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Philco 40-180 Cabinet Restoration - Printable Version

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Philco 40-180 Cabinet Restoration - unclevinny86 - 02-23-2021

Evening All,

On the journey to restore my Philco 40-180. I’ve attached pictures of the cabinet. All in all, not horrible, but definitely some work needed as you can see. Nothing that can’t be fixed in my opinion.

Since this will be my first restoration, looking for a beginners guide to this restore...where to start and the proper steps I should be taking start to finish from making necessary repairs, stripping finish, and getting this gem back to her former glory.

The veneer is in relatively good shape aside from some scratches and a couple of missing pieces. On the top, there’s just a sliver on the top right back edge that is missing, probably no more than 1/8”. The bigger piece that missing as you will see is the Australian walnut veneer on the left side of the speaker grille. Definitely need to match and patch the rail, but open to opinions on the top portion...cut and patch, or fill since is fairly small.

Looking forward to your comments and sharing my journey with you. Thank you all in advance!

Cheers!

Vinny

[Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51078976061_ba947b99e9_w.jpg] [Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51078280553_17903a244c_w.jpg] [Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51079074707_74676f8a0b_w.jpg] [Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51078975936_722c919204_w.jpg]

RE: Philco 40-180 Cabinet Restoration - unclevinny86 - 03-03-2021

Ok, after reading a number of different posts and making some notes, I believe I have the steps down.  Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, you aren't going to hurt my feelings.  Since this is my first rodeo, want to make sure I do this right and be ready to roll once the weather gets warm enough for me to tackle this project.



Supplies:



Citristrip

Lacquer Thinner

Mineral Spirits

0000 Steel Wool

Chemical resistant/Butyl Gloves

400 Grit Sandpaper

Tack cloth

Burlap cloth

Queensland/Australian Walnut Veneer (for left speaker rail patch)

Mohawk Pre-Catalyzed Sanding Sealer

Timbermate Wood Filler

Mohawk Ultra Classic Toner - Medium Walnut

Mohawk Tone Finish Toner - Medium Walnut (for veneer patch blending)

Mohawk Pre-Catalyzed Clear Finish Semi-Gloss



Steps:



1. Repair the missing speaker rail veneer using Queensland/Australian walnut veneer

2. Strip cabinet using Citristrip.  Use laquer thinner to remove any tough spots.  Final wipe down with mineral spirits to remove any stripper residue

3. Repair any minor chips/blemishes using Timbermate wood filler in putty consistency.  Allow filler to dry

4. Very lightly sand cabinet with 400 grit sandpaper.  Wipe down cabinet with tack cloth

5. Tone veneer patch using the tone finish toner so that it blends with rest of cabinet when toned

6. Apply coat of sanding sealer

7. Lightly sand with 400 grit sandpaper.  Wipe down cabinet with tack cloth

8. Apply second coat of sanding sealer

9. Lightly sand with 400 grit sandpaper.  Wipe down cabinet with tack cloth

10. Grain fill cabinet with Timbermate in paste form.  Allow to set for approx. 5 minutes or until it starts to barely set.  Scrape excess against grain.  After approx. 20 minutes when hazy appearance, remove excess using burlap cloth in circular motion

11. Tone cabinet to desired shade using the Ultra Classic toner, allowing cabinet to dry between coats

12. Apply new decals

13. Apply semi-gloss laquer coats

14. Reassemble and enjoy



Again, this is a mesh of a number of different posts I've read (thanks to all for those details), so please correct me where I am wrong.  Thanks again in advance for your help and advice!

RE: Philco 40-180 Cabinet Resto - Beginners Guide - Dan Walker - 03-19-2021

One thing that can be forgotten quite easily is to measure the areas where you are going to place the new decals..
 Like how far from the edge of the holes are the decals.. i usually do some measuring and take photos.
 Dan in Calgary

RE: Philco 40-180 Cabinet Restoration - unclevinny86 - 03-28-2021

Good Sunday Morning All!

Couple of questions when it comes to getting the supplies I need. I've already got the veneer for my patching job, but looking for some recommendations on the other stuff:

1. Who is your preferred supplier/suppliers or store for the Mohawk toners, laquers, etc?
2. Who is your preferred supplier/suppliers or store for Timbermate wood filler?

I like to shop local when I can, but not aware of any stores around here that carry this stuff (I know my local hardware store does not). Just curious who you guys like to use for your supplies.

Also, how much toner and clear lacquer should I plan to buy for this restoration? I wasn't sure how many cans I need for the typical floor cabinet.

Hoping for a stretch 65+ degree dry weather soon so that I can get this project on a roll. However, I do live in southeast Indiana, so April can bring anything from tornadoes to snow, but I am hopeful!

RE: Philco 40-180 Cabinet Restoration - Phlogiston - 03-28-2021

I purchase Mohawk directly from Mohawk since I have an account. I believe that, in the future, this may become the only way to purchase from them.


For most hobbyists purchasing gloss Deft lacquer from Amazon is the easiest way to go for gallons. Spray cans are still available at Ace hardware - for the moment.

Russ

RE: Philco 40-180 Cabinet Restoration - unclevinny86 - 03-29-2021

Thanks Russ! I e-mailed Mohawk to see if I can get an account or if I have to go through a distributor. Looks like Constantine's has Ultra Classic toner, but not in the shades I need.

RE: Philco 40-180 Cabinet Restoration - rfeenstra - 03-29-2021

I also buy Mohawk directly from them. I don't believe it took much to set up an account.

