[Texasrocker]

Was wondering what you guys use to do touch-up of scratches,etc, on the orig Philco photo-finishes blemishes. Do the "stain-pen" marks-o-lots work if matched close to orig colors? Just wandering what you pros suggest. Thanks!!, Randal

[Bill Hutchinson]

Randal,

The one and only photo-finish Philco I have I was really lucky with. It's a 37-84 cathedral that was in remarkably good shape - the only damage I had to deal with was around the volume control from ordinary wear and tear. I managed with a little stain and some dark brown paint to hide the wear marks to a point where you would have to know they were there to notice it.

[Image: http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c170/p...4small.jpg]

The rest of the cabinet had a few superficial scratches here and there, so what I did was take some walnut stain and dipped a rag in it with a small amount, and rubbed it over the entire cabinet, with a little more emphasis on the scratches. It did a pretty good job of hiding small scratches. Then I used a lacquer spray finish over the whole thing. If it was some really heavy duty scratches, I don't think this method would have worked very well. (BTW, the dial and grill cloth are replacements).

You might try that, or as you suggested the stain pens. I've used the ones made by Minwax, and they work pretty good on veneer, but I've never tried them on photo finish, mostly because I didn't know they existed at the time I did this job in the spring of 2000 (I was more of a rookie back then than now ).

Keep us posted on your project...I'm looking forward to it!

Bill

[Texasrocker]

Thanks for all the info Bill!! Your Radio looks fabulous, and you did a great job on restoring the finish!! Also, Thanks for taking time to post the photo!! I have to finish 3 other customers restorations before I can start on my wifes family Philco, but will keep you guys posted. Thanks again to all here for the great info!! Randal

[Chuck Schwark]

Also look thru the Photofinish info on the MISC INFO page on my site:

http://www.philcorepairbench.com/misc.htm

[Guest]

There is a discussion on the Antique Radio Forum that you might find interesting:

http://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/view...a719f677a2