It's very common to see the redline speaker cloth all grey'ish, worn and even perforated and they deserve much better.
The covers are not easily dismounted in that they form the whole front half of the cabinet, holding all drivers etc. from the inside.
I have recloth'ed quite a few of the Beovox redline speakers
and also worked out a way to preserve the embossed logo in
the corner.
It's hours work but absolutely worth it to see them shine as new again.
The type 6501 is what we also call the RL140 and it would make
sense to have the four woofers checked for
foam rot while in there.
They will most likely suffer from it by now if not already repaired.

I'd be happy to help you with these things if you are in - or near Denmark.

Martin

Unfortunately I’m in England, but all tips would go down well. How can I tell rot from damage? Also the silver strips on the front are missing ( they cost me £6 at a car boot sale! So a bit of damage was expected) what is the best thing to replace them with?

£6 ?
Bargain !
For comparison I've seen unrestored pairs sell for apprx £200-250 in danish second-hand B&O shops.

Rot = the woofers butyl surrounds deteriorate and simply falls apart.
This can be repaired if caught in due time or it will eventually destroy the speakers beyond repair since the woofers are very unique for this model.
The strips on the front are merely plastic bands. They get brittle with
age and are often removed. They have no function other than optics so
any strips you fancy will do or you can leave them out completely.

Martin

Sadly, I don't have any guides for this. The woofers I would recommend having done by a pro since the tolerances are very tight.

Martin

Hi John and Martin,

I have also bought  a pair of RL140 speakers for refurbishment.

Visual inspection will reveal whether the drivers have foam rot, It only affects the four mid bass  drivers which have foam rather then butyl surrounds. Recone Labs in Huddersfield have done an excellent job of replacing the foam rings with butyl, they will also repair the voice coils if there is any damage, ask for an estimate, but bare in mind these are not cheap speakers.

There is information a visual guide on dismantling RL60.2 and recovering them on the sight, check some of the posts I have made.

I am also replacing and upgrading the capacitors and internal wiring capacitors were sourced from Wilmslow Audio how are very helpful, cost around 70 pounds for upgraded capacitors, they are rather large but will fit inside the cabinet.

Good luck!

Dave 

The Redline RL140 cap kit is £20 including packing/postage.  😉
Covers a pair of speakers, comes with capacitor location chart and contains 100V components (original was 63V which is actually slightly underdimensioned).
Sizes and outlines are much like the original caps and they fit the boards fairly nicely.

Martin