[Dick Finn]

I just received a $10 42-PT I bought at E-Bay. The wood case has a heavy coat of white paint that should be pretty easy to deal with. The chassis is another matter. The radio does work to some extent (brings in stations but with very low volume). The inside (bottom) of the chassis is relatively clean and some of the caps have been replaced. The problem is with the top of the chassis. It appears that it has been sprayed with something black. I could be paint but it washes off the tubes bery easily and some scrubbing with water seems to remove some of it from other surfaces. It's not an even coating overy everything but does cover about 90% of the chassis--including the tuning capacitor. I'm wondering if anyof you have run into this before. If so, can you suggest how I can clean things up. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Dick

[jph14]

Smoke from a fire perhaps? Just a thought.
Joe

[codefox1]

Kitchen radio from some heavy smokers?

[morzh]

If it is something that is not paint, a can of flux-stripper will go far and may be safe enough for most of the electronics, as it evaporates quickly.
Should try first on any plastic or paper caps (although they should be replaced abyway).

Just use it in a well-ventilated space - the fumes may make you nauseous.

[Radioroslyn]

You could give some NON Flammable auto brake cleaner. Be careful around any plastic parts and things that are painted.
GL
Terry

[Dick Finn]

Many thanks for the great ideas. I've finished stripping the case (reluctantly, as it is a photo finish). The case was painted white and was flaking off at the corners and other 'm thinking about spraying it with Perfect Brown Mohawk (left over from my 37-660). It wpn't look original but will be better than the natural color -- kind of a blond. I've been working at cleaning the chassis and have come to the conclusion that the radio may have been in a fire. Not near enough to get burned but close enough to get covered by a heavy layer of soot. That would account for the paint job. I think I'll take the tuning capacitor out and spray it with brake cleaner followed by a scrubbing with a tooth brush as suggested above. I can then rinse it off and blow it dry. Do any of you know if there are any internal parts on the tuneing cap that could be damaged?

Thanks,
Dick Finn

[Arran]

Since it was a "Philcote" finished set with the faux wood grain, you could redo it with either a Dinoc decal, which is a 3M product, or you could use a fabric or a wood dye to colour the blond wood for a base. Then add a grain to it with thinned out dark brown or black paint and a feather, and then coat over it with the sanding sealer and Mohawk perfect brown lacquer. As far as I'm concerned anything is an improvement once the original faux wood grain is shot.
Regards
Arran