[TA Forbes]

http://s1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa37...20Console/

This has been my on again project since last year. Now that the weather is better I have gotten the cabinet about where I want it.

It has a 16 tube Continental 16R chassis, the power supply chassis is two 6L6 and two 5Z3. It also has motorized, push-button tuning. The radio plays but has an annoying problem with the bass-boost circuit. Hopefully it won't drive me nuts figuring out what it is....

[murf]

Nice job on the re-finish.
How many coats of laquer?
Looks like alot of rubbing.
murf

[TA Forbes]

Hello, Murf: I really don't know how many coats of clear, as I started it last fall and stopped work on it when the wx got too cool for lacquer spraying. I would estimate over 10 coats.

Yes, a fair amount of sanding/rubbing. I go #400 grit, then #600 grit, then 0000 wool, then paraffin oil/pumice. I don't use rotten stone because I prefer a satin finish.

[morzh]

Nice looking! Great job!

BTW, how does it measure against the original finish: did they use the same, or will the unit look "better than when it was new" (some prefer the original look even if it was not as glorious)?

[TA Forbes]

I tried to make it look like it would have when it was new. The finish was badly faded when I got the set, but it was evident that it was colored in the same manner as the photographs.

The grillework was removed in order to better tone/finish both it and the rest of the cabinet.

Ultra Classic Van Dyke Walnut and in some places Tone Finish Van Dyke Walnut was used for the dark portions and several coats of Ultra Classic Medium Walnut for the rest. I lightly sanded between coats of toner, regardless.

[Arran]

That looks a lot like an Admiral or a Silvertone set with the layout, of course Admiral and Continental are the same company. Is it really that red or is that just the lighting causing that? I hope you used grain filler rather then relying on laquer to fill the grain, laquer has a nasty habit of continuing to shrink over time so a really thick coat will crack, in fact varnish and poly will crack too.
Regards
Arran

[TA Forbes]

Yes, the set has some lineage to Admiral due to the Continental 16R Chassis. In fact, the Admiral 930 and 200-16R both resemble my set and both use the same chassis. Additionally, four Speigel (Air Castle?) models and one Sonora model used the same Continental Chassis. All of these radio manufacturers were in Chicago.

What leads me to believe that it is the Camden model are the numerals "925" stamped into the upper left of the cabinet and "CRT T" stamped into the upper right.
I use grain filler but I also sand/steel wool each coat, especially the toner coats. If you look at the dark portions of the radio under a light you can still see the highlights of the wood grain. Judging from many of the sets that I have with original dark finishes, I believe that they also were finished with this result. Although some of my earlier restos with dark lacquer completely hide the wood grain, I now try for the effect that I achieved with the Camden console and other sets I have recently done.

[TA Forbes]

Oh yes, with respect to the "red" appearance, in normal lighting it looks much darker. I like the look medium walnut Ultra Classic gives when several coats are applied. Bear in mind that I lightly sand or steel wool each coat.

[moneyrad]

As always spot on pro job can't wait to see it together and working like new,have never seen that set and that's what I like about this hobby.