Braun L830 speakers, repaired.

When I got these the curved corner veneer was missing from one whole speaker, and in stripping the other, a patch came off as well. The woofers needed refoaming as well.

A blog reader wrote recently and asked for a post on refinishing tips. I am no expert. I work slowly and deliberately, and am just starting to have the proper amount of patience. I used to sand every cabinet to remove the old finish, but now use stripper, after my enthusiasm caused me to go through the veneer a few times! I then do a light sand (220 grit) to get a smooth surface, and remove scratches. If you stripped instead of sanding, the veneer will be thick enough to allow most scratches to be removed completely. I am not interested in tinted stains or sealing finishes. I prefer to keep the grain of the wood open, and use either Danish or Teak oil.

The corners of theses Brauns were the most challenging repair I've attempted so far, and they are not perfect. I try to just get things to a point where the damage doesn't draw the eye, and I think I've done that.

Braun speakers, as beautiful and refined as they are as products, generally did not have speaker connectors. Instead there are about 10 feet of flimsy 20 gauge wire coming out of the back of the speaker. I added simple connectors to improve the look and allow the use of any speaker wire. The grills are in good finish, but a little bent in places. I may take them to an auto body shop to see if they can be made to look new.

The Braun L830 sounds fantastic: very neutral, but with sparkle and dynamics.