Acoustic Research AR4xa
The AR used market in South Africa was getting extremely quiet, so in August 2009 I started advertising on Gumtree. Page hits were under average, but I did get a response in the first week from someone who wasn't sure about selling an inheritance set. A week or two later two more persons contacted me wanting to get rid of non-AR vintage pieces, and then early September 2009 I got a call from Neville in the Southern Suburbs. He had an early 1970's pair of AR4xa's, so I drove out his way a week later to have a look and listen. 
Neville was somewhat of a vintage collector himself, as uneasy with the state and feel of 21st Century audio as I was. His living room was cluttered with a collection of amplifiers, receivers, speakers and other audio and video equipment, and of course the AR's. In fact, I got the feeling he was not showing all his cards and that more treasures were about - I caught glimpses of more speakers in passages mysteriously facing the walls! Anyway, the AR4's originally belonged to Neville's father who simply adored the speakers, and that then also explained the son's half-hearted willingness to sell. Another inheritance set, but this one had a further twist in the tale (sic); most amazingly the original owner's initials were also AR. His father passed away in 1999, and as the years marched on, the AR4s' cosmetic condition slowly slid backwards, up to the point where they were not always the set of choice. And it was clear why, because the grill material was in a sorry state, bits of walnut veneer were chipped off and elsewhere delamination was causing the veneer to lift away from the main body. 
What did save this set was the mechanical performance; Neville hooked them up to one of his amps, and I honestly couldn't detect any false notes. In fact, I was surprised by the richness of the sound - strong evidence of AR's capabilities in extracting amazingly true sound even from a modest 2-way speaker. I didn't immediately make an offer, but went home to weigh up the cost of cosmetic repairs versus sound. I was wondering about my restoring capabilities, because first impressions of the speakers wasn't too good, and I still had no idea about the true condition of the drivers and the cross-overs. After checking prices on eBay, I made an offer of $30 the next day, to which Neville countered with a request for $10 more, so that's where we clinched the deal.
As for the speaker cabinets, the first step on the road to recovery was to re laminate all bits of peeling veneer. Here the recommended tool for amateur restorers was either a hair dryer or clothing iron, and hopefully one or both would be successful in reheating thirty year old glue. Failing that, the next option would be to re glue that area, and as last resort, completely resurface all sides with full veneer sheets. I have terrifying visions of veneer the size of serving trays falling off speaker boxes in a sticky mess.
The hot iron method entails pressing a slightly warm iron for two to three seconds a time onto a damp cloth covering the peeled area. Once the glue becomes pliable, the veneer is covered with wax paper and weighed down with a heavy object for 24 hours. The hair dryer method needs little explanation; on medium heat simply direct the nozzle at the affected area, and follow the rest of the hot iron process. I tried the hot iron method, but this was only successful in a few places, so after plugging holes and building up broken corners with wood filler, I glued down all loose veneer edges, and the final result was good enough to not further explore reheating processes. Fortunately all chips and holes were small enough not to require re patching with replacement veneer, because I was unable to source walnut veneer anywhere locally.
After completing re lamination, I had to repair the crumbling back panels of the boxes, because these were showing the same structural characteristics as those of the AR94's. Acoustic Research obviously had sound (?) reasoning for using specific materials, but the visual quality of what lay underneath pretty veneer or enticing body socks was simply unappealing. I used one coat of clear marine varnish to bind the surface, and then finished with two coats of lighter varnish. With all the built-up corners and edges, I did not want to risk my patchwork with the classic oil finish, but preferred to keep this restoration tight and together with a more durable and secure finish. Overall a brilliant result which actually turned out to be less effort than the AR94's.
The grill cloth on the speakers looked quite bad; one had a hole the size of a dime, and both were discoloured. Exact replacements sets were available for $40 a pair, but it seemed silly to pay the same price as for the speakers themselves. I still had the sock material from the AR94 exercise, and even though the original colour scheme was cream cloth against natural wood, black cloth on wood was not an uncommon AR setup either. Attention was also required to the logos, where the fully painted brass plates were both chipped and worn. Again not sticking to the original scheme, I opted for the alternative AR black text against natural brass. Now proudly performing duty as the rear surround elements, I propped them up on custom made stands in a wood finish closely matching those of the AR4xa's themselves. Looking good and performing admirably day in and day out without missing a beat.
FEEDBACK
Wow! My late father who passed away ten years ago at 85 years old would have been extremely pleased with this “miracle”, as much as I am – if not more so!
Ps. His initials were? A.R.
Kind regards,
Neville.