speaker cone doping?

Google -RoyC. AR dope-, then decide whether you would like to try and find/purchase some (if it's still available).

In the meantime do not put anything on the surrounds.

The AR's are an acoustic suspension design which uses very compliant woofers that have a cloth surround. The cloth was doped to maintain the acoustic seal. Sometimes the sealant fails over time and develops pinholes which allows for excessive cone movement. One way to test the acoustic seal is to lightly press in on the cone evenly and release. If it pops back immediately like it's spring loaded, the cabinet has lost its seal and the surround sealant MAY be the reason. If the surrounds need sealed, the trick is to apply something that's just enough to plug the pinholes, but not screw with the compliance. Stiffening them is not what you want to do.

Several years back, I reconditioned a pair of KLH Seventeens that needed doping. I followed some advice from Audiokarma and used a siliconized latex caulk thinned down to the consistency of heavy cream. It sealed the surrounds and seemed to do the job just fine, but I don't know if I screwed with the compliance or not.

There is much information on this subject on Audiokarma and Classicspeakerpages. RoyC is a member who is very knowledgeable on the subject. There is a seller on eBay named vintage-ar that may be able to help you.

I should revise my first statement above to say that SOME of the early AR's, including the AR-2ax, had cloth surrounds. If they're foam, forget everything I said!

I do not think it is advisable to put anything on the paper cones.

As a speaker designer and manufacturer, I would say NO. It will affect free air resonance by adding weight/inertia to the cone and will change the character and possibly even the sensitivity of the speakers. Dope is usually applied to damp over enthusiastic cones at resonance and is not primarily used for stiffening cones. Any additional mass is not a great idea on older cones as the (worn) spider suspension will also be affected. Play as-is and enjoy would be my advice.

Thank u all...I have made my decision not to dope the cones and leave as is.. again thanks and enjoy the weekend