[slford310]

Picked up a nice 48-206 last week.  Wondering what they made the leatherette cover from and what’s the best product (s) to use to clean, condition, and preserve it.             

[radio1]

Hard to say what it is made of, could be real leather - have to see the underside. You could try some At-205 reseal on a small spot to see what effect it has. No petro in it. Try some Neatsfoot oil on a small spot.

[MrFixr55]

I have one of these also. I cleaned it with a mild soap solution. Yours looks in amazingly good condition. Mine is also. Wasn't really interested in one, but the price was right and a friend restoring a 42PT94 wanted to mold a new grille to replace the distorted Tenite grille. He used the grille from mine as a mold and made a great reproduction for his radio, which I restored the chassis on, and returned my grille to be reinstalled on my radio. One of the few AA5 radios I have with an almost perfect cardboard back, rubber power cord and plug on mine are still in serviceable condition. Mine also has the UL label and the Philco Service stickers. For an AA5 these perform well.

[klondike98]

The description of it in the 1948 Sales Catalog found in our library is "Smart Leather Textured Wood-Plastic Cabinet"

Whether that means it is really leather on not, I'm not sure. Try some leather cleaner on a small portion and see how it does.

[slford310]

Thanks to all that added their thoughts. Going for a light cleaning at first then I will try a few conditioners and advise the outcome.

[Arran]

Automotive hand cleaner like Gojo would probably work well, the cream kind without the grit. It's likely something like an oilcloth, or Rexine, but could be an early form of vinyl. Basically it's like what they covered hard cover books with, though possibly thicker, they usually used on portable radios but in the post war era a lot of companies were trying to put anything out the door, and in the shops, as quickly as possible. I have both a Spartan and a Stewart Warner with artificial leather covered cabinets, it's basically an upholstered poplar or pine box much like you would see under the covering of a portable of the era. I guess they were to fill a gap in the market for a cheaper radio without using a plastic cabinet.
Regards
Arran

[radiorich]

Hello Slford,
I have used Gojo many times and works well that is a nice set!!
Sincerely Richard

[slford310]

Thanks, I was leaning towards GoJo, I have used it on many wood cabinets with great success, just not one of these.