Removing scratches and protecting gloss speakers

dakchi

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Hi,

I just bought second hand B&W CM9 S2 speakers in black gloss color. They have slight scratches in some areas. I was wondering if someone has a solution to remove those scratches and to protect them from having new ones. I would also need a recommendation for a solution to clean them every day from fingerprints

Many thanks for your help
 

ellisdj

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Microfibre cloth for cleaning them same as a car.

You can get ultra plush ones for detailing cars if you really want to treat them good.

Monitor Audio sell a polish made by autoglyn for speakers something shine its called. Is good stuff but I dont think its designed like a car polish to remove swirls and scratches. I think its just for a layer of shine, better than furniture polish if that makes sense.
 
The solution from keeping them fingerprint free is......DON'T TOUCH THEM....my pmc's are high gloss and nobody touches, not even me.I dust with the supplied cleaning cloth every couple of days and if I ever decide to move them....it's the supplied gloves I use for that,although a large pair of floor standers are going to be difficult to move with gloves on lol.But seriously I know what you mean.. When people come into your house and they see high gloss speakers...the first thing they want to do is touch them for some reason.terribly difficult to remove,hence the reason that it's easier just not to touch.
 

drummerman

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Have you lately seen any black cars in sun light?

You can see every polish swirl after a while.

My suggestion ... keep the lights dimmed and sun out.
 

dakchi

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ellisdj said:
Microfibre cloth for cleaning them same as a car.

You can get ultra plush ones for detailing cars if you really want to treat them good.

Monitor Audio sell a polish made by autoglyn for speakers something shine its called. Is good stuff but I dont think its designed like a car polish to remove swirls and scratches. I think its just for a layer of shine, better than furniture polish if that makes sense.

Thank you for your response. Have you tested any cars stuff that you can recommend? I don't want to run tests on my speakers with chemical products
 

ellisdj

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No mate I am not suggesting you use car stuff.

A microfibre cloth is just a cloth - these are not exclusively used in car cleaning but they are recommended for car cleaning - washing too as they dont scratch the paint work with a lot of contact

Therefore you can use them on speakers and not scracth them either.

Best practice for car detailing is dont rub - move the cloth in straight lines, dont push too hard - make sure the cloth is very clean and tumbled dried low heat. Chemical Guys have tons of videos on you tube - but its car detailing advice, not the same, but it is similar - there are videos on microfibre products from them as well - but there are loads available on ebay too

The Montor Audio polish is very thin - normally car polish is very thick. The Monitor Audio stuff its called Brilliant Shine is designed for their Platinum speakers - they have a deep lush finish. Its good stuff, I have used it on their platinum speakers.
 

dakchi

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ellisdj said:
No mate I am not suggesting you use car stuff.

A microfibre cloth is just a cloth - these are not exclusively used in car cleaning but they are recommended for car cleaning - washing too as they dont scratch the paint work with a lot of contact

Therefore you can use them on speakers and not scracth them either.

Best practice for car detailing is dont rub - move the cloth in straight lines, dont push too hard - make sure the cloth is very clean and tumbled dried low heat. Chemical Guys have tons of videos on you tube - but its car detailing advice, not the same, but it is similar - there are videos on microfibre products from them as well - but there are loads available on ebay too

The Montor Audio polish is very thin - normally car polish is very thick. The Monitor Audio stuff its called Brilliant Shine is designed for their Platinum speakers - they have a deep lush finish. Its good stuff, I have used it on their platinum speakers.

Ok I understand, but what about scratches and swirls? how can I remove them? I can't find anywhere the monitor audio polish.

Someone advised me to use Poorboys Black Hole http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=494
 

ellisdj

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A Glaze is designed to fill small swirls and scratchces - normally you have to go over a glaze to seal it but a car is outdoors not indoors.

I cant see it doing any harm but maybe try a small area on the back first.

Thats the MA Polish - you could possibly go over the glaze with this polish to seal it. Again test a rear area first to make sure there are no reactions.

Clean your car is a good retailer - they give good service. AV Online are as well actually. Very good.

Please let me know how it does because I might do the same to mine
 

abacus

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In most cases, High Gloss is created by spraying with several layers of High quality car paint, (After careful preparation) followed by several layers of Lacquer, (The amount of time taken for preparation and spraying is why they cost more than veneer) so cleaning products designed for High Quality Car Finishes should be fine, (Autoglym used to be top many years ago, as it was supposedly used by Rolls Royce) HOWEVER, do not get any cleaner on the speaker drive units or grille, as this can completely ruin them.

Hope this helps

Bill
 

dakchi

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ellisdj said:
A Glaze is designed to fill small swirls and scratchces - normally you have to go over a glaze to seal it but a car is outdoors not indoors.

I cant see it doing any harm but maybe try a small area on the back first.

Thats the MA Polish - you could possibly go over the glaze with this polish to seal it. Again test a rear area first to make sure there are no reactions.

Clean your car is a good retailer - they give good service. AV Online are as well actually. Very good.

Please let me know how it does because I might do the same to mine

Thanks for the MA Polish. Apparently it is for making the speakers shine, not for removing scratches and protecting them. Actually, there are 3 products that were advised to me. The first one removes light scratches. The second one protects the speakers and the third one is for everyday's cleaning

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=494

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=26

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=974

I will try to order them and test them, unless someone else has other recommendations. I hope that clean your car can deliver to Belgium
 

ellisdj

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That is the advise used on a car - I said a glaze needs a sealant on top of it - thats what they have suggested for product 2.

The third product is a light polish in thin spray form - the same as the MA Sheer Brilliance.

Sheer Brilliance would probably act as a sealant over the top of a glaze - without trying I dont know.

I use a Glaze when I "detail" my car - it really brings up a high gloss shine - that is whats its for.

