The PHILCO Phorum
Restoration Complete - Printable Version

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RE: Restoration Complete - Mr Grumpy - 04-07-2013

Thanks for all the Applause, thumbs ups, and kind words. It feels great to have it up and running, It sounds absolutely incredible and my daughter and I have enjoyed listening to it practically every night since it's completion.

@mazzy - Three months (not every day though...)

RE: Restoration Complete - PhilcoJohn - 04-07-2013

wow nice restoration . Love those Philcos. Grumpy how does the record player work?[/font][/i][/u][/b]

RE: Restoration Complete - Mr Grumpy - 04-07-2013

It was very frustrating, but I finally got the record player working with a new photocell and a lot of blood and tears. It sounds great to me, much better than all my mechanical Victrola's (that's probably not saying much though)

RE: Restoration Complete - Geoff - 04-08-2013

Is the finish original or did you strip it? Either way, it looks great!

- Geoff

RE: Restoration Complete - Mr Grumpy - 04-09-2013

It was completely stripped and sanded. I'm still trying to master my refinishing without stripping techniques, but I thought the finish on this set was too far gone.

RE: Restoration Complete - Chuck Schwark - 04-09-2013

A real showpiece.

C'mon over and do a few of mine...... :-)

Chuck

RE: Restoration Complete - PhilcoMike - 04-10-2013

Absolutely wonderful job. Since you mentioned you stripped and refinished could you kind of list the basic steps/materials you used? This is a wonderful job that could serve as a handy tutorial to those of us who are facing this task.

Thanks,

Mike

RE: Restoration Complete - Conelrad - 04-10-2013

All you need to do is find a decent station to listen to, and good discs to play on it.

Dennis

RE: Restoration Complete - Mr Grumpy - 04-11-2013

Thanks Chuck, that means a lot coming from you.
Dennis, luckily we have two great oldies stations in Toronto, and I probably have too many 78s!

Mike, I'm not a pro by any stretch but I'll give it a try...

First step, I disassembled the set, removed the entire phono compartment and separated each piece of the front grill, they were each held in place with a single screw.
I used a mild paint stripper to remove the old finish, it took three separate coats to remove all the finish to a point where it could be sanded without gumming up the sandpaper. Each coat of stripper should be remove and then the set wiped down with mineral spirits, Lacquer thinner works really well but is very strong and the odor is powerful - it can stain the wood as well so be careful with it. It was during this process that I came to realize that all the inlay and Tiger Maple accent pieces were photo grain so I decided not to strip the grill slats pictured below as they were predominately photo finished.

I sanded with a power sander and 120 grit to remove the worst damaged areas and as much stain as possible, then a 240 with the sander to remove the rest. Sanding by hand with both grits is a must as well to remove the power sander 'swirls' and get in the tight spots, I then touched up with a 320 grit quickly by hand. I've never, ever, sanded through a veneer but it is something that I'm aware of when I'm using a power sander.

I trialed three different minwax oil stains and was happiest with the 'English chestnut'. I covered the entire radio in sections and did not let it sit on the wood for very long (less than a minute) as I didn't want too much of the colour absorbed. Then after it all dried, I re-stained the areas circled in the photo with the same colour stain. These were some type of softwood, maybe poplar or spruce, as they did not absorb the stain as well as the veneer, even with the second coat applied. For the top and bottom areas, I mixed a very small amount of dark walnut to the chestnut and then mixed that colour with a polyurethane gloss clear. I applied two coats of this mixture to these areas to darken the wood, it also served to muddy the unsightly grain of this softer wood. The other circled areas, the same method was used but without the dark walnut mixed in. Since I didn't strip down the front grill slats, I hit them with some 0000 steel wool and then applied a single coat of the chestnut-polyurethane mixture to alter the colour slightly and have them match the rest of the set a bit better. The photo finish on these pieces was a bit more yellow anyway, so it was mostly to get the sides of the slats to match better.

I applied a single coat of gloss on the entire radio, added the photo grain,
then applied about 5 more coats of the clear, including the areas that had the tinted gloss and directly over the photo finish. Each coat dried for one night, rubbed out with 0000 steel wool, and tack-clothed before the next coat.

I then sanded the entire radio CAREFULLY with 800 grit wet sand paper.
This step was necessary because I didn't use a grain filler product.
Then I applied two or three more coats of clear.

After about a week of sitting, I sanded lightly again with 1000 grit wet sandpaper to remove any bumps, dust, or runs, then buffed with a wet cotton rag and pumice. This gave it a sort of 'semi-gloss' look. If I wanted a mirror like finish, I would have rubbed again with a wet rag and rottenstone powder and then waxed with a carnuba wax.

The grill cloth was removed and washed by hand with a mild detergent and all pieces put back together.

I hope I didn't miss any steps.

Unfortunately I don't have any WIP photos.

[Image: http://i835.photobucket.com/albums/zz278/cacarella/41-608Solidstain_zps909896f3.jpg]

[Image: http://i835.photobucket.com/albums/zz278/cacarella/Grilleclose_zpsa89de6dd.jpg]

[Image: http://i835.photobucket.com/albums/zz278/cacarella/DialClose_zps1f442017.jpg]



Original photo finish...

[Image: http://i835.photobucket.com/albums/zz278/cacarella/IMG_2747_zps201f308a.jpg]

RE: Restoration Complete - thirtiesradio - 04-17-2013

Very, very nice restoration!
You mention you "added the photo grain". How exactly is this done?

RE: Restoration Complete - GarySP - 04-18-2013

Beautiful job! you should be proud!

RE: Restoration Complete - w4rtc - 04-18-2013

Hey man, that's real cool daddy-o Icon_thumbup
Joe

RE: Restoration Complete - Mr Grumpy - 04-19-2013

Quote:You mention you "added the photo grain". How exactly is this done?

I followed this guide --> http://www.philcoradio.com/schooley/index.htm

and used this photocopy for the tiger maple...

[Image: http://i835.photobucket.com/albums/zz278/cacarella/Tigersamples-grey_zps80cb47aa.jpg]

I used different shades of yellow and and burnt sienna oil paints then once it was glued onto the radio i applied the chestnut/poly clear coat to tone down the yellow and blend it into the cabinet colour a little better.

I cut thin strips for the inlay on the front and sides.

RE: Restoration Complete - FStephenMasek - 04-22-2013

Nice work!

RE: Restoration Complete - jmac3ky - 04-25-2013

Just like the "A Team" said: "There's nothing like a great plan coming together."