The PHILCO Phorum

As the warm days of 2011 wind down, I've been busy refinishing quite a few cabinets. Here are my latest projects.

First of all, a "before" shot of a 53C cigar box pee-wee that was a wreck when I acquired it:



As you can see, it had multiple issues: part of the wood was missing at the top edge, veneer missing on the front panel, no knobs, torn grille cloth.

And now, the "after" photo of the same 53C:



I had a few extra medium rosette knobs, so two of them went onto the 53C. The cloth is #40 from Radio Grille Cloth Headquarters; not exactly the same as the original, but pretty close. The missing wood at the top edge was filled with Walnut wood filler. Overall, I think it turned out quite well.

I have not done anything with the chassis of the 53C yet.

Next up, a "before" shot of a 40-125.



Not terrible, but you can tell it was stripped and given a coat or two of clear lacquer (fortunately polyurethane was not used!).

Now, the "after" shot.



Here, the main body of the cabinet received Medium Walnut toner; the grille was sprayed with Medium Dark Walnut; and the top and bottom edges received Extra Dark Walnut toner as did the edge of the dial opening. It also has a new dial cover. I think it looks much better.

I completely recapped the chassis of this one while it was apart, adding a pushbutton assembly that was missing when I bought the radio. It plays very well.

Finally, here is a set I am kicking myself for not taking a "before" shot of - a 41-231 "Little Bullet."



This thing was in really bad shape when I acquired it. The curved end on the left had pulled away from the base. The entire front panel had become delaminated. The chassis is very rusty. The entire set looked as if it had sat submerged about halfway in water at some point.

It was not easy to remove the front panel, because of the trim running horizontally below the pushbuttons; you can see at the right of this trim where I had to break the trim to get the panel out. The trim was probably applied at the factory after the panel was put into place. Amazingly, as bad as the front panel was, this trim was still tightly glued on and would not come off. Just my luck. Anyway, you'll have to take my word for it on this one - the ugly duckling became a beautiful swan after a lot of work.

And the work is not yet complete - I still have to redo the chassis.

Good job
Steve

Ron, I think you are getting much better at the cabinet restoration, it's like anything where you get better and better with practice and learn new techniques as you go along. One think that I have learned is that what matters is the finished product not how you get there.
I have a few sets in similar condition to that Philco 53C, believe it or not you can still get that inlay banding from Constantines and Rockler, I think, but it can be made as well. The 40-125 before shot looks like a typical "weekend warrior" or "Antique Mall" finish, some of my earlier restoration projects came out like that, except that I at least tride to darken the shaded parts with paint or stain, but even then I knew it didn't look right. I didn't know about shading lacquer or grain filler at the time, some were so bad that I stripped then down since and started redoing them. In fact if I end up with one finished by someone else that way I almost always will strip it down and start over even if they did use laquer, the reason being is that half the time they used oil stain on the wood and finished right over the dents and scratches.
There is one guy who get big $$$ on fleabay for his sets for some reason, every finish he does is glossy but he puts the same brown fogged finish on them like a guitar ignoring the original colour scheme and veneers used, it's 100% wrong and tasteless but i guess Herb Tarlek was right, tasteless sells. What concerns me is that it may end up like the Philco decals at some point in the future, everyone will think that every old radio had a finish like a cheap Midwest cabinet or a Gibson guitar.
Speaking of the plastic dial lenses, reproducing one of those is going to be one of my future projects. I have a few with cracks aling the outside edge but there is one on a Kadette radio I have that is fogged up so bad that you can barely see through it, it has a haze of cracks all over like old varnish.
Regards
Arran

Good Looking radios!!

Glenn

Thanks, guys, I appreciate the kind words.

Arran, yes, I feel that my refinishing skills have definitely improved this year. Learning how to use grain filler and sanding sealer has gone a long way toward giving me better finishes. My work is not in the league of someone like Steve Davis, but I don't really expect to get as good as someone who is one of the best. As long as I can keep taking junk and turning them into jewels that look decent, I'll be happy. At least now, my cabinets barely show the grain when I am done. Much better than not filling the grain at all.

