[Ken Kidd]

Hi all, Recently came across this interesting piece of history. Would like to do a cosmetic restoration before attempting to get it working. Has anyone restored one of these, in particular, the right color brown for the case. Cosmetically there is little rust on the outside of the metal cabinet. Most of the paint is gone. A few spots still have the original paint. It is hard to tell if the paint was smooth or a wrinkle finish. The bottom inside of the case is quite rusty-maybe from spillage of the borax and water solution from the 4 jars? Thinking of trying muriatic acid and a wire brush to clean the inside. The brown bakelite panel insert is in very good shape. Should clean up nicely. Any thoughts? Thanks, Ken Kidd

[Chuck Schwark]

...and, if you need the service info for Socket-Power unit, I have it through my site.

That's is good condition, compared to most I've seen.

Chuck

[Ken Kidd]

Thanks Chuck, Will take you up on your offer. I'm assuming the 2 tar filled cans have the caps and maybe a resistor or 2 in them. Initial cold check of transformer indicates it is good. Will post in electronic section when the time comes if I have specific questions on the electronic repair. Ken

[Arran]

Don't use muriatic acid, it will take the rust off but it will also make it rust again. What I would do is try electrolysis to strip the old rust and paint off, basically you need a battery charger or DC power supply, a piece of scrap metal, baking or washing soda, and a bucket of water, there are several good how to videos on your tube. Another method if you want to try preserving some of the original paint is soaking the cabinet in a 6:1 mix of molasses and water for about a week or two. It looks to me like the original paint was some sort of crackle finish, I don't even know if you can buy it anymore but there used to be a few recipes on how to make it.
Regards
Arran