The PHILCO Phorum

So I've got this lovely new Philco 201X that needs some cabinet help on the top where the original lacquer has been lost.





I've done full refinish jobs on tabletop sets so I'm comfortable stripping the top and refinishing (at least it's flat). My only reservation is matching the rest of the original finish.

Would this be a candidate for resurrecting the original finish? I'm wondering if I should try cleaning the top really well, lightly sand the finish with fine grit and then apply a coat or two of clear lacquer (after masking off the rest of the cabinet really carefully!) just to see what it would look like. It seems like there wouldn't really be anything to lose in trying it.

I'd love to know your thoughts and advice.

Nathan,

I'm not one to put band aids on a wound that needs stitches. Why not strip it down and start anew? Since the trim is toner, I think you'd get away with just doing the top by itself. Certainly would be easier. But I'd do a complete job on the top.
Here's a pic of the one I did (I did the entire radio).

Pat

Thanks for the advice Patrick. Your 201X sure is beautiful.

I agree with Patrick. So much toner is already gone from the top of your cabinet, your only real option is to strip and redo the top.

And congratulations on your acquisition!

+1
The fortunate thing is that they are on two different plains so generally you don't see both of them together. I think the tricky part is getting the proper sheen so that refinished area doesn't look too "new"

GL

Awesome advice guys - thank you. I know what I must do. Will post pics on progress.

Today I got started on refinishing the 201X top.

Removal

At first I was worrying about how to protect the rest of the cabinet while refinishing the top - but I remembered seeing someplace (Philco Serviceman article? Service bulletin) that the 37-690X had a removable top to make refinishing it easier. Damage to the top of radios has clearly been a problem since they rolled out of the factory. Anyway I wondered if the 201X might be assembled in a similar way that might permit the top to be removed.

In fact it does come apart.    
I removed the screws holding going vertically into the top and then gently tapped the top with a rubber mallet around the edge from inside the cabinet.





It's probably not really intended to be disassembled since there's evidence that glue was used - but here's one example of weakened 85 year old glue being helpful.

Ready to be stripped:



Stripping

I used CitriStrip to strip the top and trim. Here it is after stripping:







Pretty clean - but it looks like maybe the lacquer issue was due to water on the top since the wood there is a bit lighter in color.
I'm hoping that putting back the finish will make the color more uniform and help blend that area. I know there are ways to bleach water damaged wood lighter - but in this case it doesn't seem like that would help.

Sanding Sealer

I lightly sanded the top (hoping that the color might blend better - it didn't much).

Then I gave it a coat of sanding sealer.



Grain Filler

Finally, I filled the grain with walnut color grain filler. This actually helped blend things better - makes sense since now theres matching color in the grain in both areas.



Hopefully the toning lacquer will further blend things.

And you thought it would be tough! Nice job so far.

Looking nice!

I've used oxylic acid in the past, to blend water damaged areas of cabinets. It works quite well to make plant rings fade out.

Thanks Brad - yeah after reading about it a bit more I think I should have tried that. I may still do that but since I've got the base finish on I'm going to see how noticeable it is with toner.

Easy enough to strip and try the oxalic acid if it doesn't.

So the discoloration wasn't as well hidden as I would like so I decided to restrip it and try the wood bleach route.

Brad- would you apply it to just the stained area or the whole top?

I had a similar issue with a Crosley Trirdyne lid. Has several black spots and was able to get them out by bleaching. Unfortunately I don't remember what I used for bleach. If I had to guess I think it was just regular laundry bleach. Kirk could answer as to what I used. Worker well. Just apply just on the areas you want to lighten not over the whole top. On the darker borders of the stain use a qtip or small brush. You want to keep the bleach contained just the stain and the darker the stain area the more bleach and time it will take. A little bit goes a long way so take your time. https://www.flickr.com/photos/53710524@N06/11198613343/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/53710524@N06/11198452535/
Hope this helps.

Thanks Terry!

I bought this wood bleach product:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VBGH82

I have used that product successfully to get some water stains out.