The 53C has that "piano" finish that I've been after all along. I'll just keep repeating the technique I used on the 53C on future work, and hopefully, all future cabinets I refinish will turn out as well.

I've seen the offerings of the eBay seller you refer to. No, the majority of his sets never had that extra toning on the edges, but 100 coats of super gloss lacquer and extra (non-original) toning sells, it seems. What the buyers don't know is that too many coats of lacquer will start cracking eventually. I've seen a set that was finished with multiple coats of lacquer, using built-up coats of lacquer to fill the grain instead of using grain filler. After a few years, it started cracking.

Here's the technique that seems to work for me:

• Prepare the cabinet by sanding it smooth.
  
• Fill the grain with grain filler using Etech's method (no sanding). Let dry.
  
• Give the cabinet a second application of grain filler. Let dry.
  
• Spray two coats of sanding sealer.
  
• Sand the cabinet down again with fine grade sandpaper.
  
• Spray on the toner.
  
• Spray two coats of clear.
  
• Lightly wet sand with 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper.
  
• Apply decals.
  
• Spray two more coats of clear.
  
• Let dry for a week.
  
• Rub down with polishing compound.
  
• Hand wax the cabinet.
  
• Reassemble and admire the work.
  

Hi Ron, Good job Joe

Ron Ramirez Wrote:Thanks, guys, I appreciate the kind words.

Arran, yes, I feel that my refinishing skills have definitely improved this year. Learning how to use grain filler and sanding sealer has gone a long way toward giving me better finishes. My work is not in the league of someone like Steve Davis, but I don't really expect to get as good as someone who is one of the best. As long as I can keep taking junk and turning them into jewels that look decent, I'll be happy. At least now, my cabinets barely show the grain when I am done. Much better than not filling the grain at all.

The 53C has that "piano" finish that I've been after all along. I'll just keep repeating the technique I used on the 53C on future work, and hopefully, all future cabinets I refinish will turn out as well.

I've seen the offerings of the eBay seller you refer to. No, the majority of his sets never had that extra toning on the edges, but 100 coats of super gloss lacquer and extra (non-original) toning sells, it seems. What the buyers don't know is that too many coats of lacquer will start cracking eventually. I've seen a set that was finished with multiple coats of lacquer, using built-up coats of lacquer to fill the grain instead of using grain filler. After a few years, it started cracking.

Ron;
That is the main problem with attempting to use laquer as a filler, or in using an excessive amount of laquer on a cabinet, it makes it much more susceptible to chipping and cracking. If any of you are in doubt about this just take a look at a Grundig or any of the German sets, in all but the best examples the finish usualy has this crazing all over it, there is some debate about what finish they actually used but in the end the result is the same. The reality is that wood is a natural material that expands and contracts with humidity and and temperature, the thicker the finish is on top the less abilty it has to expand and contract. Even before I found out about grain filling I would typically stop at three to four coats of clear, I figured that any more then that was wasteful, if it did not end up smooth afterward I just lived with it and moved onto the next radio.
I really find what that ebay seller is doing offensive, he isn't restoring these sets he is customizing them, he is really doing his customers a diservice. At first I thought his finishes were not bad but were just taking a little creative license, now that I have looked at enough of his work I realize that there is no creativity involved at all, he is just banging them off on an assembly line basis giving every radio the same finish regardless of year, make, or model. Eventually what he is doing will catch up with him once the finishes on those radios start cracking and his customers realize that they have been taken for a ride.
Regards
Arran

All I could possibly add to the fine work that I have seen here is that a piece of wood solid oe laminated has four dimensions, and it is best if totally dry and sealed. Of course it matters not what the inside looks like, but give it a break, at least a cote or two of shellac.