Cleaning, polishing Speaker Cabinets ?

Cinch, made by Spic and Span. Does not leave a residue at all. I know several audiophiles and dealers who use it on gear, whether it's plastic , finished wood, metal, granite, etc. Great on windows too! Use it sparingly on soft cloth and clean way. Again, NO RESIDUE.

Novus plastic cleaner (comes in 3 intensities for various scratch removal needs) is what pro guitar repair people (Pat DiBurro who is a guitar repair genius and an official repair dude for Martin, Taylor and others, turned me on to this stuff after noting that guitar makers like Collings use it). I use the lightest version to clean my motorcycle helmet shield so that stuff is VERY light, and nothing short of amazing. Poly finishes and nitrocellulose finishes differ, but Novus seems to work on anything. Pledge, amazingly, is also useful on lots of woods, and my speakers are covered with vinyl fake wood so anything works...hose 'em off outside, wipe 'em with a sleeping cat, put on a bunny suit and wrestle 'em...

Plus it smells like you're at the beach, right?

I purchase Coconut oil from Costco, and found it to be excellent as a wood polisher/conditioner.

Different veneers and finishes require different methods. Some are finished so they can breath and some aren't. If your finish is supposed to breath, you must be careful because oiling it or applying pledge or wax etc. can clog the pores and now you could be creating a situation where you could damage over time to that finish depending on environmental conditions. Harbeth for example does not recommend oils for this reason.

If you have a finish on it, some waxes contain abrasives and over time, you could be wearing it down. I've seen Spendor say that the lacquer on their veneers should not be cleaned with polishes for this very reason.

Best thing to do is to ask the builder of your speaker. Hopefully they are familiar with what works best with their finish.

If you go the wax route I really like the Zaino show car polish for clear coated finishes. It is not abrasive and the best part is doesn't leave any film, powder or white residue. Can be found on the Zaino website.

I have a real wood Daedalus speaker, not sealed by lacquer. Lou recommends Lemon oil for his speakers and I have found it excellent, smells good too.

I don't think people take enough notice of the difference. A Lacquered finish isn't really wood any more, it is like a gloss finish on a car. Real wood needs treating to stop it drying out and it changes over time. Typically the colour darkens significantly over time, my speakers certainly have over the last 5 years.

What Photon says, oil is not going to produce the desired effect with an "on the wood" finish. Treat it just like you would your car. The problem now is you have an oil based film on top of the finish, that has to be removed first. And it'll take something with a bit of solvent capability to completely remove, I'd use ammonia free Windex. Once it's clean, feel with the tips of your fingers and if the surface isn't glass smooth - if you feel any roughness or grit - it'll have to be cleaned further with a clay bar.

Once the oil is removed and the surface is free of contaminants, then you could use an automotive wax for a full shine or automotive detailer as mentioned above for quick shine. If you have scratches or swirls, again it has to be dealt with just as you would a car, with compound and a buffer.

The mistake you made is thinking you're applying anything to the wood, you're not. The finish is an impenetrable layer, so it is the only thing your cleaning regimen will effect.

Natatmvs. I read up on your speakers and they are finished with a process akin to automobile painting using a catalyzed polyester finish. The last thing in the world you want to use is an oil based wood furniture polish. Clean all the old lemon oil residue off with furniture cleaner and a clean microfiber cloth (don't use any cloth that can scratch the polyester finish.) I've never felt the need to use anything other than Mother's "Showtime" automotive detailing spray on my similarly finished speakers.

Another +1 for orange oil.

Wow , these responses have been very helpful. I am going to try some of the products mentioned here. Will let you know effectiveness once I find and try them.

If you have a high gloss finish over wood as mentioned above, a wood type cleaner won't be as effective as products that are used with polyester or catalyzed finishes. I have used a lot of products over the years on gloss type finishes. My new favorite is Optimum Instant Detailer & Gloss Enhancer (concentrate). Safe on finishes and removes finger prints and smears and leaves the surface slick. It doesn't contain any petroleum distillates. The type of cloth being used is very important. I only use the super soft microfiber cloths used for eyeglasses. The Auto Geek carries this product in the concentrate and is very economical.

For real wood finishes I use Woodley's crème furniture polish. It came with my Avalon Speakers.

Fender Guitars markets several products designed to care for wooden musical instruments, making them excellent for speaker finishes. You can find them at most instrument stores like Guitar Center or Musicians Friend.

As important as the polish or cleaner you use is the applicator. Guitar shops also sell super soft microfiber cloths designed to work well on polished wood without leaving any swirl marks.

I have Vandersteen 5A's...the recommendation is Pledge. I know this sounds like an anathema to those that love wood finish, but there is a very thick urethane coating on the speakers so I just need to clean the surface. I have the Kowazinga option which is gorgeous. I had a furniture man at the house to touch up some end tables et al, and he remarked at the very high quality of the 5A construction and finish.

As Bill_K says, there is no one product right for all finishes. Currently, most wood veneer finishes are over coated with a catalyzed clear coat that is not going to allow any product to pass through to the wood underneath. So, waxes or automotive type products are going to work fine for clear coated veneer or lacquer surfaces. Most of the time, those oil based wood care products do no good whatsoever. In the rare event you have an open grain or oil finish over wood veneer, then one of the oil based products will actually work.

I use a citrus based cleaner, then apply bees wax and buff to a nice shine. I find that using a soft dust cloth for the final buffing brings the bees wax to a gloss. Then I check by rubbing my fingertip on the finish to assure all the wax has been polished in. If is see my fingers smudge, that indicates there is still too much wax that hasn't fully polished into the wood. Time consuming but a light dusting when cleaning house with the same soft dust cloth maintains that shine.

+1 Tls49 I also used Howard Feed-N-Wax wouldn't think of using anything else. Best of Luck

Paste wax finish just needs dusting cloth and light rub to bring back through shine. You can also apply another coat of paste wax if needed.

Yep, I second Tis49; Orange Oil on my Sonus Faber Walnut cabinets. Great results and requires absolutely no skill in the application.

It depends what type of finish the speakers are. Are they an open grain wood finish, or a high gloss lacquer? For a gloss finish I recommend an instrument polish like Gerlitz Smudge Off Spray Cleaner, or an automotive detail finisher spray on product. For open grain wood finishes those like Tls49 recommended above should work well.

I learned many years ago that most antique dealers use Howard Products. I have used Feed-N-Wax and Orange Oil Polish on walnut component cabinets with excellent results.