S&L Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 I have a pair of old and distinctly shabby adlib tops AA151 - 15" plus horn - b&c drivers - square cab with grey carpet covering, grille only over the 15" speaker. they sound very decent and certainly better than anything else I could afford right now - and they are in use week in and week out.the problem is that they were pretty shabby when I picked them up and pressed them into service and with hard use that's only got worse. the bottom edges in particular have worn off the cabs where the previous owner left them in a damp garage to die. now some of the carpet is starting to lift on it's own at the seams (we have had them for over 12 months) and freyed edges, particularly at the bottom but in some other places too, have started to fold further back. my short term solution has been to glue back down the worst of the carpet separation with pva glue.I was attending to various bits of maintenance on friday when Mrs sound said to me 'why don't you cut back all the carpet and put a paint finish on them.'to which I replied ' not so simple dear...I have no idea how I would remove the bits of carpet that don't want to come unstuck' most of the backs are pretty intact. so do I plod on gluing ever more rough looking speakers? or do I remove the carpet and if so, how do I lift the bits of carpet that don't want to be lifted - including the bits I have already glued with pva?It's getting to the point where I can still take them to rock gigs but can't show them in the light of day, at a function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 Depends what sort of glue was originally used, but try peeling back a corner, then using a scraper and heat gun. Once you've got off as much of the glue and gunk as you can by scraping or sanding, give them 2 or 3 of coats of tuffcab, applied using either a foam roller or an artex roller, depending on how textured you want the finish to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete10uk Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 I find a tin of ipa solvent from cpc does a good job at melting lots of glue. Worst case would be bruit force with a scraper and stanly knife and a good sand afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revbobuk Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 One of these handheld steam cleaners can also be pretty effective at ungluing carpet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rigger Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 I find acetone is a very effective glue remover. Available from a chandlers or pharmacy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyro_gearloose Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 I would be very careful with using Acetone on anything made from Sterling board, ply, or chipboard. You stand a very good chance of removing not only the carpet glue, but the glue binding the wood together as well. Having said that I did manage to successfully remove the glue residue from a speaker cabinet using white spirit and a scraper, so I'd try that first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 and of course, before doing any sanding etc, make sure you take the drivers out! If you're using Acetone, do it outdoors, and remember that it is extremely flamable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldradiohand Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 Or just patch them up to make an even surface and top with a new layer of carpet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 Budget for some new speakers! What you find usder the carpet may not be good for painting, but several disco places (likely Terralec ) will have replacement carpet. Carpet may be glued with rubber based contact adhesive (evo-stick copydex etc) which may come off with careful heating (hairdryer?) or it may be glued with PVA or other setting adhesive that may need cutting off with a chisel. Even after you have removed the carpet the cabs will be the cheapest rubbish wood that the (Chinese?) makers could source, which may need lots of work before painting. http://www.terralec.co.uk/covering__lining/cabinet_covering_material/20192_p.html http://www.terralec.co.uk/covering__lining/adhesive_backed_carpet_covering/17629_p.html Other suppliers exist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldradiohand Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 If you're on a tight budget you can get cheap carpet offcuts from your local carpet shop/warehouse - they're bound to have something like a cheap, thin cord or similar that would be suitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Johnstone Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 Maybe ring the Adlib boys and ask them what they use? I'm sure they'll help you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaleBoy74 Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 Just give Dave Fletcher a call at Adlib, I'm sure he will know better than anyone :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S&L Posted June 18, 2013 Author Share Posted June 18, 2013 I just wanted to say say thanks guys - I will take some of the less extreme suggestions on board. we have a lay off over the summer for a month or so - I will give it a go then! oh and cheap Chinese cabinets? doesn't sound in the least like adlib to me - not to mention the things weigh a ton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Beesley Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 I would think Dave at Adlib can supply original quality carpet if you ask. I recovered some of by AA18HL subs last year and used this http://cpc.farnell.com/LS03677 which is quite good. The pile is quite short and so far hasn't turned fluffy or fuzzy. Given a little more time I would have bought tuffcab or similar paint coating for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S&L Posted June 18, 2013 Author Share Posted June 18, 2013 I would think Dave at Adlib can supply original quality carpet if you ask. I recovered some of by AA18HL subs last year and used this http://cpc.farnell.com/LS03677 which is quite good. The pile is quite short and so far hasn't turned fluffy or fuzzy. Given a little more time I would have bought tuffcab or similar paint coating for them. just curious but when you stripped off the old carpet, did you have any problems?and did the cab look like it would take a paint finish? from what I can see my cabs (now maybe 15 years or more old) seem to have decent timber underneath - but I have been putting off this job in case it opens a can of worms! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.