? on Restoring 69-73 Speaker Covers

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I've got these three speaker covers and while they aren't cracked, they are warped badly.

anyone have any techniques or ideas on how to bring these back?

[RWebb]

Ideas:
hot water vapor then let sit in a press

Meguiars vinyl or leather dressing (or Harley's) to treat surface coverings -- or recover with a vinyl that has a flexible backing -- saw some listed on a recent post somewhere

if Early 911S bbs ever resurfaces, then they would likely know...

[1982911SCTarga]

Describe the materials that you're dealing with. Is there fiberboard under the vinyl covering?

Brian

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Brian, it's more like a semi-rigid foam.

[1982911SCTarga]

Is the semi-rigid foam moisture proof? If so, steaming or otherwise moistening may not help much. I'm thinking along Randy's suggestions, but constructing a press fixture of some sort to help the covers take a proper set with gentle heat. The vinyl itself can be brought back with applications of something like Adams' VRT.

Brian

[Scott Clarke]

My speaker grille was very badly warped, but otherwise very nice. I glued three lengths of aluminum "L"s on the back side, spanning the short direction. The results are pretty good. Since I have no speaker, the "L"s didn't have anything to conflict with.

By the way, I had previously tried to flatten it by pressure, and by leaving it squished under heavy books. I think I had it under pressure for at least 6 months, and it didn't make a bit of difference.

[Scott Clarke]

Here is the result (croped from a much larger picture):

[Bobboloo]

Only on Pelican...

Good job Scott!

[RWebb]

I'm surprised they used foam way back then...

steaming will only help if it is fiberboard, "card" bd, leather or wood

heat might help if it is a plastic foam

Scott's idea might also work if you used a speaker - the metal housing might pull or hold the cover flat....

Good Luck and post pics of results & methods...

[Shaun @ Tru6]

here is a pic of the back.

[Shaun @ Tru6]