The PHILCO Phorum

It may not be kosher, but when I refinish a Philco wood cabinet, I use polyurethane as the top coat.

My question is when to apply the "PHILCO" decal; before or after the final poly coat?

Thanks for your help.

How do you apply the poly (spray, wipe, brush)?

Spray

The reason that I asked is due to the difference in viscosity. Wiping or brushing poly over a decal is a bad idea. Spraying will work if the decal is dry/firmly attached.

Basically, when spraying, a decal can be applied after sanding the first or second coat of sealer - or whatever you are using for that purpose.

OH - P.S. Poly is not recommended for "restoration" However, if you are doing a REALY good job - and no one feels the need to fix or repair later, then it can look fine. I would just not do it to a rare or valuable radio.

Thank you. And I agree with your comment regarding rare radios. The radio in question is a late model 60.

Once upon a time, when I started out, I did use polyurethane, but those days are now long gone. If the cabinet is basically decent looking, but just needs some refreshing, I will lightly sand the existing finish with 400 or finer grit, and then rub on coats of tung oil. It works extremely well, and is entirely reversible. If the cabinet is somewhat worse, I will use Minwax Antique Furniture Refinisher to dissolve the old finish. I only remove the dead top of the finish and leave much of the old varnish, especially that which is toned. I then let it dry and rub on layers of tung oil, sanding with progressively finer sandpaper every few coats until I have the level of gloss I want. Below is a picture of the Philco model 66 I recently restored showing how this technique works for me..

Hello mike,
that radio looks great !
Myself I have been using spray shellac personally I have never tried Tung oil.

Sincerely Richard

Thanks, Richard. Tung oil takes a long time, since you have to wait at least a day between coats for it to dry, often two or more, and the coats are rubbed on thin, and it requires many coats. I like it because the result looks like a very well kept original when you do it right. It has that sense of age, but stately age, and care.This is a picture of the 48-482 I did some months before. On this one I used more coats of tung oil, and ended up using 1200 grit for the sanding before the final very thin coat.



One last caution ! If you plan on adding decals, spray on a coat of shellac before you apply any tung oil. It will destroy the decals as you rub it on unless they have a sealer coat over them. This is not as critical if you are just doing a touch up over an existing finish which you have evened out but not taken down to the decal level, and which therefore protects the decals as the finish on this 48-482 did.

Hello mike,
thank you for all the great tips and I think this spring I can try my hand at using some Tung oil.

Sincerely Richard