them in through the port (I have had to replace many drivers suffering from oxidised coils due to damp or humidity). While you're at it check the gaskets aren’t so compressed that they no longer seal. Clean the driver terminals if they are the push-on type and make sure they are tight. If the drivers have foam surrounds, check for disintegration. Unfortunately, there’s not much can be done to reverse this but because exposure to air is the cause, their life can be extended by coating with non acidic rubber cement if it’s applied before disintegration happens. As far as cosmetics are concerned use whatever works, just don’t stick them in the shower. - regards Macmack.

Cone sag was happening in the past with heavy cones on pro audio woofers and a few hi-fi drivers. To my knowledge, this problem does not exist with currently produced woofers and subwoofers with lighter cones. I have never heard of loudspeaker manufacturers suggesting driver rotations.
I used to have more than 40 year old Altec Lansing 416 woofers and 604 coaxial drivers which have a light moving mass of only 63 gr, so the question of cone or spider sagging was not a concern. It must have been the same with JBL woofer drivers.