Quest Restoration Project

[Soundtechguy]

And so it begins.

Now that I know that the ML Quests that I saved from meeting their fate at the landfill function properly, its time for the full restoration. First step... the strip down and removal of the Nextel finish. I think I'd rather get a root canal... but here goes.

 

[TomDac]

Moving to DIY subforum. Looking forward to your progress.. Good luck and thanks for sharing.

 

[Soundtechguy]

Phase 1 complete and not as bad of a task as I anticipated. For anyone wanting to take on the task of removing the Nextel finish... Denatured Alcohol is the key. Nextel dilutes when it comes in contact with it. Be prepared for a messy job, but not hard and as much fun as cleaning 50 greasy frying pans. I performed the task outside over top of a disposable plastic painters tarp. A couple saw horses, rubber gloves, eye protection, coveralls, coarse 3M Scotch Bright pads, couple gallons of denatured alcohol and a LOT of paper towels and your ready to go. The trick is; keep it wet and let the alcohol do the work. At first the Scotch Bright pad moves sluggishly over the Nextel and very shortly it will be gliding around in a diluted pool of Nextel. Mop it up with paper towels as you go and your on your way. It took me about 5 hours to do both boxes. The best part is that the alcohol dries fast, does not touch the factory primer and also does not attack the MDF board.



Onto the next step

 

[Soundtechguy]

Both boxes are now primed, prepped and ready for the spray booth.



Grill cover forms repainted and new grill cloth installed.

 

[Soundtechguy]

Decided to change the natural oak finish of the trim to a dark red oak.

 

[HK-Steve]

Thanks for the write up of your progress so far,
I will have to do the same after the new year, Nextel has gone white in places again.

Good luck with the painting and putting everything back together..

Cheers
Steve

 

[Soundtechguy]

Picture of new oak finish next to ESL panel. Nice!

 

[Soundtechguy]

Here is a sample of the new finish that the speaker enclosure is getting. Can't wait!!!

 

[HK-Steve]

Beautiful side rails.. sweet.

What color is that?? charcoal??
What type of paint are you going to use?? automotive??

It also looks textured

Cheers
Steve

 

[Soundtechguy]

After having to back burner the project for a while, I finally got on top of it again and sprayed the boxes with a product called DuraTex. This paint was formulated for concert touring speakers that need a durable finish for rigorous use. It is a little challenging to work with, but the result is a satin textured finish that is as durable as a truck bed liner. You can achieve a wealth of textures finishes depending on the air pressure and material volume you are using at the spray gun. I was hoping for a fine texture and was very pleased with the results.

 

[Soundtechguy]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the compliments!

The color is a black satin textured finish by a product called DuraTex. It is made in Florida USA.

 

[roberto]

:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown: Awesome!!!

 

[C.A.P]

This might interest you !
http://www.martinloganowners.com/fo...Loudspeaker&highlight=a+quest+to+be+different

 

[Soundtechguy]

Well folks... this is it! The project is completed as of today! I am very pleased with the turnout. They look just as I envisioned. At this point I am attaching all new Velcro patches and all new closed foam Neoprene strips and re-assembling:


Finished!!!


Its been raining all weekend, but when the sun is out i will have to take some nicer pics of the finished product.

 

[Soundtechguy]

Yes... I have seen that, but thanks for sharing! Glad to know that I'm not the only wackadoo that invests so much time in such a project (lol).

 

[Rehan Azim Hashmi]

Amazing! The Martin Logan Quest's look brand new. Great talent you have of bringing back to their maximum glory, relegated to the landfill, loudspeakers.

If you could please let us know whether installed are brand new electrostatic panels and woofers.

Great work!

 

[Hammerhead]

Great job! I've been giving some thought to designing a frame for the panel and crossover only, to make a set of 'Mini CLS'. Since I have a relatively nice sub, it could prove to be interesting.


Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

 

[Brad225]

Great job Sound. They look great and I can't wait to see more pics.

 

[Soundtechguy]

Thank You for the compliment!

The woofers are original. They were in outstanding condition so I chose to re-use them. I ran the serial numbers of the panels by Martin Logan and it turned out that they were once replaced. The story I got was that the speakers were still performing poorly even after the panels were replaced. The owner decided to buy a new setup and had the installers remove them from the premises. The HiFi shop that took them verified that both speakers had performance and cosmetic issues and placed them out by the dumpster. Luckily, I have a friend that works there and she contacted me to see I wanted them. I placed a few other posts on the issues and problems that I found with these. Talking with M-L technical support they said that I discovered many of the long term problems with these units. My posts may be worth a read for anyone who has Quests because they may be good preventive measures to take.

 

[Rehan Azim Hashmi]

Thank You for the compliment!

The woofers are original. They were in outstanding condition so I chose to re-use them. I ran the serial numbers of the panels by Martin Logan and it turned out that they were once replaced. The story I got was that the speakers were performing poorly and the panels were replaced, but more issues plagued these speakers. The owner decided to buy a new setup and had the installers remove them from the premises. The HiFi shop that took them brought them back to the shop and verified that they had a lot of issues. Since neither speaker worked properly and they look poorly they placed them out by the dumpster. Luckily, have a friend that works there and she contacted me to ask if I wanted them. I placed a few other posts on the issues and problems that I found with these. Talking with M-L technical support they said that I discovered many of the long term problems with these units. They commented that they would have done the same procedures if they were going to rebuild them. May be worth a read for anyone who has Quests because it may be good preventive measures to take.

Thanks for taking time out and making the effort to respond to my question.

Thanks for providing history of Quest loudspeakers in summary form.

At this forum we all enjoy seeing images of audio equipment.

Look forward to seeing additional images of your impressive looking Quest speakers.