Cleaning the face of a speaker...

[cdngoose]

Hey everyone,

I tried running a search on this but couldn't really find anything. I recently purchased a GK 115 RBH, and the speaker and horn are absolutely filthy. Has anyone attempted to clean the speaker face or tweeter in their cab? Not really sure how to go about doing this, I dont want to damage anything. Thanks in advance.

[tangentmusic]

Use a soft paintbrush, gently
You can use tackcloth.
Dont recommend any liquid cleaners on speaker cones.
You can always turn the amp waaay up & force the dirt off with sheer volume!

[jam.majors]

Canned air. Go to RadioShack or the electronics section in WalMart. It won't get anything that's super caked on, but will blow off a lot more (& better) than your meager lungs (sans spittle, too!).

Well, I read your post again and you may need more, but this DEFINITELY can't hurt.

[cjmatt]

Shop Vac with the round bristtle attachment.....gently brush off dirt....nothing too aggressive, and like said before....no liquids

[Oren Hudson]

...and if you want that speaker cone to look brand new, use some black shoe polish after cleaning. Works great and does not affect the speaker. Makes dirty, stained, discolored speakers look new. I've done this for years and it works great every time. I just did this last week in rehabing a nice '83 Crate 2-15 cab with vintage Eminences. Looked great.

[cjmatt]

Shoe polish idea sounds promising! I may try that on something this weekend. Anyone else try this trick? Any long term problems with putting something like this on a speaker cone?

[will33]

Tweeters you can usually take apart, blow out the driver part with some air or your breath. the horn lense part wipe out with a wet paper towel or a wet q-tip for the little spaces, put it back together. Damp cloths or paper towels can take off the worst of the dirt off a woofer that's been mounted the same direction for 20+ years but they don't ever get back to "right", just close. A light misting of flat black spraypaint can get the looks even without adding too much mass to the cone to mess up the specs of the speaker, ie: heavier cone, how it works, etc.

[will33]

Originally Posted by Oren Hudson

...and if you want that speaker cone to look brand new, use some black shoe polish after cleaning. Works great and does not affect the speaker.

I've heard of the shoe polish thing but haven't tried it. Remember, anything that adds mass to the cone is going to affect how it sounds. Also anything that makes the cone either more moist/pliable or dry/rigid is going to affect how it responds to both the coil pushing and pulling it and the surround and spider suspension holding it back. I'd err on the side of not changing it too much, especially if it's just for looks.

[KawikaBass]

I just finish cleaning a 10 speaker using Q-Tips and Cotton balls, works great.

[klokker]

Originally Posted by cjmatt

Shop Vac with the round bristtle attachment.....gently brush off dirt....nothing too aggressive, and like said before....no liquids

I'd do this. The shoe polish thing sounds crazy to me.