The good news is if you buy all the products you can do your car as well - but you will more for your car - clay bar, clay lube.

EDIT - a glaze doesnt remove swrils or scracthes you need a polish and to do a paint correction for that. Google videos on car detailing paint correction.

A glaze is designed to fill the swirls and scratches up so that the light reflects there normally and doesnt dull.

I think hence the need for a sealant otherwise you can rub it off.
 

Andrewjvt

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High gloss will be the same

I have sprayed many cars and motor bikes in my time.

I would advise against high gloss finish for speakers.

I had kef r700s and never let anyone near them but even they had stratches in the sun light.

I think you can safely use a cheaper priduct from halfords rather than pay silly money from a hifi company as i suspect they would mark up the price.

But dont get any product on the drivers and use it carefully as you could take all the gloss off if not careful.
 

Vladimir

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Andrewjvt said:
High gloss will be the same

I have sprayed many cars and motor bikes in my time.

I would advise against high gloss finish for speakers.

I had kef r700s and never let anyone near them but even they had stratches in the sun light.

I think you can safely use a cheaper priduct from halfords rather than pay silly money from a hifi company as i suspect they would mark up the price.

But dont get any product on the drivers and use it carefully as you could take all the gloss off if not careful.

Slightly off topic tweak suggestion.

If you want to lessen the cheap look of the JBL 305s front plastic baffle, rub it with olive oil lightly. Mind the drivers though, carefully, wetting a rag, not directly. After applying it, polish it with a clean soft rag, enough so it doesn't look obvious someone rubbed oil on them, but not too much so your take the film off completely. You will love the end result.

This is an old trick for rejuvenating old plastic surfaces on vintage gear but also looks fancy on anything matte finished.
 
Vladimir said:
Andrewjvt said:
High gloss will be the same

I have sprayed many cars and motor bikes in my time.

I would advise against high gloss finish for speakers.

I had kef r700s and never let anyone near them but even they had stratches in the sun light.

I think you can safely use a cheaper priduct from halfords rather than pay silly money from a hifi company as i suspect they would mark up the price.

But dont get any product on the drivers and use it carefully as you could take all the gloss off if not careful.

Slightly off topic tweak suggestion.

If you want to lessen the cheap look of the JBL 305s front plastic baffle, rub it with olive oil lightly. Mind the drivers though, carefully, wetting a rag, not directly. After applying it, polish it with a clean soft rag, enough so it doesn't look obvious someone rubbed oil on them, but not too much so your take the film off completely. You will love the end result.

This is an old trick for rejuvenating old plastic surfaces on vintage gear but also looks fancy on anything matte finished.

+1

Old eBay lags been doing this for years..... ;-)
 

Gaz37

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Autoglym Super Resin Polish has fillers in it intended to fill swirl marks, I don't see the need for a sealant on top for speakers that are kept indoors.
 

MajorFubar

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I've never found any polishes or cutting compounds that really reduce swirls or scratches without using them with a DA (or a rotary) and a polishing pad. It's almost impossible to generate the required cutting effect by hand. The best you can do is find a polish with a mild cut and a lot of fillers, like Autoglym SRP or my preference is Meguiar's Tech Wax, it has better fillers.
 

mjs

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A Glaze is car protector system, designed to repel the elements. Trust me I know because I formulated it! It will serve no purpose to remove swirls as it contains no mild abrasives or fillers. The fact is swirls are physical defects and are not recoverable. The problem of black paint on cars somebody alluded to is not related to your problem. Automotive paint is now water based the consequences of which are the darker the colour the `softer` or more delicate the surface. Buy a new black BMW, or similar, press your thumb on a panel, thumb print there forwever, end of.
 

sound10

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Hi dakchi, knowing a bit about how the CM Series is made, my recommendation is to just live with the scratches and not to apply any chemical to try to remove them as you could end up making matters worse. Just to add like others have said use a soft microfiber cloth to keep the speakers dust free but that should be it. Speakers finished in this high gloss finish very easily mark. The only way to get an unmarked CM9 or any other Bowers & Wilkins speaker is to buy them brand new. At their factory the speakers are meticulously prepared and polished so they come with no marks whatsoever. Having said that in the real world they are bound to get marked at some point and if it were me I would just enjoy your music and not worry about the few scratches. Just my opinion. Hope this helps :)
 

Vladimir

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The best thing you can do to a 100% perfect shiny brand new car is scratch it with a key and kick the door yourself on the first day.
 

dakchi

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Guys,

I ordered samples of Porrboys products. I will test them on a small area of the speakers and share the results with you
 

dakchi

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Hi,

I received Poorboys products and applied them on my speakers. I can say that it has a very very slight effect on swirls but nothing miraculous. You can apply them on your speakers if you want, but don't have high expectations. However, the detailing spray is amazing for removing fingerprints and oil and making the speakers shine. I do recommend it
 

Samd

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Gaz37 said:
Samd said:
drummerman said:
Have you lately seen any black cars in sun light?

You can see every polish swirl after a while.

My suggestion ... keep the lights dimmed and sun out.

cos it's ceramic coated - wonder if that could be used on speakers?

How & where did you get that done?

Had it done when I bought the car. It's quite common with mixed views but I am very pleased.
 

MajorFubar

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dakchi said:
Hi,

I received Poorboys products and applied them on my speakers. I can say that it has a very very slight effect on swirls but nothing miraculous. You can apply them on your speakers if you want, but don't have high expectations. However, the detailing spray is amazing for removing fingerprints and oil and making the speakers shine. I do recommend it

I already explained on the previous page that you aren't going to be able to get much correction without using a DA or a rotary. Don't blame the products, Poorboys World are some of the best products you can buy. Not their fault you aren't exploiting them to their fullest potential.
 

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