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Philco Car Radio Cosmetic Resto - Printable Version

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Philco Car Radio Cosmetic Resto - VntgRads - 10-18-2013

This is sort of related to cabinet restoration so here goes. Here's a thread that might be of interest to some. I do cosmetic facelifts on older car radios many of which are Philco units from 60's and 70's Ford Mustangs/Mercury Cougars. I'll take you through some of the processes that I go through to enhance the appearance of these units. Be patient as my full time job as a pharmacist keeps me pretty busy so this thread may not move along as fast as some. Attached is a picture of what we're starting with. It's a 1968 Mustang/Cougar Philco AM car radio. Part number is 8TPZ which is found on the side of the case. I first bench test these units to make sure they work. If non-functional, I will generally use them for parts unless they are too nice to part out. I then sell them as non-functional and worthy of electronic restoration. I mostly do cosmetic and some mechanical resto. Enjoy!

Craig R.

RE: Philco Car Radio Cosmetic Resto - Jamie - 10-18-2013

Excellent! This will be very interesting. Looking forward to seeing more!

RE: Philco Car Radio Cosmetic Resto - VntgRads - 10-18-2013

Let's get started. The first thing I do is remove the knobs. One can see in the picture that these don't look too good. However, even these can be rejuvenated with some simple measures!

Craig R.

RE: Philco Car Radio Cosmetic Resto - VntgRads - 10-18-2013

I use some very simple techniques to clean up the knobs. These knobs are chrome plated plastic and clean up very nicely with SOS pads. Many would think that these pads would scratch the knobs but they do not. In fact, they truly enhance the shine. I use the pad under some warm water to clean them up and give them a good shine. The toothpick & toothbrush are for removing residue on the areas where the knobs are handled. Then I rinse off the SOS soap and wash with regular dish washing detergent on a sponge. Then I dry them making sure that I blow some air into the area that pushes onto the volume and tuning shafts. Otherwise, the knob insert could rust onto the shaft. I use this cleanup method on both plastic and metal knobs. Pretty simple, right. My digital camera is not the best at closeup shots, but they did come out pretty nice.

Craig R.

RE: Philco Car Radio Cosmetic Resto - VntgRads - 10-19-2013

Next we will tackle the plastic dial lens. This one is easily removed with 4 chassis screws. I first wash it with soap and water to see what I've got. Careful washing the inside area as sometimes the white numbering is flaky and comes off easily. I then use liquid car wax to polish the front. This acts as a good cleaner and takes out lots of the light scratches. I remove heavier scratches with rubbing compound first and then polish. The "almost" finished lens looks much better but we're not done yet.
Start with the lower right picture and go counterclockwise.
Craig R.

RE: Philco Car Radio Cosmetic Resto - VntgRads - 10-19-2013

The silver strip above the push button opening is many times worn, sometimes down to the black plastic. This lens was not too bad but I opted to repaint it to demonstrated my approach. I first very carefully mask off the area. If you look at my previous pics showing the polishing supplies, you will note a pencil and a Metallic Leafing Pen. The pencil has a small strip of sandpaper taped the the eraser end. I use this to sand off the old silver paint. The eraser head provides a little useful flexibility. I then paint it using Rust-Oleum American Accents Metallic Silver Leafing pen. This is not an exact match but very close. You may notice that this lens has a small crack in the upper right portion. In this case it is OK because the crack is hidden by the radio bezel once installed. Now the lens is finished.

Craig R.

RE: Philco Car Radio Cosmetic Resto - Jamie - 10-19-2013

Man, that's looking great!

RE: Philco Car Radio Cosmetic Resto - VntgRads - 10-20-2013

Next we will take care of the push buttons and faded dial indicator. Pretty simple, actually. These were just dirty with some cigarette residue. Fortunately, these did not get burn marks. I just wipe off the dirt with a wet towel then I polish with liquid car wax. I do the tops, undersides, fronts, sides and in between. The wax not only cleans but polishes as well. Minor scratches can be taken out with rubbing compound. A Q-Tip works well for in between the push buttons. Most of the time the dial indicator is faded. This one was really bad! I use Rustoleum American Accents Glow Orange #209638. It's a good match.

Craig R.

Start at the lower right with the pictures. Sorry for the order.

