[Ron Ramirez]

And in case you're wondering about the 610T, here's how it looks now:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum..._00004.jpg]

I'll let it cure a couple weeks or so, then rub it out and wax it. Then, I will reinstall everything in it.

[PhilcoJohn]

Nice job Ron Its going to look great when its all together!

[Steve Davis]

It's beautiful

Steve

[w4rtc]

Hi Ron
You are doing a good job, you have really improved in the process of grain filling I am having trouble with that but getting better. Keep up the good work.
Joe

[Ron Ramirez]

Today's progress report:

I carefully masked off the main body of the 38-2670, along with the top; leaving only the upper "white wood" trim and the bottom trim exposed.

I then sprayed several coats of Perfect Brown on these areas.

After drying, I removed the masking and gave the cabinet its first two coats of Deft clear lacquer.

Here's how it looks now:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum..._00006.jpg]

This photo was taken in direct sunlight, so the top and bottom trim look a bit lighter than they do in household light. I only left the cabinet in the direct sun long enough to take this photo, after which I immediately moved it back into the shade - I don't want a repeat of the 610T blister mess-up!

Now, in case you are wondering why I am refinishing this empty cabinet instead of the original 37-670 cabinet, here is why:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum..._00001.jpg]

I bought this set just over a year ago, and it is mentioned here:

http://www.philcoradio.com/phorum/showth...p?tid=4758

You will notice this cabinet has multiple issues. First, a missing bit of veneer at upper left:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum..._00002.jpg]

Cracking along the lower left edge where the veneer curves over from the front to the side:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum..._00004.jpg]

And someone did a little wood carving at upper right:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum..._00003.jpg]

and along the upper right side:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum..._00005.jpg]

Now, I do think the original 37-670B cabinet could be restored, but I felt it was above my skill level. I have a feeling Steve Davis could make it look like it just came off the assembly line.

I found the empty 38-2670B cabinet on eBay, and was able to get it fairly cheap. It looked like someone tried to start stripping it with one of those cheap "green" strippers that doesn't work, and gave up, leaving the cabinet in a mess. But even in the photos in the eBay ad, it appeared to me that the veneer was solid on the 38-2670 cabinet. So, I took a gamble...and won for a change. This cabinet was indeed solid once I stripped off all of the old residue.

So, the empty 38-2670B cabinet, once complete, will become the new home for the 37-670 chassis - which, incidentally, has one of the unusual 110/220 volt power transformers. Since last year I've managed to acquire two extra chassis, so I may not even use the original chassis since it has extra holes drilled and extra toggle switches and some sort of connector mounted in the back.

[TA Forbes]

[Ron Ramirez]

Today's progress report:

With many thanks to Phorum member DeckApe, I received the "B'DC'ST - POLICE" decal I needed for the 42-22CL today. So I applied it to the cabinet this afternoon, then gave the cabinet two coats of clear Deft. The result:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum..._00001.jpg]

I also wet sanded the 38-2670 cabinet and gave it two more coats of clear Deft.

Goal for tomorrow: Wet sand both cabinets again, then give both two final coats of clear Deft.

That will make three cabinets completed so far this season.

I think I'll take a break after I finish these two, and assemble the SSTRAN AMT3000 which Debbie gave me for my birthday. I think two and a half months of sitting in the box is long enough for it to wait. Besides, all I have been doing lately is going to work, coming home, working on cabinets, posting my results here, and that's about it. I have other things I need to be doing. I owe one Phorum member and good friend a phone call, plus those 112 labels for Jerry H., and continuing to get new photos ready for the Philco Gallery rebuild...

[Ron Ramirez]

One thing I have failed to mention in all of this, and something I seldom ever see mentioned, is the importance of a good two stage respirator.

Just wearing one of those face masks is not enough. A good two stage respirator should have a prefilter plus an organic vapors main filter, which is intended for lacquer spraying. Make sure it fits properly and seals well. If properly fitted and sealed, you will not smell any odors while spraying lacquer - and Mohawk toners are quite strong, not to mention Deft lacquer!

