[Geoff]

I started to refinish my Philco 640 and wanted to post some pictures as I go through the process. Although I’ve done several electrical restorations this will be my first cabinet restoration so any tips anyone can offer along the way will be greatly appreciated. I’m basing the refinishing process off of a thread from the other forum that most people agree is pretty good:

http://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/view...7&t=220363

I bought this radio off of Craigslist earlier this year for $100-. Here are the photos from the Craigslist ad:

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=1]

[Image: http://antiqueradios.com/gallery/main.ph...alNumber=1]

Here are some photos of the cabinet taken last week before I started stripping it:

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Here are some photos removing the backing that holds the grille cloth in place. I was surprised that there were actually two separate cardboard backings:

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[Geoff]

I believe the grille cloth is original, and if so it is in great condition except for a small hole.

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Here is the inside. I have not cleaned it up yet but my plan is to wipe it down with mineral spirits and #0000 steel wool. Hopefully, I can save the two labels.

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

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Here is a close-up of some finish damage to the front walnut section. Luckily there is no actual damage to the wood.

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[Geoff]

I used a 50/50 mixture of lacquer thinner and acetone and began the stripping process. I used a green Scotch-Brite pad for the flat surfaces and a stripping brush to get in the nooks and crannies (it’s just a brush with stiff plastic bristles). Here is the top after stripping:

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

After stripping the sides I moved onto the front section:

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

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This is as far as I got before it was time to hit the hay:

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I still need to go back and strip the four blocks that are on the very bottom. It’s hard to see them in the pictures.

After all stripping is complete I need to go in and fill in some small holes in the front, at the bottom of the “fluted” columns (if that is what they are called). Looks like the stripping solution removed whatever filler that was originally there. My plan is to use walnut colored DAP plastic wood filler. I have used this in the past for different projects and it seems to work well. There are also some very minor dents that I will attempt to steam out. I watched a few videos on YouTube that showed how to do this. It doesn’t look too hard so I’m going to give it a try.

After this is done my plan is to give it a final wash with lacquer thinner and lint free rags until all traces of the original lacquer are gone. Grain filling will be the next step so I will be ordering some Pore-o-Pac grain filler.

Stay tuned!

- Geoff

[Jamie]

Great thread here..! I also learned from that thread you linked. One thing he doesn't clarify well.. the pore-o-pac really needs to be thinned before you use it. In the can, it has the consistency of peanut butter.. you need to use mineral spirits and make it like paint. The first time I tried to grain fill, I didn't realize this and I couldn't understand why it wouldn't work. Be sure to cut it, or you will find your grain is not filled.

[Geoff]

Thanks for the tip PuhPow!

- Geoff

[Geoff]

I stripped off the remaining finish at the bottom of the cabinet. These are the two blocks that attach to the base of the cabinet in the rear and one large piece that attaches to the base in the front. I also used a brass brush and tried my best to get into all the nooks and crannies. Afterwards, I began the final wipe down using just lacquer thinner and old t-shirts. I still have some more work to do in this area before I call it clean.

One thing I was curious about is the horizontal line that runs along the bottom of the front face of the cabinet, a couple inches from the bottom. Below the line the original finish was dark like it is on the sides and top. Above it is lighter. That line is actually a small groove. Once I am done with the final lacquer thinner wipe down I will be applying wood filler to fill the exposed nail holes and then applying grain filler. How do you keep the grain filler from filling in this horizontal groove? I was thinking about applying it and then use a jewelers flat head screw driver to get it out of the groove before it fully hardens. Anyone have any tips on this?

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

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

There is also a groove that runs along the cabinet as shown in the following pictures:

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I’m not sure if this should be filled with wood filler or not. Meaning, should it be smooth or should I be able to see the groove after refinishing? In one of the above photos I took it looks like there is some filler in there. Maybe it was originally there and I removed it during the stripping process? Not sure and was wondering if anyone else may have some thoughts on this.

The top of the cabinet should be completely flat. However, when I run my hand across it I can feel some waviness. I ran a straight edge over it and as you can see it is flat in the front and in the back but in the middle it dips a little. I’m thinking this will really show up once a polished finished has been applied. I was thinking about turning the cabinet upside down and gluing and clamping a flat piece of wood underneath to flatten it out.

