[OzRadio]

Picked up a Philco 46-250 at an auction a while back and it is a real dog, but I'd like to see what can be done with it. It has several cracks that have been repaired at one time, mainly on the sides. Some are nice and smooth and even, some aren't. The overall color is an off-white, but there are large patches, especially along the sealed cracks, where it is black or extremely dark brown; hard to tell. There are a lot of little spots around the rest of the radio, though, where the off-white is gone. It's never going to win an award but it doesn't deserve the trash. 1) Can the cracks be smoothed over with something? 2) A new paintjob would do wonders. Would the factory paint wear off like this off-white has, not just where cracks have been repaired? In any case, can someone point me to a good step-by-step source for repainting the case? This will be my first experience doing anything like this. 3) There is some old tape residue along one crack. What will take that off?
Thanks for any ideas you all might have.
Ryan

[Chuck Schwark]

Philco did make the 46-250 in the basic dark brown bakelite and the 46-250-I, for Ivory painted bakelite case. Chassis' are identical.

[Ron Ramirez]

I have to admit, there is a good article on this subject here:

http://www.antiqueradios.com/features/paint.shtml

And, yes, old factory paint can - and does - wear/flake off, and not just where the case may have cracked. Wear around knobs is quite common, for example.

[OzRadio]

Thanks, Ron. That's exactly what a I needed!

[Chris Drumma]

I also recommend the video on this website. It is very informative.

http://www.bretsoldradios.com/

I actually used his technique to fix one of my philco bakelite sets.

Chris