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O K men
I have removed the finish on the magnavox that I have. It is down to the wood, the grain looks like oak grain wood and is in good shape. Question: did the 1946 use lacquer or stain? 
The best match color I can find to the old finish is "golden oak stain". If I use lacquer toner from mohawk should I do as follows:
1 Should I use a wood grain filler (what kind). Is the wood grain filler same as wood prep?
2 If I use grain filler, sand it until it is smooth?
3 Should I get the dye or pigment toner?
4 Spray the lacquer toner until I get a color that I think is right? I would like some of the wood grain to show thru.
5 Spray the lacquer clear and sand?
6 Do number 5 three times??
If it is stain should I use the MinWax statin do I:
1 Use the wood grain filler first?
2 Use the MinWax wood prep?
3 Spray clear lacquer and sand?
4 Repeate 3 three times.
Any help will be appreciated as I have never attempted this before. 
I guess the first thing to know is it lacquer or stain. 
Thanks
Joe
Joe Bratcher near Louisville, KY
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LOL, what a tidal wave of questions. The set would have been done in nitrocellulose lacquer. DEFT semi-gloss clear wood finish would do it. I assume that the wod in the cabinet IS oak, so Golden oak stain would do a nice job. Yes, you'll need paste wood filler. It comes in several colors, but light brown would probably do for golden oak.
I can't answer more stuff, as I have to git go. Maybe latwer.
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Helllllloooo
anyone out there
Joe Bratcher near Louisville, KY
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Well the filler can be the same, lighte or darker than the veneer, as you wish, or to match the original. Usually a toned laquer was then applied, several coats and then all that is required is a very gentle rubbing with a soft cloth and lemon oil yearly for the next century or so. Do spray the inside and botom of the wood at least once to keep everything stable.
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As Doug and Codefox have said, the original finish was lacquer. You should definitely use a grain filler. This is something I need to learn how to use, myself, so I can't give you any advice on how to do this. Perhaps one of the folks on here who are much better with cabinets than I am will chime in here with some how-tos.
The dye toner would be better than pigment, as the pigmented toner tends to accumulate fast and make your finish look like paint if you apply too many coats. Toning lacquer with dye is transparent and does not have this problem.
If you use a toner with dye, you should not have the problem with grain now showing.
Again, as for the exact procedure, it would be better if one of our more experienced refinishers would chime in here with the proper procedure. Steve Davis, Exray, and others whom I cannot think of right now can tell you all about that.
--
Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
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Hi Joe
If you ask six people how to finish a radio, you will get six different answers.This is the way I do it. I start with a couple of thin coats of clear lacquer to seal the wood. Follow that with grain filler. I use Behlen brand oil base grain filler (water base may work just as well, I just haven't tried it). I dye the filler with Behlen Solar-Lux stain. I prefer to tint the filler a little darker than the base wood. Rub the filler on with a rag, then rub the excess off across the grain. Let dry, then sand smooth. I now spray three or four coats of clear lacquer, followed by more sanding, then two or three more coats and more sanding. My goal at this point is to have a smooth finish, as smooth as it will be in the end. The reason for this is, the next coats are tinted and must not be sanded. I also use the Solar-Lux stain to tint my lacquer. I can usually get the darkness I want in two or three coats. Finally I finish with a couple of coats of clear lacquer a light sanding and two more coats.
Steve
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Hi all
Here is my maggie's door one side is the old finish the other side is the way is looks when the old finish is sanded off. Now can anyone tell me by these pictures what the old finish looks like, as you can see the grain shows thru the finish. I have a choice of toners from mohawk of: light golden oak, medium golden oak and dark golden oak. Is the finish golden oak?? If so is it light medium or dark??? I have not spraying equipment I have to use spray cans. Steve you are correct on the different ways people looks at the way to do things.I live near Louisville Ky and there are few places that have painting materials for a hobbist. If I have to buy wood filler by the gallon most of it will go to waste. I ran into one that Rockler sells it is called wunderfil wood filler and it says it is wood gain filler and it is sold in small cans. Any imput on this. Sorry to be so dumb on this subject but any help would help.
[Image: http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad118...C03372.jpg]
[Image: http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad118...C03371.jpg]
Steve I like your way but I have no spraying equipment.
Thanks Joe
Joe Bratcher near Louisville, KY
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Hi All
Well I called mohawk to see if they could match the toner to the tone of the door in my picture, they said that they could not do that and that they could not sell to a hobbist???? Has anyone every had this to happen. I am stumped I guess I will have to guess at it.
thanks for the replys anyway
joe
Joe Bratcher near Louisville, KY
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No, Mohawk will not sell to the general public, only to dealers.
