[Doppleganger]

[Image: https://philcoradio.com/phorum/attachment.php?aid=27947]
Howdy everyone - pictured is my 37-116 I am starting a resto on. Chassis is at a friend's place being overhauled. The cabinet is my problem.

I love the color of it as-is (original finish) but over the years it has been dowsed in alot of clear lacquer. On a closer look, the corners look like they are cracking but it is the multiple layers of clear that is cracking. I'd like to gently sand it off / strip it and freshen up the cabinet's color. There is a small gash on the side as well that needs repaired.

Is there any full on step by step tutorial as to whats safe to sand or strip it? I've been told by some not to use anything new (like poly) as they think it would damage the old veneer (mine is perfect - another reason I'm afraid of messing with it). I have a spray gun and compressor to clear it when its restored.

Also - how do the front vertical ribs come off? Are they screwed from the back or glued?

Thanks for any help.

[462ron]

Hi, to remove those vertical ribs you need to remove the big speaker first. Be careful in doing so as there is a wooden cone in front of the speaker that will rip your speaker cone if allowed to come in contact. On my set, I removed the 2 nut and bolts while keeping the speaker pulled back from the front and slowly lifting and tilting the speaker until it came out. Then you need to remove several wood screws all around the perimeter of the speaker board. That board along with the 3 acoustic resonators and grille cloth will come out then you will see the screws that hold those ribs and remove them!

Ron

[Doppleganger]

Thanks Ron! I was hoping it was something other than glue

(Fortunately) my speakers were all missing when I got this radio (found it next to a curb for trash pickup in 1986), so nothing in the way.

I read your resto threads - looks awesome. Did you clear it after stain?

Any idea what 'color' the dial bezel is?

Thanks again.

[MrFixr55]

Everytime I see this model, I think of the various "Wreckovations" where people gut the cabinet, take the knobs and dial off the chassis, trash the chassis and put a Bluetooth speaker and some LEDs into the thing.

On this set, you can restore to original, replace the main speaker with either an original or good modern substitute, connected to the original chassis to restore the original radio function, but instead of trying to find the resonators, put in 2 speakers, hide a small amp, put in an aux input to the original chassis and make an arrangement like Motorola did in the 60s with their stereo consoles, with left, right and center channels, using the original radio as the center channel and the new components as left and right. Just don't drill extra holes. If the set is valuable, you can remove the new stuff if you are selling it. You would have original, and modern playing together. BTW, either original or mild mod as just described, this set will ROCK! I

I think that this is a higher end Philco, maybe not worth as much as a Zenith Stratosphere, but certainly not the normal set. this set has a separate oscillator, 2 IF stages, either Class AB2 or Class B Output with rather high wattage, power tuning, etc. Make the mods so they can be easily removed if necessary to return to exact original condition. (Lovers of this set, please don't rip off my epaulets and drum me out of the Phorum for this suggestion.)

[462ron]

I used Mohawk semi-gloss clear lacquer and rubbed out with mineral oil and rottenstone. This was my first attempt at refinishing a large console cabinet. If I had it to do over, I would have sprayed a few more coats of lacquer on it. I still could do that but I would need to wash the cabinet down with OMS mineral spirits to remove the wax I applied after finishing. Plus it would require me taking the chassis and speaker board out again  It was a learning experience. It took most of last summer to spray the lacquer dealing with getting days with no wind and the proper humidity and temperature and a wife who is tolerant of my hobby but absolutely won’t put up with lacquer fumes in the house, thus the need to drag it out on the deck anytime I was spraying anything! As for the dial bezel, I sprayed multiple coats of Extra Dark Walnut on it.

Ron

[radiorich]

hello Ron,
I hear you about cabinet refinishing consoles are not the easiest that why I put mine off .

Doppleganger far as the replacement speakers go one good source is Parts Express. parts express
I have been buying from them for years you will find all the speakers and other crossover parts that you will need plus great help.
sincerely Richard

[Doppleganger]

Thanks fellas for all the help and input.

