[winkydink]

I need to either touch up or redo the trim on a Philco 42-PT95 radio. The cabinet needs to be at the very least cleaned and retouched and/or parts of it stripped and redone. I have been doing some research in that area as well.

My question today is what to do about the trim.

A) What is the trim paint, water based or oil based.

B) Is there any "exact" match out there, or do I just try to match as best I can

C) Do I need to strip the old trim paint off before redoing and if so are there links to this proceedure.

Any suggestions would of course be appreciated.

[Ron Ramirez]

A) Neither, the original was lacquer. Mohawk's Almond or Light Antique Ivory would be good choices.

http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/catalog_...ictNbr=460

If you don't want to go the Mohawk route, go to your favorite auto parts store and look for Dupli-Color Perfect Match - it's lacquer, too. You'll have to match the original color as best as you can.

B) See above.

C) Yes, for best results, strip and prime before painting. For the body of the cabinet, you probably won't need to prime if you spray the entire cabinet with Mohawk Medium Walnut first to get the cabinet the proper color, then once that dries well, carefuly mask the body off, leaving only the bottom "feet" exposed, and paint those with your Dupli-Color. Finish off with a few coats of clear Deft. You can prime and paint the "handle" separately, finish with a few coats of clear, let dry thoroughly, and then reassemble to the top of the cabinet body.

There are many techniques to stripping a cabinet, a Google search will reveal these. Plus, some of the guys who are more experienced in cabinet work than I am will probably chime in here soon.

[codefox1]

I still have a box of artist's oils a half century old that I use to touch up cabinet flaws. Trick is to go for the value (hue,value,chroma look it up) let it dry for a week before spraying with laquer or whatever. Starting to need better eyes to do this, an artistic kid can run circles around me.

[Arran]

If it were my set I would give it a good cleaning with some cream hand cleaner like GoJo first to get the dirt and filth off just to see what you have. If there are too many stains or spots where the old finish is lifting off I would just strip the cabinet and refinish it. It's nice to preserve an old finish when you can, but sometimes it's more effort then it's worth. I suppose you could touch up the cabinet in such cases but given the size, and the fact that it's a 1940s AC/DC set, you could easily strip and refinish the set withing a week with spray cans.
Regards
Arran

[winkydink]

Arran,

The Gojo method is exactly what I was planning to do before I made a decision about stripping.

Ron here is your quote

for best results, strip and prime before painting. For the body of the cabinet, you probably won't need to prime if you spray the entire cabinet with Mohawk Medium Walnut first to get the cabinet the proper color, then once that dries well, carefuly mask the body off, leaving only the bottom "feet" exposed, and paint those with your Dupli-Color. Finish off with a few coats of clear Deft. You can prime and paint the "handle" separately, finish with a few coats of clear, let dry thoroughly, and then reassemble to the top of the cabinet body.

I have looked at your link and can find Mohawk's Almond or Light Antique Ivory for the trim, but not "Mohawk Medium Walnut" is it in another location in their page [I have looked].

Also with regard to "Deft", the only kind that I saw online was of the brush on variety. Is this what you are talking about. I have purchase what I think is clear spray on laquer, is this acceptable ?

What exactly would I use to prime ? i.e. type of primer. Is there a "lacquer" based primer.

[winkydink]

With regards to the Gojo...

Should I avoid the area with the philco sticker on the front of the radio ?

[Arran]

I don't think that the GoJo will harm the decal, they usually have a coat of lacquer over top to protect them.
Regards
Arran

[jerryhawthorne]

Make certain you get to GoJo that does not have pumice in it. That stuff is too abrasive. Also Deft Lacquer was relabeled some time ago as a Brushing Lacquer. Indeed, some people do quite well applying with a brush, I was never that good at it. I have heard that the relabel was due to emissions from spraying. It works quite nicely with reduced with lacquer thinner and shot from a spray gun. I don't recall if Deft packages their lacquer in rattle cans any longer.
Jerry

[winkydink]

Arran,

After a cleaning with the Gojo, If I find that the cabinet is in good shape except that some of the lacquer finish has worn off, is it acceptable to just spray a coat or two of clear lacquer overtop, or would I still need to strip the entire finish off.

