A Philco 16B tombstone, a Philco 66B tombstone, an RCA T7-5 tombstone, a Philco 41-KR (which I started on in 2013 and didn't finish stripping), an RCA 6T2 tombstone, and a Philco 91B cathedral.
I may not get all of these done this year. But if I get most of them done, I may add more to the queue.
Not even straight acetone would do anything to this 16B. Apparently it was painted, then coated with polyurethane. This cabinet was a waste of money. It's going to be set aside.
This 66B was painted as well, but I am starting to see wood on top and a little bit on front. This will take multiple strippings to get it ready for refinishing.
This is too much like work!
I did not get to the other three cabinets (yet). I think the RCA 6T2 and Philco 91B cabinets will be easy to strip. I had set the 41-KR aside five years ago as...it, too, was painted and the paint on it is also very stubborn.
I have the same thing on the docket tomorrow for this 1939 Stewart-Warner I just picked up cheaply at a large antique sale today. This looks like it was done with latex house paint and a broom.
It's just an AA5, Paul. Standard fair... 50L6, 35Z5, 12SQ7, 12SA7, 12SK7. Little radio in a bigger cabinet. But it has a built in loop antenna, nice for a 1939 set. The cabinet is shaping up nicely. There was some very nice veneers under all of that glop!
Ron;
Get some paint and varnish remover, the kind that has methylene chloride in it, and burns when it gets on your skin, that will take the paint and poly off whilst the acetone won't.
Regards
Arran
Hey Ron
When you run out everything else to do.
On the chewy 91b I would repair with epoxy. Take two nice and flat pieces of wood and some wax paper and clamp them to the damaged side to make a form. If you have some dry tempra paint you could dye the epoxy dark.
I did this with a broken Bakelite radio and it worked good.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Rather than start another thread, I'll just borrow a post on Ron's to show how that Stewart-Warner turned out. Hiding under that globbed on white paint was some beautiful wood!
It shouldn't be too difficult to strip. I made some progress on it Sunday afternoon, as indicated above. More to come this coming Sunday afternoon (likely the next time I will have a chance to get outside and work some more on cabinets). Whoever painted it must have used lacquer-based paint, since it is (slowly) coming off with my usual mixture of acetone and lacquer thinner.
There is too much missing to repair with epoxy at the rear of that 91B cabinet, it looks like a 1/2 or more has been gnawed off, several inches or more up the back, at only 1/8'' thick, if you try to fill that much area with epoxy it will chip off in short order. It could be patched with veneer, which in this case runs from back to front on the outside, and possibly on the inside, the middle layer will probably run 90 degrees to the other two. It may be easier just making, or buying a replacement from Steve, since it's a cathedral model it's collectable enough to do it right.
As from why that Stewart Warner cabinet was painted, the old finish went bad, they may have stripped it, and found that the top layer of veneer was sanded through at the factory. This used to happen from time to time, I have had a few Electrohome sets built for Eatons under the Viking name, one I stripped and found it on the front, on another I can see it under the shaded finish since the grain does not look right. Since they were marketed as private label sets, and lower end ones at that, they probably let them slip through since they knew that the whole cabinet was going to be covered in a light walnut tinted lacquer, and nobody would really notice. Painting a cabinet white I don't really find that surprising, but why some would paint them weird colours, with that ugly antiqued effect finish, or with speckle stone paint I have to wonder about.
Regards
Arran
Agree on not using epoxy on the edge of the 91B. I have a 44B donor cabinet which I am going to use to repair the grillwork of another 44B cabinet. I might cut some wood from its side to replace what has been gnawed away on the 91B. And also, cut a wider piece to properly support it on the inside of the cabinet. The repair will be visible but it will look better than a gnawed side.
Speaking of veneer, four large pieces of raw veneer I ordered from the auction site arrived yesterday. I'll use part of one of the sheets to replace the missing veneer on one side of the RCA T7-5.
I need to go get some more 4/0 steel wool, more rubber gloves, and more acetone.
Document that veneer repair closely, Ron. I have some veneer repair to do as well in the middle of one of the sides on my Freed-Eisemann cabinet, and I need all the tips I can get! Take care, Gary
"Don't pity the dead, pity the living, above all, those living without love."
Professor Albus Dumbledore
Gary - Westland Michigan
This cabinet was a waste of money. It's going to be set aside.
