[Fred Taylor]

       Im going to post pictures this week of a fully restored 38=116 xx that's been in shop for a while and near completion. I have a lot of time on my hands due to job loss and restoring radios to keep busy . These radios that I have been showing off are my personal radios. Now I am thinking of selling some of them? And {if) I do so I would like you guys to have first grabs at them, im not posting these pictures here to sell them , I know to go to the for sale section on this site. Just wanting to share these pictures with people who have the same intrests as I do. I have other posts under non Philco also.                                 

                                  Here are some pics , not finished yet but will be soon , getting an alinement done

[PhilcoJohn]

Great Fred we can not wait to see the finished radio. They are great players!

[Fred Taylor]

Great Fred we can not wait to see the finished radio. They are great players!

 I posted some pictures now, still not done

[Fred Taylor]

Great Fred we can not wait to see the finished radio. They are great players!

 Thanks John , do you know about the pilot lamps  (flood lamps )that are on that set, it seems they should go on when magnetic in /out switch is turned <> , im not talking about the dial lamp, those pilot lamps are way down there and dont seem like they would do any good to lite up dial any, what are they there for

[Art Hoch]

That's a "wow!"

[codefox1]

That's beyond snazzy, great job!

[Geoff]

Fred,


PLEASE post a step-by-step procedure on how you obtain such a beautiful finish. There are a lot of people here on the forum that would love to be able to achieve similar results with their radios. A YouTube video would be even better .

- Geoff

[thirtiesradio]

Looks great Fred!

Yes, the side dial lamps come on when the magnetic tuning switch is turned "on". It lights up the station tabs, although not real well

[Fred Taylor]

Looks great Fred!

Yes, the side dial lamps come on when the magnetic tuning switch is turned "on". It lights up the station tabs, although not real well

 THANKS FOR THAT TID BIT OF INFO.

[Fred Taylor]

Fred,


PLEASE post a step-by-step procedure on how you obtain such a beautiful finish. There are a lot of people here on the forum that would love to be able to achieve similar results with their radios. A YouTube video would be even better .

- geo

No video , I can tell this that the some of the most important things you have to do . (THIS IS ON BARE WOOD) 1st grain filler , 2nd after grain filler is sanded off make sure there is no open pores left , if there is fill them and then sand again. 3rd now do your staining and toning to get the color the way you want. 4th spray on lacquer sanding sealer, 2 wet coats max ,let dry real good ( outside temp ?  ) Then sand it with 400 grit being real careful not to burn thru to your color. if you see pores that did not get filled with the sanding sealer then you repeat step 4, the pores will look like tiny fish eyes or pin holes. Now you only do these steps if you want smooth finish, like a car finish. Now  when you are happy with that then you can top coat with your clear, 4-5 coats is ok.   Remember this that (real important) when grain filling the filler has to be pushed in the pores somehow and using burlap folded into a pad works well , you have to look real close to make sure all the pores are taken care off , the sanding sealer will fill and bridge the gap between filled pores and the wood fibers, NOTE, after you rub in the grain filler with burlap pad (homemade) rub off the remaining grain filler with a new Fresh burlap pad, kinda like taking the wax off when waxing your car, then use a splinter of wood to clean the groovs When dry then sand 400 grit . Mohawk is what I use, all lacquer. follow instructions. I will tell you that there  is a lot more to it then that ,Those are just important Basics that's all. Feel free to ask me for tips. Fred Taylor

[Geoff]

I'd like to know how, after you sprayed your final lacquer coats, you got the front and top on this so silky smooth looking:

[Image: http://philcoradio.com/phorum/attachment.php?aid=6278]

Did you do the final rub out by hand or with a polisher? Or did you even do a final rub out?

Also, what gloss lacquer did you use... satin, semi-gloss, or gloss? Or were the first few coats gloss followed by a couple of semi-gloss?

Thanks,
Geoff

[Fred Taylor]

I'd like to know how, after you sprayed your final lacquer coats, you got the front and top on this so silky smooth looking:

Did you do the final rub out by hand or with a polisher?  Or did you even do a final rub out?

Also, what gloss lacquer did you use... satin, semi-gloss, or gloss?  Or were the first few coats gloss followed by a couple of semi-gloss?

 I did not rub it out , if you can spray without getting any trash in the clear you did good. The gloss level  is  semi gloss  . The smoothness comes from , 1. how you mixed your clear and that depends the temp when clearing, the more thinner added will make waterier ,you have better flow out, all the thinner is for is to make the clear thin enough to be sprayable, you have to use slow dry thinner in summer and fast dry in winter, you don't want the clear to dry to fast , you need a good spray gun with a # 4 tip.  I have 3 coats sanding sealer under the 4-5 coats of semi clear. I only buff when I use high gloss piano finish , high gloss has a gloss level of 90% you have to buff to get that 100% gloss level, wet sanding and buffing gets rid of any orange peel. There is a lot to it , I been painting high end cars for long time,  I still don't everything, Lots of practice I quess

[thirtiesradio]

Good info Fred. What brand of grain filler do you use?

[Geoff]

Thanks for the feedback Fred.

If you don't do any rubbing out of the finish, how do you deal with overspray? Or has that got more to do with the lacquer/thinner ratio?

[Fred Taylor]

Thanks for the feedback Fred.

If you don't do any rubbing out of the finish, how do you deal with overspray?  Or has that got more to do with the lacquer/thinner ratio?

If you spray with slow dry thinner in your clear any over spray will melt back into the clear. you cant do this using spray can clear on large surface, if you get over spray (dryness) make sure your gun is adjusted properly on your pattern . pattern should be around 6 inches or larger . pattern is the fan shape that comes out of nozzle and keep ( air pressure) around 25-32 pounds. Never spray with pressure to high. Over spray is caused your paint is starting to dry before  hits the surface so slow it down with slow dry thinner or retarder. To deal with overspray you really have to sand it smooth and re clear. You can try spraying straight  retarder over the area and that should remelt the over spray abit. Retarder is a additive for your clearcoat that will slow the drying time and gets rid of over spray , dryness , solvent pop, cloudiness, when temps are hot and humid. Dont use it when its temp are cool and damp, use fast thinner when cool outside.