Here's the one I am using.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Tekk-Prote...cOXgpzHwUU

It's your life - take good care of yourself. Use a respirator, even if you spray outdoors. I spray in the garage with doors open, but you can still get your lungs full of lacquer fumes when spraying outdoors if you don't protect yourself.

[Ron Ramirez]

OK folks,

Wet sanded both cabinets this afternoon, after which both received two more coats of clear Deft. Oh, and I applied the PHILCO decal to the 38-2670 cabinet before wet sanding it (I just didn't wet sand the cabinet where the decal was). As far as I am concerned, both it and the 42-22CL are finished.

So that's three complete, and it isn't quite the end of June yet.

It was an appropriate day here for being the first day of summer - temperatures late this afternoon here were in the low 90s and the humidity was high. When Deft blushes, then you know the humidity is high!

Because of this, I'm thinking about holding off on any more lacquer spraying until September. I haven't made any firm decision on that yet, though. After Lansing, I will be working on repairing chipped veneer on the the 41-246 and 39-330AT cabinets, and getting them ready to spray with lacquer. I'll pick up some of that Klean-Strip for the 41-KR and for the top panel of the 39-770 Tropic. And I also need to work on the 37-610T. I'd also like to get my flat-face 3-knob 89B and my R-2 extension speaker cabinets repaired and refinished this year, but I'll have to wait and see if I can get to those before the weather turns cold.

[morzh]

Looks good. Good progress, Ron.
Mine on the other hand is slow....but someone should be making progress. I will consider myself a counterbalance ...just to keep harmony in nature.

[Eliot Ness]

Very wise advice on using a good two stage respirator; by the time you realize you should have, it may be too late.

That 42-22CL is a pretty neat looking set and it's turning out very nice!

[FStephenMasek]

Nice work! Doing several at once does seem to be more efficient.

[Arran]

It is to some degree more efficient, at the stripping and repair end, and of course in the clear coating. When it comes to the tinted lacquer application it varies between makes, models, and years. If you are doing all 1937-39 Philco cabinets they are all pretty similar, throw in something like a Grunow or a 1930 era Sparton Equasonne then it gets more tricky. You don't want all of your sets looking like Foggy the shill seller on fleabay where every set gets the K-Mart guitar finish.
Regards
Arran

[Ron Ramirez]

OK, it's been a couple weeks since I took a break from cabinets, partly due to my trip to Lansing, partly due to rain here.

Back in the swing of things now.

I applied several veneer patches to the left side of my 39-330AT cabinet today. Funny thing, the left side was the only place that had any missing "chips" of veneer. I applied Titebond II glue, ironed the patches - no clamping necessary, sanded them until they were flush and blended in with the surrounding wood.

The 39-330AT is now ready for final light sanding to remove the remaining residue from stripping, prior to sealing and grain filling.

I began to apply veneer patches to the 41-246T cabinet also. I quit early this afternoon when it became hot and humid. Weather permitting, I will continue working on that cabinet tomorrow afternoon. I just checked the weather...looks like the only significant chance of rain here this week is on Wednesday...which means I should have several days to do cabinet work this week.

Photos later.

I need to order some pumice, rottenstone and pads. I watched one of Bob Andersen's videos on rubbing out a cabinet and I am going to try his technique.

[Ron Ramirez]

Let's see, my last post was July 7. It's now September 17.

Since my last installment, I finished up the work on the 39-330AT and 41-246 cabinets, and sealed them with sanding sealer.

And then we started house-shopping...

I was going to apply grain filler this evening to these two cabinets, but could not find my burlap - apparently it disappeared in my initial bit of packing things for the move. Guess I'll have to go get a little more burlap, as that would be easier than trying to find the other burlap I have somewhere...

So if the weather holds up, in a week or so I should have the 39-330AT and 41-226 finished. Hopefully.

Well, not quite finished...I still haven't ordered the pumice and rottenstone, and every cabinet I have refinished this year still needs to be rubbed out...