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[Geoff]

Here are some of the nail holes I will need to fill. The stripping process pulled out the old filler that was there. I plan on using walnut colored DAP plastic wood filler. I don’t think it really matters too much which color I use since these areas are darkly toned.

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There is a crack in the veneer on the left side:

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I plan on filling this with wood filler as well unless anyone has any other suggestions.

And here is a spot where I thought I really goofed up. You can see here where the veneer was completely sanded through. I saw this and slapped myself in the head wondering how this could have happened since I really tried to be careful. But I went back and looked at some of the photos I took before I stripped the cabinet and, although it is a bit hard to see, it looks like this was actually done by the Philco cabinet maker. When I run my fingers across it, it is totally smooth so I don’t think any filler will be needed. To confirm, I’m going to run a straight edge over it and see if there are any gaps.

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[Geoff]

Here is a section on top that I will also need to add some filler to.

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And last, but not least, on the front black trim there is a small crack. Does anyone think that grain filler will be enough to fill this or do I need to use wood filler?

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

Well, I think that’s about it for now. The wood filler and grain filler should arrive by the end of the week. Between now and then I plan on completing the wipe down with lacquer thinner and old t-shirts. In the meantime, if anyone has any advice they would like to offer please do so. I will need all the help I can get on this!

- Geoff

[Jeremy]

Geoff,

On my model 630 (which I have been posting about in a recent thread), there is a similar area of veneer sanded through. It is perhaps a bit smaller than yours, but in a similar location on the right side of the cabinet, just above the shoulder. I think it was an issue at the factory where the front trim didn't exactly match the bent wood of the sides. The veneer is so thin, there's not much room for error. On my cabinet, the wood below the groove at the bottom of the front panel is pretty nearly the same color as above the groove. I think you will have no trouble removing the grain filler from the groove, but I would start with a toothpick or similar, since a screwdriver blade might damage the wood. The crack between the front trim and the top and sides I believe was originally filled. Most of the filler remains on my cabinet. It could have just fallen out or the separation might have increased with wood shrinkage, etc. I also have a slight dip on the top of my cabinet, I think less than on yours. Visually, I think a smooth dip would be better than bumpiness, so I'd be careful trying to fix it, as you don't want to end up with a series of small dips and rises. I plan on doing some hand rubbing with Restore-a-Shine (similar to rubbing with rottenstone and oil) and then waxing, so I won't have a truly mirror finish, and that will help mask imperfections such as the dip and other problems. I have seen reference to these cabinets being "hand rubbed" and also statements that the factory never would have gone to this expense. It could be that if Philco claimed a "hand-rubbed finish" they meant a finish that looks hand-rubbed, not one that was necessarily produced by hand rubbing. However, the front panel of my cabinet, which I believe has the original finish with no overcoats on it, looks hand rubbed to me and not just a raw lacquer finish. I look forward to seeing your progress, and I'll continue to post pictures on my original thread as I add more coats of tung oil.

[Jamie]

Be careful with that DAP wood filler. Try some on a scrap piece of wood and see if toner covers it. I've never tried DAP filler, but I'm betting toner doesn't cover it.

[Geoff]

Not sure what you mean by "I'm betting toner doesn't cover it". I know that any wood filler will not take a stain very well (or as well as most of us would like). Here is a quote from their website:

"A high-performance wood, solvent-based filler that hardens to give a surfaces and body that looks and acts like real wood. Can be sanded, stained, cut, drilled, planed, varnished, painted or lacquered. For use on furniture, doors, paneling, molding, plywood and other wood surfaces Available in popular wood shades. Meets Federal Specification TT-F-340C. Interior/exterior use."

http://www.dap.com/product_details.aspx?product_id=69

[Image: http://www.dap.com/images/products/21141_2001.jpg]

My plan would be to fill the nail holes and small dents on top with the DAP filler (walnut color), sand smooth, apply sanding sealer, followed by a pigment based toner. I'm hoping the repairs would be invisible with the pigment based toner covering them. Are you saying that the finish may not adhere to the filler? If so, what filler would you recommend?

[Jamie]

They all say that, but they lie. Every wood filler in the store says "stainable"... and they are, you can stain over them all you want, they just don't change color the way the wood does. So it is a lie..

