Cleaning Philco Tuning Dials

[etech]

Hi all,

FWIW, I discovered how to clean the old Philco tuning dials on the 1936 to 1938 sets. This may work on other model years too. As you are probably aware, cleaning these dials with a water solution will usually result in a loss of the original ink markings. So, just for kicks, the other night, I took a broken dial from a 1938 Philco ( I think it came from a 38-116 chassis) and did a test cleaning with mineral spirits. I thought sure it would wipe the ink markings clean off. Lo and behold, it did not. It just did a very nice job of cleaning the dirt and grime off that old dial. Having had that success. I did a test cleaning on my old 1936 116B dial by testing an area just off the normal scale where it would not show, if the printing had been removed. But, surprisingly, the results were the same. The minerals spirits did not remove the old ink, it just cleaned the dirt and grime off of that old dial. It actually looks pretty good now. I used Kleen Strip brand mineral spirits in case anyone is interested.

If you want to try this method, I would only offer this caution that it would be worthwhile to test a non-critical area of your dial first, before you take a chance on destroying your dial. YMMV!

Ed

[Ron Ramirez]

Very interesting, Ed; and thanks for the great tip. I'll try this out on a few of my Philco dials sometime...but I'll practice on a junk dial first!

[phly guy]

Great Tip Ed!

If anyone else out there tries this with success or failure please let the rest of us know.

[I now have some hope for cleaning the dial on my 38-5!! ]

[canerods]

I can tell you what NOT to use. Last night I ruined a perfectly good Philco 41-240 dial glass by trying to clean the grime off with GoJo. Yikes... what a terrible mistake. I appreciate your tip, wish I had read it sooner. I'm new at this hobby and learning the hard way!

[Dave D]

Ed, You made a great discovery. I tried the mineral spirts on a broken 37-650 dial and it worked great. Removed the dirt but left the numbers intact. Thanks for the tip.

Dave D

[etech]

Quote:I tried the mineral spirts on a broken 37-650 dial and it worked great. Removed the dirt but left the numbers intact.

Cool! I glad it worked for you too.

Ed

[planigan]

Ed, I too tried this on a 37-650 dial and it did not remove the print. I have what looks similar to fungus on the dial face so I really scrubed it with no effect on the print. Embolden, I grabbed my trusty WD 40 and would you believe same result. Print not effected but still that fungus looking something on the dial. The dial is a lot cleaner then it was though. PL

[Ron Ramirez]

canerods Wrote:I can tell you what NOT to use. Last night I ruined a perfectly good Philco 41-240 dial glass by trying to clean the grime off with GoJo. Yikes... what a terrible mistake. I appreciate your tip, wish I had read it sooner. I'm new at this hobby and learning the hard way!

Unfortunately, you did indeed learn a lesson the hard way: Do NOT use any type of liquid (or semi-liquid, in the case of GoJo) cleaner on a glass dial scale!

[scottwkurth]

I've read a fair number of posts recommending extreme caution before cleaning off the tuning glass / plastic dials. It appears that different sets have different materials and, therefore, different recommended methods for cleaning.

Does anyone know what I've got in my 40-185? The dial is in pretty good shape but has years of dust and grime that needs to come off. I'm not sure what technique is safe for this set. Mineral Spirits? WD-40? What else?

Thanks!
Scott

[planigan]

scottwkurth, hi. I really don't habve an answer for you except to experiment in a remote area of the dial so if it doesn't work there will be little damage. Water is definitely out. Alcohol may work on yours but I don't know. Unless some other member who has the same set has "been there done that" and pipes up, experimentation will be the only course. Good luck. I ended up with a repro dial, I didn't hear about the water untill too late. PL

[Ron Ramirez]

Just wanted to mention that I finally tried Etech's method of using mineral spirits to clean a plastic Philco dial scale; in this case, a 116 scale.

The mineral spirits worked fine.

I would suggest, however, that you not apply too much pressure on the markings. Heavy pressure seemed to make the markings slightly lighter.

YMMV...

Note that this cleaning method does not apply to Philco's 1940 and later glass dial scales.

[tom2]

My 70 dial had of course a sepia tone, or a yellow tint, but also had some sort of brownish grime film on the front. I was hesitant to do anything at all but I tried some Zap glass cleaner on a blank area and with a bit of rubbing it took off the brown film. So I tried it on the dial markings and it seemed to have no impact at all on those. Now my dial is much cleaner. I looked on Zap and there is no ammonia, it is water, alcohol and detergents of some sort. I think maybe in some cases, it is the ammonia like in Windex that is the bad actor. I know that you can clean vacuum tubes with hand soap carefully and the printed markings survive, Windex removes them like they were errant bird droppings.

[exray]

I'm going to agree with the ammonia being a bad actor. I was cleaning up some things around the shack with a dampened ammonia rag and took a swipe at my almost pristine HQ-180A front panel. Took the paint right off in one area.

[codefox1]

I would agree with all. Actually houselold ammonia is usually 95% water, and the decals on most dial scales are water soluble. Of course you can clean the front of the dial glass with anything that works, that's where most of the staining is, but you must not let the solvent get to the back, where the printing/decal is. Be careful on plastics, front or back, and always test in an inconspicious area first. I use q-tips wrung out and blot carefully with a cotton ball or sponge. (you can get a pack of 2X2 sponges, non sterile, at your pharmacy for a dollar or two, or beg a handfull next tie you are at your doctor or dentist.) On really gross glass "Fronts," gentile scraping with a single edge razor blade can remove a lot of crud. Easy does it, put the whole thing on a folded towel on an absolutely flat surface first. Finally, you can touch up pinholes with a spotter's brush (very fine) and the dark red water color that is used to correct the same in litho films. You can get this at any art store, and a dollar's worth is a lifetime supply. It is possible to add a little black, brown, or white concentrated water color pigment to get a spot on match. Then you have to try it on an area which will not be seen, let it dry, and view under the same conditions (pilot bulb) as will be the end result.

Do this after you have done your best with everything else.

One other lesson well learned, is to replace the rubber shims when purtting it back together. I just cut out sections of appropriately sized rubber bands, fill the holes with a little bit of putty if the screws are loose, and tighten only to the point at which the scale does not move. Make sure your refinishing efforts have not raised any high points which would present a fulcrum and crack the dial plate.

Hope this helps some

[philcoradio1234]

hey does anyone know how to get the yellow tint off the plastic dial fronts on pre war philcos? thanks
- philcoradio1234