This cabinet was all but totally gutted when I found it. Have never touched it and you can see how nice it survived. 1 speaker remained (rotted). The chassis itself had no tubes and the wiring would crumble in your hands. Could rotate the dial to one section that wasn't missing or badly cracked. 35 yrs ago I bought (from Parts Express) 2 USA made Zenith speakers - that are still very functional. I set a small boombox with a cassette player in it - used to cue up an OTR program, then when the switch was flipped, the dial lit and "the makers of instant Chase and Sanborn coffee presents the Charlie McCarthy show!" played. lol I used it like that for a few years - had no time or know-how.....pre-internet made parts sourcing very sparce. I pulled it out of storage a couple years ago and started to do it right. I dont do BT on anything (go out of my way to find car stereos without it) but will do something where I can play my OTR through it. Local programming will do it no favors.

I wound up sourcing another chassis (complete) and someone far smarter than me is restoring it ATM. After 4 calls and 3 emails (all unreturned) over 2 months, I finally received my order for the speaker grill fabric, dial and lettering. This was to be a winter project - I have a truck I've been restoring for 6 years - and I have to paint it this Spring before this.

I asked about the clear as I want to have everything stained/finished, new lettering, then LVHP spray it with a clear to seal it all in.

[poulsbobill]

How would that work with left and right  channels on AM?  Or are you suggesting a fm module?

Thanks

Bill

[MrFixr55]

Oops, sorry. I was thinking of stereo sources such as CD Player, MP3, etc., and adding a radio - aux switch and input. Many of my radios actually have these, including the Zenith H725, my RCA 1R91, 2 GE clock radios (turn the volume control CCW for phono, CW for radio from a center null position). Even my 14BT2 has a phono jack but no switch; tune to an empty spot on the dial). My 5T7 and GE S22 (RCA R7) have terminals for external phonos. The Phono assembly had a switch to select radio or phono. If the phono was not installed, a jumper is installed instead. The S22 is more complicated, as the biased detector's bias must be changed to make it into an amplifier stage. I have not found a good readable schematic for the phono - radio switch wiring. Another interesting thing is that RCA phonos of the 1932 vintage used a magnetic pickup that was developed in the late 1920s for the various Electrolas. The pickup put out a much higher voltage signal than current magnetic pickups or the GE RPX pickup introduced in the late 1940s or early 1950s.

[MrFixr55]

Hi Doppelganger,
If you are having a Pro install the chassis, ask them to add the Radio-Aux switch. This way, you can play OTR from a computer, MP3, cassette, CD, whatever. AM Modulation / demodulation does add distortion. Piping Glenn Miller directly into the radio's amp makes for great listening. Adding the stereo components will make modern Big Bands like Manhattan Transfer or Duke Ellington even more pleasant.

Motorola sets of the late 1950s had a combined channel using 2 6BQ5s in Push Pull, and separate left and right channels using single 6BQ5s. The center channel was full frequency, not a subwoofer.

[Arran]

So what is wrong with the original finish on this cabinet, to me it looks like a fairly acceptable original finish for an 88-89 year old piece of furniture ? I would give it a cleaning with some automotive hand cleaner, the cream kind with no pumice, and some paper towels or clean rags, just so you can get an idea of the actual condition. Quite often a finish will look bad just because of the grease, wax, and dirt building up on it over the years. If it really has been over coated with something I would try a rag with some alcohol on it, often people would paint over the lacquer with shellac, but they usually do so very crudely, but try this after the hand cleaner.
Regards
Arran

[Doppleganger]

Up close the corners are cracking (clear coat )- and there is a slight gash on one side, otherwise, its in great shape.

[radiorich]

hello guys,
Yes, I would try what Arran said first and if anything you can remove the clear top finish and you can deal with th minor damage and then clear coat again.
Sincerely Richard

[462ron]

+1 on what Arran suggested. In my case, my cabinet had the usual scratches and nicks, except the top had water damage probably from keeping a plant on it, no gouges. So I started by using CitriStrip on it. That mostly stripped all the old lacquer off and in the process, that removed all nicks and scratches and evened out the finish. Most of the original toner color was still in the wood. When I wipped it down next with lacquer thinner, the original color really popped. So much so that I was seriously considering just applying clear lacquer over it, it looked that good. I had done that previously on a table top radio and it looked great. I have no spray equipment and dreaded using rattle cans on such a big cabinet. Tempted as I was, Ron Ramirez and others convinced me to use a toner on it first before the clear. It is a lot of extra steps to get the finish even. 

Ron

[morzh]

We just had the discussion on the GoJo.
It is no longer sold, but Goop is, and those two are very close.
I use Goop and it does excellent job on cleaning.
Yes, no pumise/orange stuff, just regular white cream. It lifts dirt like nobody'e business.