What I mean is, you use the filler and it dries almost white, or off yellow. Then when you stain the piece, or use toner, it doesn't take the new color. The finish adheres to the filler just fine, but you can see the filler under it. So, you've got this beautiful wood with a new finish and a white splotch wherever you used filler. It doesn't reject the top coat, or cause a huge fisheye or anything like that... it just doesn't accept the color well. Toner is very much just a tint, almost clear, so it is even worse than stain.

Try it out on a test piece of wood first. Smear some DAP on it, then spray it with toner and check the results. Since the DAP is walnut colored, it might work ok... but I bet it is like all the others... Just test it first and you'll see....

[Jamie]

I recommend Timber Mate. It is pre-colored and it does seem to accept the tint of stain or toner. I really can't say for sure, because it is colored... I use walnut. It is the only wood filler I've found that is virtually invisible under toner.

.. and I recommend that you buy the classic toner to finish your cabinet, and some "tone finish toner" to hide the repair spots. Get both in the same color. Tone Finish Toner is less clear than regular toner. You can use it to hide repairs, but use it sparingly because it is murky looking.

[Geoff]

My plan is to use Mohawk dye based toner on the front panel (Medium Walnut, #M100-0207) and Mohawk pigment based toner on the sides, top, and front columns (Extra Dark Walnut, #M101-0209). The dye based toner is clear and will allow the wood to show through. The pigment based toner is opaque and will not allow the wood to show through. Since all of the repairs with the wood filler will be covered by the pigment based toner I believe they will not show through (or at least that's what I'm hoping).

UPS shows that the DAP wood filler will arrive today so I will begin applying it tonight. I'll post some photos when I'm done.

I'll sand down the spots where I added filler later this week and then apply grain filler when that shipment arrives (I ordered some Behlen Pore-O-Pac grain filler). I ordered some sanding sealer that will be here shortly and will apply that after the grain filler sets up.

Now I need to order the tone finishes I mentioned above along with a clear coat for the final finish. I've read that the clear gloss finish dries harder than satin so I'll be using gloss. Once it hardens I plan on rubbing out the finish with pumice to knock the gloss down.

[Geoff]

I finally finished the final wipe down of the cabinet with lacquer thinner and then proceeded with trying to steam out some of the dents. I watched several videos on YouTube that show the process. Some use an iron and others use a soldering iron. I used a soldering iron. Basically, I placed a few drops of water on the dent I was attempting to remove. I then used an old t-shirt and soaked an edge in water. Then I placed the wet edge of the t-shirt on top of the dent and then placed the hot tip of the soldering iron on top of the wet edge. I had mixed results. This set of before and after photos show one dent that steamed out perfectly:

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

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

However, this before and after set show where I was not able to fully get the dent out, no matter how many times I steamed it:

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

I then went over the rest of the cabinet and steamed out whatever dents I could. There were a LOT of small little dents that would really show up on the final finish that needed to be taken care of. Again, I had mixed results with steaming them out. Luckily, all the small dents that were on the front face steamed out nicely. The front face will eventually be finished with a dye based lacquer so any type of wood filler on it would not do as it would easily show up. I’m less worried about the top and sides since I will be using a pigment based lacquer that will be opaque and hide things.

Once done I then moved on to applying wood filler in the nail holes and areas where there were bigger dents that could not be steamed out. I also had to refill the edge where the veneer on top meets up with the front edge of the cabinet. The stripping process removed what was originally there. Here are some photos of the cabinet with wood filler applied:

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

I used DAP Plastic Wood (Walnut color). I’ve use this stuff before on other projects and have been pretty happy with it. Down side is it dries quickly so you have to move fast. I used a putty knife on the flat sections and had to use my fingers on curved areas and areas where the putty knife was not feasible. I applied it last night and checked it this morning and it set up nicely. Next step is to sand it down. I plan on using 220 grit paper since that is what I have on hand. It is labeled as “for light sanding”. I have 80 and 100 grit paper but I think that would be to aggressive and I don’t want to sand through the veneer. If anyone has any other suggestions on which grit to use, I'm open.

I’ll be doing the sanding over the next few nights. I want to take my time get it right.

- Geoff