RE: Philco 40-180 Cabinet Restoration - unclevinny86 - 03-30-2021

Tackled the missing veneer last night/tonight.  This was one of the parts I was most dreading, but ended up not being bad at all.  I think it turned out pretty well for being my first rodeo.  The veneering tutorial in the Philco Library was quite helpful!

Now...just need to wait for a warm and dry stretch so I can get this thing outside and get it stripped!

[Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51084863787_55238d61e3_w.jpg]

RE: Philco 40-180 Cabinet Restoration - unclevinny86 - 04-05-2021

With Easter this past weekend, didn't get a chance to do more cabinet work.  I've got my order in for sanding sealer, toner, and clear lacquer which will hopefully arrive later this week.  Timbermate arrived on Friday, and new decals arrived today.  Spent the evening tonight making a new backer board for the grille cloth cover as the original is severely warped and broken in two.  Used 1/8" masonite hardboard and ended up cutting everything with a utility knife.  Was going to use a jigsaw I had borrowed from my step-dad, but couldn't find the fine tooth blade for it.  My wife reminded me after I was done that he had taped the blades to the side of the jigsaw for me Icon_mad .  Oh well, still turned out nice, even if it did take longer than it should have.

[Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51097873324_bdb0ece3e4_w.jpg]

Also beginning the search for grille cloth.  Hobby Lobby has a Sienna burlap fabric which is close in color (burnt orange/brown) to the original, but a tighter weave.

RE: Philco 40-180 Cabinet Restoration - unclevinny86 - 06-06-2021

Well it's been a bit since I've posted as this past spring here in Indiana hadn't been the warmest and driest until recently and life's been busy!  Between the usual spring chores around the house, I finally managed to work in some time to finish out the cabinet work on the 40-180 and finished it up this weekend.  For this being my first restoration, I cannot be more pleased with the results.  Here's what I did and my thoughts on what I thought worked well and what I would do differently the next time:

1.  I first attempted to strip the cabinet using CitriStrip.  It worked "fairly" well in getting at least the initial layers of lacquer stripped, but I found that it became very gummy and difficult to work with the longer you let it sit.  You definitely want to get a thick, wet coat of this stuff on if you are going to use it, and I highly recommend wrapping it in saran wrap to prevent it from drying out too quickly, especially if working with it outside and it's breezy.  Trust me I learned the hard way.

[Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51230922059_172158237a_w.jpg]

After scraping most of the CitriStrip mess off the radio, I went back over everything with lacquer thinner and 0000 steel wool.  I think next time I am going to stick with a 50/50 mixture of acetone and lacquer thinner to strip cabinets as this seemed to work best.  Gave everything a final wipe down with mineral spirits as well.

[Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51229448407_31a047a38d_w.jpg]

2.  I lightly sanded cabinet and speaker grille rails with 220 grit sand paper (don't skimp on sand paper, buy the good stuff).  After lightly sanding, wiped everything down with tack cloth and applied Mohawk Tone Finish Sanding Sealer

[Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51231224635_5b3edca716_w.jpg] [Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51229448317_41f6c2f3dd_w.jpg] [Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51229448452_2fe623c5f3_w.jpg]

3.  After sanding sealer dried, very lightly sanded everything again and grain filled using Timbermate Walnut wood filler thinned to the consistency of thin chocolate pudding.  Scraped off excess against grain, allowed to dry and very lightly sanded to remove residue from surface leaving grain filled

[Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51230154131_a62ed98154_w.jpg] [Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51231224650_6343746d03_w.jpg] [Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51231224665_8a55322160_w.jpg]

4.  Gave everything a final wipe down with tack cloth and began process of toning cabinet.  I bough both Mohawk Ultra Classic Medium Brown Walnut and Tone Finish Medium Dark Walnut as I was going to do trim parts at base in a darker shade after toning overall with the Medium Brown.  However, the Medium Brown ended up being darker than I thought it would be, and I liked the overall color with just that, so ended up not using the Medium Dark Tone Finish toner

[Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51230921859_379f040f2b_w.jpg] [Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51230365128_3324bc69fd_w.jpg]

5.  After toning the cabinet, I applied three coats of Mohawk semi gloss clear lacquer and allowed that to dry well.  I applied the new water slide decals and allowed those to dry

[Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51230922039_f18081dc25_w.jpg]

After allowing the water slide decals to dry well overnight, applied the two final coats of clear lacquer

6.  After everything dried, installed the speaker rails, new speaker backer board I made with new grille cloth (dark beige burlap fabric from Hobby Lobby), and reinstalled speaker, antenna loop assembly and shortwave loop in cabinet.  I aligned the receiver per specs and reinstalled chassis in cabinet

[Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51231224630_c4a77753c3_w.jpg]

And as of last night, that's a wrap folks!  I am so happy with how it turned out!

[Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51231204600_a15b70d821_w.jpg] [Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51230202806_06b52c8ee1_w.jpg] [Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51230345523_520b26ce57_w.jpg] [Image: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51230345528_8251264299_w.jpg] [/url][url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/192705679@N08/]

RE: Philco 40-180 Cabinet Restoration - DuMont - 06-26-2021

beautiful work!!!!

RE: Philco 40-180 Cabinet Restoration - mikethedruid - 06-26-2021

WOW ! That's amazing ! Icon_clap

RE: Philco 40-180 Cabinet Restoration - unclevinny86 - 06-28-2021

Thanks all!  It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun!  I’ve been enjoying listening to baseball on WLW on this set and just love how good it sounds. Should hopefully last many more years!

RE: Philco 40-180 Cabinet Restoration - klondike98 - 07-10-2021

Very nice!
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