[Steve D]

I just picked up two Philco's at Renningers, a model 37-610 and model 38-89. My question is about the plastic dial scales. The 38-89 appears very original and a light yellowish color. The 37-610 appears much darker and in one spot (probably left in the dial window over time) almost black. I restored a model 70 back a year ago and the dial scale was closer to the 38-89 in color, but was cracked so I got a reproduction dial from Radio Daze. That dial is very nice but is a much lighter beige color.

My questions are: does anyone know what the color the dials were when new? Does the Radio Daze reproductions come close to the original color, and is there any way to clean or treat the original dials to lighten them?

Thanks,

Steve D

[exray]

Opinion.

The dials that are sold by Radio Daze were previously made by Mike Tobin. I haven't bought any recent ones but general consensus at the time was that they were too light. The ones presently being sold by Mark Oppat seem (to me, anyway) to be much more realistic color-wise. They are also truly screen-printed and not a laminated copy.

[Texasrocker]

Im fairly-sure?,... I have a very,very good orig 37-610 dial scale here on a parts-donor chassis. If interested, pm me, and I will look for it. Can send photos if I still have it. Always glad to help Philco Radio restorers if I can.

[AI2V]

It sounds like one of the cream-colored "RockSea" dials; they always look terrible in Philco's. An excellent solution is a transparent orange paint from a hobby shop; it needs to be sprayed however and may need a matte finish spray on top. It's been a couple of years since last done but the results were excellent, matching the original Philco color.

-Pete

[Doug Houston]

I'm sure you already know this, but if you try to clean off the original Philco dial scales, it's good bye markings! The ones sold by Mark Oppat were made by Clinton Blais, and were as close to perfect as was possible. I don't think that Oppat is having any more scales made, but possibly he is. I think he just bought Clint's stock to turn a profit on it.

[Texasrocker]

I just looked in one of my storage bldgs, and indeed have a very good orig Philco 37-610 complete dial-scale assy if anyone needs it. Its still mounted on the orig 37-610 tuning-condenser/chassis.

[Steve D]

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I'll see if Mark Oppat has one, but I would be also interested in Texasrocker's 37-610 dial. I'll send you a message.

I kind of knew that the markings would be damaged if you try to clean the dial, but was wondering if there was a treatment that would lighten the color without having to actually abrade it?

I really would like my model 70 dial to look more original. I didn't know that transparent orange paint was available but I guess that is what they use for the amber light bulb coating. I have an air brush to spray it and I used a matte clear spray for my intake manifold coating on my '65 Mustang from Eastwood Company with excellent results. Thanks, I'll try that.

Steve D

[Arran]

I bought a reproduction dial for a Stromberg Carlson from Rock Sea a few years back, I too found the colour too light. What I did, while I was making some other colour photocopies, was I scanned the R.S dial and played with the colour settings on the copier until it came out more of a burned orange or dark yellow instead of the pale beige it came in. While it's true that celluloid does darken with exposure to light, you can usually find the original colour of the dial on the unexposed portions hidden behind the cabinet. In truth I wasn't totally satisfied with the quality of the Rock Sea dial, (I also wasn't really satisfied with the decal word selection either but that's another story) it would have been nice had it been disclosed beforehand that the dial was little more then a laminated colour photocopy, while it looks satisfactory in the set it is a facsimile, not a reproduction. I would have been willing to pay the extra amount if it had been more along the lines of the reproduction Philco dials, if I was given the option.
Best Regards
Arran

[Arran]

I just picked up two Philco's at Renningers, a model 37-610 and model 38-89. My question is about the plastic dial scales. The 38-89 appears very original and a light yellowish color. The 37-610 appears much darker and in one spot (probably left in the dial window over time) almost black. I restored a model 70 back a year ago and the dial scale was closer to the 38-89 in color, but was cracked so I got a reproduction dial from Radio Daze. That dial is very nice but is a much lighter beige color.

My questions are: does anyone know what the color the dials were when new? Does the Radio Daze reproductions come close to the original color, and is there any way to clean or treat the original dials to lighten them?

Thanks,

Steve D

The story I heard is that the only way to clean these was with mineral spirits, water will wash the numbers off almost instantly on most of the 1936-38 dials, I would test anything on an edge of the dial where it can not be seen, like where the part number or alignment marks are.
Best Regards
Arran

[Guest]

Those Rock-Sea dials are junk -- way too light in color. That being said, I think that the Philco dials might have original looked something like that color, though nowhere near as light -- basically more of a tan than the orangish color we're so used to today. The reason I say this is because I had a 650RX chairside with an obviously original dial (no one makes a replacement for these with their upside down numbers) that probably was virtually never exposed to light, and it had that color. Even if all dials weren't originally that color, this one indicates that at least some of them were. Regardless, the Blais/Oppat dials look way better than the Rock-Sea/Radiodaze dials.

Bob

[exray]

Here's a photo from ARF of a worn out original dial alongside an Oppat/Clint Blais dial.
[Image: http://www.sparkbench.com/dcp_0746.jpg]

[Arran]

The Oppat/Clint Blais dial colour is close to the adjusted colour I picked when I photocopied the Stromberg Carlson dial, that beige paper bag colour just didn't loo right.
Best Regards
Arran

[BDM]

Use mineral spirits to clean the dial scale. You'd be amazed at how well it cleans, without removing the ink marks. Try it on a portion that doesn't show or an old dial scale and see what I mean. Thanks to "etech" for that solution.

[Texasrocker]

Ive used 70% isopropal alcohol before on a 37-630 dial, with good results. I just gave it one good quick swipe on both sides, then used a soft dry paper towel to go over it. I didnt apply much pressure or use to much alcohol on the towel. The alcohol evaporates very fast, much like mineral spirits I suppose. Perhaps I just got lucky.

[Arran]

By the way, assuming that you have successfully cleaned an original dial without stripping the numbers off, perhaps it would be a good idea to spray a clear coat of lacquer, Krylon, or some other substance over it to prevent a future mishap.
Best Regards
Arran