RE: Philco Car Radio Cosmetic Resto - VntgRads - 10-20-2013

Last for today is the external wiring. We were lucky in that the wiring and connectors are intact on this radio. The only suspicious thing here was the taped wiring. Turns out the wiring was just tapped into and was missing some insulation. They probably could have been re-taped but electrical tape dries out after awhile and "comes apart". I would rather snip the wire, solder it back together, then use heat shrink insulation. One can purchase different colors of heat shrink to match the wire color but I generally use black since this part of the radio is behind the dash and not visible. Many times the connectors are hacked off altogether! For some reason, people just don't spend the extra time to pull them apart. That's where my parts radios come in handy as "donors". This radio has 2 connectors. One is for the dial light and power while the other (one with the 2 black wires) is for the dash speaker.

Craig R.

RE: Philco Car Radio Cosmetic Resto - Jamie - 10-20-2013

This is a most excellent thread! Very interesting and good way to learn new techniques.

RE: Philco Car Radio Cosmetic Resto - VntgRads - 10-20-2013

Thanks "PuhPow" for the kind comments. My techniques may not be the best but they seem to work for my restorations. I am always open to suggestions that will create a better end product so I welcome comments from all! Thanks again!

Craig R.

RE: Philco Car Radio Cosmetic Resto - VntgRads - 10-21-2013

Lets move onto a little mechanical restoration as opposed to cosmetic. Turns out our manual tuning was not working as it should, in fact it was not working at all! This was a result of the manual tuning shaft breaking away from the nylon guide cup that the tuning gear rests in. This part holds the tuning gear in place when turning which allows the radio to be tuned to various stations. The answer was to retrieve the "parts bag" for a replacement from a donor radio. Fortunately, I had a couple to choose from. Replacement is a matter of removing the old parts through the inside of the radio and installing the good shaft assembly. Installation is made easier by loosening the chassis screws. One additional point relates to the threads on both the tuning and volume control shafts. Sometimes these threads get damaged by cross threading when installing the nuts. Two nuts are threaded onto each shaft. One is tightened up against the casing. These hold the two controls in place. The second nut is used to mount the radio in the dash. If the shaft gets cross threaded, just remove the nut that is against the case to straighten out the threads. Hopefully this information will be of some help. The pictures show the broken part along with the intact donor part. Replacement part after installation is also shown. Manual tuning now works as it should.

Craig R.

RE: Philco Car Radio Cosmetic Resto - VntgRads - 10-22-2013

Let's do more mechanics before we wind down. Sticky push buttons is a common problem with these units. Usually, it's just a matter of cleaning and some lubrication. First, I blow out the chassis with some air just to remove the dust and loose debris. Then I pull all of the push buttons out to the set position. Then I lubricate the moving parts on the push button shafts with silicone spray. I start from the outside just behind the push buttons. Then I do the area on the inside where there are more moving/sliding parts on shaft. It's hard to show in the pics but it is the areas that are adjacent to the "round cylinders" in the center. I also spray some silicone on the metal shaft where the large tuning gear slides. Binding in this area also causes sluggish push buttons. Then I set some stations to make sure that function is working properly. Then I "exercise" the push buttons to make sure all is working smoothly.

Craig R.

RE: Philco Car Radio Cosmetic Resto - VntgRads - 10-22-2013

I always replace the dial light whether the old one is working or not. It's a cheap fix and I would hate to have someone get their radio installed and have the bulb burn out. These radios typically use a #1893 bulb which I buy in bulk and it takes 2 seconds to replace. However, on the 1966 Mustang 6TPZ Philco unit it is not so easy. The radio needs to be partially dismantled just to replace the bulb! Not the best design.

Craig R.

RE: Philco Car Radio Cosmetic Resto - VntgRads - 10-22-2013

We're getting to the end of our cosmetic/mechanical restoration on this unit. Things have gone pretty smooth so far. The top cover was pretty rusty but rather than spend the time to clean it up I just go the "parts bin" and find and extra top from a parts radio that is in much better shape. The old one could be wire brushed and cleaned up if necessary but it's not like a refinish of a Philco Cathedral radio where the case is the first thing a person notices. The case on a car radio, once installed, is the last thing someone notices! Even though this is true, I still like to use the black electrical tape to tape down the blue dial light wire and put a piece of gray duct tape over the output transistor as this was done at the factory.

Craig R.