[jerryhawthorne]

Geoff, thanks for your explanation. I understand where your at now. I would go with 320 wet sanding with a block on the flat surfaces and leave any areas of a complex nature alone. Yes, a block sanding will show up the small dimples so to speak. Nice to get an even dull look. Do keep in mind that lacquer does shrink with time, a lot of time! A good few days to allow most of the shrinking prior to block sanding is helpful. When you get to that nice even dull look on the flats, a couple more coats with very thinned lacquer going on wet and then see where you are. I have obtained a very flat smooth surface in this manner. Perhaps some fine rubbing compound to knock down over spray but there should not be any pits at that point.
Good luck, you are doing great.
Jerry

[Geoff]

Do keep in mind that lacquer does shrink with time, a lot of time! A good few days to allow most of the shrinking prior to block sanding is helpful.

Thanks for the tip! I just sprayed the 3 coats of clear last night and I'm using Deft rattle cans. I was going to sand tonight but I might wait a day or two based on your feedback. I'm starting to run up against the weather though. Even though I'm in Southern CA my garage can drop down below 65F when I spray at night and everything I've read says not to spray below that temperature. After I let the cabinet dry for an hour last night in the garage I brought it inside.

Just checked Weather.com and it looks like I may be OK for the next 10 days.

After I apply the final coats and everything is leveled I had planned on letting the cabinet cure for a month before doing the final rubout.

- Geoff

[Geoff]

I wet-sanded the cabinet last night with 320 grit. I started out using a small flat block to hold the sandpaper but after a little while I stopped using it. The problem is that the cheaper wood that was used to make the sides and top is not perfectly flat. It has a small amount of waviness to it (due to age I assume) which created too many large areas of low spots to make the block effective. I ended up just doing the entire cabinet without the block. For the trim, columns, and grille cutout edges I used #0000 steel wool with water. Here are some photos of the cabinet before sanding. You can see the overspray:

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

Here are some photos after the 320 sanding:

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

It may have been a waste of time but after the sanding was done I went ahead and hit every area I sanded with #0000 steel wool and water. When I was done the cabinet felt as smooth as glass. Here are some photos:

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

Here are the grille cutouts:

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

It is raining here today and the temperature has dropped so no spraying tonight. Instead I plan on applying the Philco decal and wait for the weather to warm up. I also plan on spraying some of the lacquer into a cup and using a fine paint brush to fill the pitting issue on the top corners that I had mentioned in a previous thread. I’ll do this in the garage and bring it inside to dry. The forecast says it should warm up by Saturday so I’ll be buying a couple more cans of clear gloss tomorrow.

[jerryhawthorne]

Keep up the good work!
Jerry

[Geoff]

Thanks for the encouragement Jerry, I need it !

[Bob Andersen]

Looks great but keep in mind when sanding between coats the goal isn't so much to make to super smooth as it is to prepare it for another coat. All the scratches left by the sandpaper increase the surface area and help it dissolve when the solvent in the spry hit it. When sanding, I tear off 2" square and fold it over on one edge to grip my finger tips. That allows me to easily sand a wavy or curved surface.

[Geoff]

Thanks for the advice Bob!

[Geoff]

Here are some photos of the new decal:

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

I also started filling in the small pits in the top corner that I mentioned in a previous post. This happened when I was removing tape. Here is what it looked like originally:

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

I'm spraying lacquer from the can into the plastic spray can cap and using a fine artist brush to place a small drop of lacquer in each pit. It's been below 65F in my garage so I spray it into the cap out there and then bring it inside to apply. Some of the bigger pits will take multiple applications to build it back up again. Looks like it won't be warm enough to spray again until Sunday. Stay tuned.

[jerryhawthorne]

Geoff, I have done the same thing, dipping into a can of lacquer and putting a drop over various dips in the finish and it works well. Give it a couple of days to dry as the stuff shrinks. With what you have you may need to do a couple dips and drips over time with sanding in between.
Patience my friend.
Jerry

[Geoff]

Thanks Jerry! What grit sandpaper did you use in-between?

[Geoff]

I applied 2 more coats of clear gloss yesterday and it's really looking pretty good. I still need to build up some more lacquer in the pits shown above. Once I build them up I'll be sanding them down and also sanding down the entire cabinet one last time. Then the final 2-3 coats of clear.

[jerryhawthorne]

Geoff, 320 or 400 on a block wet sanding. Your getting there, it is not a fast process. Sand down the areas and a few coats in that area to see where your at.
Going well.
Jerry

[EricS]

That radio is looking very nice, Geoff! I am picking up a few nice tips on refinishing, too! Thanks everyone!

[Geoff]

I've been slowly building up lacquer in the pits shown above. I am using a small artist brush and apply 2 small drops, 20 minutes apart, per pit. Then wait a couple of days and repeat. I think what is shown in the photo below is the last application I'll need. I know it doesn't look very pretty but I've already filled smaller pits and was able to sand and blend things in fine. Once I'm done sanding these areas smooth I'll sand the entire cabinet and then apply the final coats of clear.

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=2]

[jerryhawthorne]

Geoff, high on the spots is great! Let is set several days before the final sanding and that may not be enough. Patience. With the colder weather that stuff takes some time to really dry out. After that some top coats and you should be there. Good work. I had some "dips" on the top of one of my radios that were quite large (think tap of a ball peen hammer). Took a bit of a puddle with several applications to get it looking good. Now, you can't even see it on a big flat top. Don't rush the drying time on those spots. You can have them perfectly flat and in two weeks they will shrink down a bit.
Jerry