Been a good while since I’ve posted. My interests settled in on the 1920’s stuff. But I thought the Philco Pholks would be interested. Before and after cleanup. Afraid to go much farther. Worried about the paint integrity.
How do I get the speaker open?
Local find.
I did a 514 awhile back. The paint was durable. It had been stored in a garage for many years and was thick with crud with rust. I used several cleaners and the one that worked best was gojo. After the cleaning I buffed with a very light oil to slow the rust. On the speaker, I had an RCA 100 which looks similar. The front and rear sections rotated about a half inch and I could pull them off. I posted photos of the finished restoration and you might be able to find them.
I had an issue with the Orange hand cleaner. Whatever that black crud all over the radio and speaker is, the Orange or GoJo would not cut it. In a seam on the lid, I put some orange cleaner and let it sit a while to hopefully dissolve the crud. It started dissolving the paint. So Orange cleaner no more. I tried a few different things and finally Mothers Chrome polish cut the crud easily. But, it would, if used too aggressively, cut through the paint. Then I GoJo’ed it again to get off any residue. Let it dry and waxed it.
I used fast Orange, no pumice. Never again on any painted surface.
That 514 turned out great.
The owner was so moved she cried when she came to pick it up.
That Fast Orange bottle says it has pumice in it. That's probably why it started cutting the paint. That a fine abrasive. Take care and BE HEALTHY! Gary
The jug I bought was non-pumice. I’m always very careful to get non abrasive cleaner.
All I can figure is something about the “citrus” (or whatever it really is) in it is acidic.
The Goop/GoJo must not be acidic at all.
Hello Groundhog74,
I had have similar issues using that type so I only use goop/gojo .
I bet that black spots might be paint over spray !
Sincerely Rich
P.S.
welcome back !
It could be paint, but it’s built up pretty thick in corners and crevasses. I thought maybe coal dust? Very black. The splatter from using the chrome polish landed on my white plastic table. Now it’s stained and I can’t get it off of it.
Alien poop?
hello Groundhog74,
you might be right about that coal dust !
I remember seeing that in some basements where they had coal fired furnace .