I am not sure what the final outcome will be after the initial cleaning but would like to know what my reasonable options are.

Thanks.

[Ron Ramirez]

I don't recall if Deft packages their lacquer in rattle cans any longer.

Yes, they do - it's still available at Lowe's home improvement stores.

[Arran]

If the areas where the finish is missing are clean, and the rest of the lacquer seems to be firmly adhered, you could try touching up the bare spots with brushing lacquer, depending on how much is missing. You can basically using brushing lacquer to fill in the deficits in the original finish, then you follow that with fine sandpaper to level everything out, then you spray lacquer over top and hope it sticks. However it's been my experience that when the finish gets worn off in a large ring around the knobs (for example), that dirt and oil often gets worked into the grain from someone's fingers and the area becomes discolored or stained up, sometimes you can remove it and sometimes you can't without stripping the cabinet and sanding it off.
Without being able to see what the missing areas look like, or how large they are, it's hard to judge whether the original finish is worth the effort of saving. As I mentioned before on such a small cabinet it doesn't take that long to completely strip, fill, seal, and lacquer it again, if more then maybe 5%-10% of the finish has worn off or flaked away it would take more effort to save whats there then to just start over.
Regards
Arran

[winkydink]

A Couple of Questions and Comments

#1) Ron you stated

For the body of the cabinet, you probably won't need to prime if you spray the entire cabinet with Mohawk Medium Walnut first to get the cabinet the proper color

*** This Mohawk Medium Walnut is this a spray lacquer or a stain or a finish toner ?????? Can you provide a link ????? *****

I can find Mohawk Tone Finisher, and Ultra Classic Toner in Medium Brown Walnut, but not a tinted lacquer.

http://woodfinisherssource.com/cart/aero...100-0207/

http://woodfinisherssource.com/cart/aero...m101-0207/

#2) I can find Deft in spray cans online (but not locally, my Lowes & Home Depot do not have them in stock). Which should I use: Gloss, Satin or Sanding Sealer ? ? ?

Would Valspar Clear Gloss Spray Lacquer be an acceptable substitute ?

http://www.lowes.com/pd_282334-4-410.006...facetInfo=

#3) If I go the stripping route for the finish, what can I do about the Philco decal in the front ? Are new ones available ? Do I mask that off and try to "blend" the finish around the decal area ???

#4) Cleaning cabinet with Gojo. I have read that you use #0000 Steel wool and the gojo ? How do you clean the gojo off the cabinet, just wipe it off after it has been rubbed in ?

Thanks again for all your assistance !

[Steve Davis]

#2) I can find Deft in spray cans online (but not locally, my Lowes & Home Depot do not have them in stock). Which should I use: Gloss, Satin or Sanding Sealer ? ? ?

Would Valspar Clear Gloss Spray Lacquer be an acceptable substitute ?

Minwax makes an excellent lacquer in an aerosol, Walmart carries it.

Steve

[Arran]

You don't need steel wool at all to use the GoJo, just a rag or a paper towel will do. It isn't really something that you need to worry about cleaning off, I think if you wait a while any ingredients left will evaporate.
As for the decals you can strip around then to save them if careful, then mask over them if you need to tone spray. I believe that Radio Daze does have reproduction Transitone decals but check first.
Regards
Arran

[winkydink]

Here is a before and a couple of after pictures, regarding stripping the old finsh off and putting a very light base coat of stain on.

I still need to tackle the trim and apply the finishing coats of lacquer, but looking good. I decided to only strip the top and sides and not the front, because the front cleaned up well with the gojo.




*** Question ****

In putting the cabinet and eschulon (sp) back together. The speaker cardboard and the front dial lens were held on with staples (small ones). What do people use to reapply this. Is there a small staple gun for tight places ect ????

Looking for hints from the experts on how to properly reassemble.

Thanks.