4345 Restoration Thread

[Chas]

Hi gang, I thought I would start a new thread to tell you about my attempt to resurrect a pair of Canadian 4345's. I feel very privileged to have custody of these monsters and I also want to send my thanks to everyone so far for their offers of information, reconing and encouragement.

As matter of fact, a big thank you especially to Don, for creating this place! Without this forum, I wouldn't have had access to a pair of 4345's. AND I would still know squat about JBL's.

Last weekend I pulled the 2245H's and 2122H's and successfully got them moved down to the basement into an area where I can work.

Earl K has kindly offered to post my pics into this thread, so if you are reading this, Earl please feel free to add them here. More later.

[Earl K]

Here ya go Chas !

- I've got a couple of more reductions to execute before they can get posted .
- Those postings should happen this evening .

[Chas]

Thanks Earl, nice work.

Okay, the first thing I had to do was replace the piece of the base that had fallen off, you can see it lying on top of the cabinet in the fourth pic.

Interestingly, it was only lightly glued on and tacked with three finishing nails set in from the inside of the cabinet. I glued and scewed it back on.

This weekend I hope to start cleaning up the baffles and the veneer. As you can see, the previous owner had added some stick-on velcro that has left a yellowish residue.

Anyone know how I can get this residue off without affecting the JBL blue paint?

Second, there are a couple of nasty gouges in the veneer on the sides, one of which is shown. Suggestions on what to do here? The damage appears to be a long compression groove, rather than a tear of the veneer. Any thoughts, folks?

Also, before these babies get oiled up, there are minor paint spots and light cup rings on top. How should I deal with these? Steel wool or a light sanding?

[Earl K]

- Here are a couple more pics.

Re; the displayed "compression-type" scratch ,

- I've seen this sort of repair previously mentioned , as a type that may come out with a medium-hot iron working through a towel though I've never done that sort of repair myself .



- Charles, I'm off-line till Monday evening ( - I'm glad that you saw that I changed the order of the above pics )

[Chas]

Thanks Earl. Re. the compression marks, I am still thinking about how to fix'em. Maybe I will leave them well enough alone - at least, for now.

Nice grille frames, eh? I have no idea what to do with them yet.

Today, I re-painted the bases flat black. Flat doesn't seem to be what JBL chose for these or my 4430's, but it doesn't look like a satin finish either:dont-know.

Bo's pictures make his bases look like they are gloss black. Hey Bo, did you repaint yours?

I also managed to get the foilcal that was lifted at one corner to lie flat with the use of some good old fashioned contact cement and heavy metal weights.

I tried some rubbing alcohol to remove the glue gunk on the baffles from the stick-on velcro the previous owner used, it didn't work.

I remember someone telling me about "Goo-Off" "Goo be Gone" or something like that. Anybody heard of it? I wonder if it would affect the paint?

I don't think the veneer has seen oil in their entire lifetime. I am debating what to treat it with before oiling.

Any suggestions?

[Titanium Dome]

It's called Goo Gone, and it's available in most grocery stores, hardware stores, paint stores, and building supply houses (Home Depot, Lowe's). It's got a citrus-y flavor to it, and it needs to soak in a bit before it really does the job. Hopefully, the blue paint won't absorb it, too, and rub off when you try to clean the residue.

Steve Gonzales posted a thread a year or so ago detailing how to raise the grain back up from a compression groove. Search for his thread on restoring L220 cabs, or PM him.

[boputnam]

Bo's pictures make his bases look like they are gloss black. Hey Bo, did you repaint yours?

And, they are at-the-least a semi-gloss.

I did, however, touch-up some small scuffs at the very base with a black Sharpie...

[mbottz]

Nice grille frames, eh? I have no idea what to do with them yet.

I can fix these for you to better than new condition. PM me if you need some help. These would look great after restoration with some of Zilch's blue cloth!!

mb