[Darrick]

Hello. I'm a new guy here looking for your expertise. I am wondering if they used any photofinish on the 37-10. I am planning to maybe refinish the console but want to make sure I don't mess it up. My father used to own an electronic repair shop, so no worries on the chassis. He is going to walk me through repairs. Do you think I should refinish this cabinet or leave it alone. He said to just use tung oil, but I have my doubts.Should I just use Restor-A-Finish? Also, there are two spots with veneer bubble. I plan on leaving that alone. I'm afraid if I try to fix it,it will crack. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Regards,Darrick

[Ron Ramirez]

Hello and welcome!

My opinion: I would use Howard's Restore-A-Finish, in the walnut color, on your cabinet. It should hide most if not all of the scratches and make your cabinet a "20-footer" - car talk for something that looks great from 20 feet away. In other words, some evidence of scratches may remain, but overall it should look better while preserving the original finish.

I see no evidence of photofinish on your cabinet.

[TimC]

Use the restore a finish with 0000 steel wool, then wipe with a clean rag.
It works wonders. Steel wool sounds aggresive but it isn't.

[Darrick]

Thank you for the advice. Should I use the Restor-A-Finish and steel wool all over or only on the scratched areas?

[TimC]

All over. It will remove years of dirt and bring out more color.
I usually do a second pass at the rough areas.
Follow the grain with the steel wool. Not sure if you have to but I do.
Makes a nice set look great. Then use their (lemon) wax (liquid) stuff on the radio cabinet. Can't recall the name of the wax but it's made by the same company as the refinisher.

Tim

[Darrick]

Thanks to Ron and Tim. I really appreciate it. You have a great forum going on here.
Regards,Darrick

[Bob Andersen]

That's exactly what I used on my 37-10. It did a great job on the scratches and blemishes. My only regret is that it looks a little too 'new' now

[Image: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3030/2989...9d64f5.jpg]

[scottwkurth]

It looks like your cabinet is in much the same condition as my 40-185 before I started on it, although it looks like you are spared any chips in the veneer. People gave me some detailed advice over in the thread I started with some similar questions.
http://philcoradio.com/phorum/showthread.php?tid=2339

I've got my after pictures in there as well so you can see what to expect. After using the Restore-A-Finish, I followed it up with a good coat of wax and I'm very happy with how it turned out.

Good luck!

[Guest]

Hi,
Great looking set! Regarding the veneer bubbles. This is a fairly simple problem to fix so you shouldn't be too afraid to tackle it. A razor slit in the entire middle of the bubble. Depending on the size you may be able to slide something under and scrape around gently to remove the old glue (and dirt if it was an open bubble). See of you can get your hands on a syringe fill with slit as far inside the bubble as you can. Find a very thin piece of metal or plastic that will slip under the bubble and smear it around under there. You can't get too much glue so smear a few tries. Then press down on it to push out the excess glue...HAVE A WET CLOTH HANDY. Push out as much as you can by hand. The glue that squishes put can be easily wiped up with the wet cloth. Not so wet though that you soak the area with water. Then weight down the repair by placing wax paper directly onto the repair then place a flat stiff item like a suitable size piece of wood. Etc. Weight the heck out of the flat board. (of course not so much as crush your radio!) Have a good night's sleep, get up, have your coffee and take a look at your repaired radio. The repair will be invisible.

If the bubble is in a place that makes it possible to clamp instead of weighting down..that works too. Don't forget the wax paper... otherwise you just added a chunk of wood to your radio.

One last thing type "repair veneer into YOUTUBE's search window and you'll find a guy doing just what i described. Good Luck... it is really pretty easy.