[bigbwb]

Jim,
I am hoping with your expertise in woodworking and finishing you might be able to offer some help:)  I have a pair of polyester Piano black (hand finished) speakers and need some advice.  The finish has some very light swirls/haze you can see in it when either the sun beats on them just right or if they are under any fluorescent lighting.  I imagine its from cleaning them off.  Anyway, it was recommended to me I use the following items to buff them imperfections out.....

http://www.amazon.com/Menzerna-H0813-Yellow-Polishing-Compound/dp/B0000DD1L0/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_text_b
http://www.amazon.com/Extra-Thick-Spiral-Buffing-Mounted/dp/B003UPUFVQ/ref=sr_1_21?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1321666534&sr=1-21

I do own a Porter Cable 7424 orbital buffer I use on my vehicles but I am not sure how to implement in in this situation?  I had thought about just using a power drill.

Ay thoughts on how to buff the light swirls and etc out of the finish without harming them?

Thanks so much!

Brandon

[jsalk]

Brandon -

I wrote a rather long response to this, but it doesn't appear it was posted.  So I'll try again.

What you are seeing are very fine scratches in the finish.  But these are not easy to deal with.  Polyester is a very hard finish and it takes a lot of elbow grease to get the surface perfectly flat.  A buffing compound like those you mention are not really that good at taking out scratches (even fine ones).  We use 3000 grit orbital pads to sand them out, followed by a series of finer and finer buffing compounds.  If you just use the compounds, they won't take out the scratches as the grit is just too fine.

My best advice is to live with your speakers as they are.  You would most likely have to go back a few steps to get the fine scratches sanded out and you might never get the surface back to where it is now.  What's more, if you get too aggressive with them, you may even go through the polyester and then you would be in real trouble.  I think it would be best to just leave things as they are.  That's my advice...

- Jim

[bigbwb]

Brandon -

I wrote a rather long response to this, but it doesn't appear it was posted.  So I'll try again.

What you are seeing are very fine scratches in the finish.  But these are not easy to deal with.  Polyester is a very hard finish and it takes a lot of elbow grease to get the surface perfectly flat.  A buffing compound like those you mention are not really that good at taking out scratches (even fine ones).  We use 3000 grit orbital pads to sand them out, followed by a series of finer and finer buffing compounds.  If you just use the compounds, they won't take out the scratches as the grit is just too fine.

My best advice is to live with your speakers as they are.  You would most likely have to go back a few steps to get the fine scratches sanded out and you might never get the surface back to where it is now.  What's more, if you get too aggressive with them, you may even go through the polyester and then you would be in real trouble.  I think it would be best to just leave things as they are.  That's my advice...

- Jim

Thanks Jim for getting back to me.  Bummer.  I was hoping for better news.  Do you think the finish just picks up these fine imperfections from casual cleaning etc?  I have tried several very mild car waxes that remove fine swirls etc with no luck either.  I am just surprised that this could happen with such a hard finish.  I believe folks with Pianos have a similar finish.  How do they typically deal with scratches and swirls?

edit: I had ordered the products in the link above already.  So basically its not even worth attempting, say using it with a power drill?  If I risk making the finish worse, I wont even bother.  I even thought about a local piano dealer who can do the work themselves?

Thanks,
Brandon

[vintagebob]

Based on my experience with detailing cars, any cleaning cloth/rag made from COTTON will scratch the finish and leave swirl marks. 

Use a microfiber towel for dusting and cleaning.  A common detailing trick is to fold the microfiber towel into quarters and then wipe the towel on the surface in one direction only (no back and forth and no circles). After each wipe, turn the towel to the next clean face and continue until you are done.  Use as many towels as you need.  You can use a detailing solution made from Optimum No Rinse to help encapsulate the dirt and prevent scratching.

Do NOT wash microfiber towels together with cotton garments.  The cotton fibers get stuck in the microfiber and will cause scratching.

http://www.amazon.com/32oz-Optimum-Rinse-Wash-Shine/dp/B000E9TS6O

There is a reason that I don't own a BLACK car.  ; )

P.S.  For removing scratches from automotive clearcoat finishes the general rule is to try the least abrasive method first and if that doesn't work then you go to the next level of abrasion.

Polishes that can be applied by hand or by your PC (from least abrasive to most)

Meguiers 205 (a finishing polish)
Meguiers Ultimate Compound
Meguiers 105 (Ultra-cut Compound)

[bigbwb]

Based on my experience with detailing cars, any cleaning cloth/rag made from COTTON will scratch the finish and leave swirl marks. 

Use a microfiber towel for dusting and cleaning.  A common detailing trick is to fold the microfiber towel into quarters and then wipe the towel on the surface in one direction only (no back and forth and no circles). After each wipe, turn the towel to the next clean face and continue until you are done.  Use as many towels as you need.  You can use a detailing solution made from Optimum No Rinse to help encapsulate the dirt and prevent scratching.

Do NOT wash microfiber towels together with cotton garments.  The cotton fibers get stuck in the microfiber and will cause scratching.

http://www.amazon.com/32oz-Optimum-Rinse-Wash-Shine/dp/B000E9TS6O

There is a reason that I don't own a BLACK car.  ; )

P.S.  For removing scratches from automotive clearcoat finishes the general rule is to try the least abrasive method first and if that doesn't work then you go to the next level of abrasion.

Polishes that can be applied by hand or by your PC (from least abrasive to most)

Meguiers 205 (a finishing polish)
Meguiers Ultimate Compound
Meguiers 105 (Ultra-cut Compound)

Bob,
I am also familiar with those techniques when it comes to cars and microfiber rags:)  What are your thoughts on using car polishing compounds etc on the Polyester speaker cabinets?

[bigbwb]

Good news!  I took off the base of the Tower (plinth) and experimented with some Zaino ZPC swirl remover on a white pad using my PC7424.  The majority of the swirls and haze is gone!  There are just a few very small hairline scratches that are not visible under normal lighting left, but way better than before.

A big sigh of relief!  Any thoughts on a product to dust them off with using a soft microfiber rag that prevents scratches?
Possibly one of these.....
http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-M1808-Plastic-Cleaner-Polisher/dp/B0000BX6Q7/ref=sr_1_5?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1321934517&sr=1-5
http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-10-Plastic-Polish-Cleaner/dp/B0002VAZ34/ref=sr_1_8?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1321934557&sr=1-8

Thanks,
Brandon