Try contacting Pond Cove Paint in Maine, they sell all of the Mohawk products and they have an "Ask the Expert" page upon which you may type questions into an email form which you then submit to them. Might be worth a try:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.pondcovepaint.com/content/page/front_ask">http://www.pondcovepaint.com/content/page/front_ask</a><!-- m -->
You must be looking at the Ultra Classic (dye) toners. I see Mohawk offers blonde in their Tone Finish (pigment) toner line.
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Ron Ramirez
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In order for all of the cabinet to match, the factory sprayed the cabinets with a clear lacquer sealer. With that, as sort of a platform, and dried somewhat, the final finish was applied. They used toned lacquer. This means lacquer that was colored with aniline dyes, such as fabric dyes (Rit, etc.). Doing that, the entire cabinet matched, and it was ready for the heated drying ovens, polishing, and having the chassis installed. This took care of the whitewood corner pieces matching the walnut, mahogany, or oak.
We have to do it a bit differently, though there's no reason why we couldn't do it as the factory did it. I usually stain the decorative woods (walnut, etc.). The whitewoods won't take stains, though you can stain them if you want. Stain dry, get our paste wood filler out. For walnut and mahogany, use brown filler. It's like peanut butter. If it's too thick, cut it slightly with enamel reducer. With a piece of burlap, wipe the filler on he piece ACROSS THE GRAIN. It will lodge in the grain pores. It will dry and harden rather quickly, so be prepared to have another piece of dry burlap, to wipe off the excess filler (across the grain). You'll see some places where the filler didn't stay in the pores, so you'll go over those places after you finish wiping off the excess. looking at the workpiece at an angle, you can see whether or not the filler did its stuff all over the piece. Once you have used filler, you can not apply any more stain. It won't work. I like to shoot on a coat of clear lacquer over the filled surface. You can now, mask off the stained and filled areas, and have a clear coat of lacquer on the whitewood. (It's usually basswood or gumwood) You can shoot the whole cabinet with a coat of clear after the filler. At his point, you'll mask off the decorative wood panels, and prepare the toned lacquer to do the whitewood pieces. You need a sealer coat on them, and the clear coat you've just done will be it.
Shoot your toned lacquer on the whitewood, light coats at a time, until you're satisfied that you like the match with the walnut, etc. (or whatever). Let the whole thing dry, and harden. It should set for a day or so. After that, off with the masking, and hit it with the final clear lacquer coat (s). Don't overdo the final finish. You'll be using Deft semi-gloss wood finish, unless you're going for one of those Grundig shaving mirror finishes. (after a few years, those finishes "crowfoot", and then, the fun begins)
Wet sand with #600 wetordry paper, then #400 steel wool, gently, then, a soft cloth pad, soaked in linseed oil, and dipped in rottenstone. Lots of elbow grease, and it's all over.
See how easy it is?
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I'm not sure from the pictures but this cabinet may have had a limed oak finish, or possibly a Heywood Wakefield furniture type finish which is a little more yellow, both were very popular in the post war period. Nobody sells a ready to spray toner that will duplicate this, nor will you find it in the hardware store, you will have to find a recipe and mix it yourself. I think they used a white paint or plaster in the grain to achieve that washed out look.
Regards
Arran
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Hi All Steve what gloss should I use for the first two coats of lacquer before the toner is put on? I did buy a quart of Behlen grain filler. Also did buy some golden oak toner. How do you spread the filler (cloth scraper etc.) what do you wipe it (cross grain) with (burlap?) I am guessing the finish lacquer should satin on semi-gloss I dont want it to look to shiney. I saw the cabinet work you did for Ron, you really do good work
Thanks Joe
Joe Bratcher near Louisville, KY
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Are you sure this wasn't an original "Blonde" finish? Pretty hard to reverse if so as the bleach and sunlight have had its way with the veneer. But a classic set like this can also be a very nice counterpoint in most settings. Just my 2 etnts worth.
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Joe, I use satin lacquer from start to finish. Some prefer to use gloss for all but the final coats. Their thought is, the satin is slightly cloudy and after several coats, will hide the grain. I haven't found this to be a problem.
Your filler will need to be tinted (if it is not already) and thinned (you can use lacquer thinner). Wipe the filler on with a rag. As the filler begins to dry, wipe it off across the grain. Burlap works best for this. After the filler has dried completely, sand to remove the residual. If you find some spots that aren't filled completely, go back and fill them again.
Steve
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Well Codefox I don't know what the finish was. Can you tell by the pictures above? I was going by what matched some stain color examples that I got at lowes. Any help will be appreciated before I start. I first thought it was blonde but it seemed to dark for blonde. Hhhhheeeeellllpppp. Joe
Joe Bratcher near Louisville, KY
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