[dal61]

Hi all- I started in on this little thing tonight.  It is a spray painted (white) little 42-PT91 that was given to me a while back.   I'll post a couple pictures tomorrow...but a couple questions:

How to strip this cabinet?  The cabinet, itself, is in good shape, but the paint looks like crap.  I did a little research a while back and think I saw that oven cleaner works?..

The plastic dial cover is yellow and scratched up....first, how do you get those clips out? I'm nervous about busting the bakelite...even if I keep this old plastic, I need to get it out to strip the cabinet....

And it seems the knobs were not original and are solid white...so I'll be needing some brown ones, I guess...

I tested the tubes tonight, and ordered a schematic and stuff....looking forward to this little project.  Thanks in advance!
 
Dean L.

[Arran]

Don't use oven cleaner, it might damage the Bakelite, use paint and varnish remover, or if you have a large quantity of it sitting around DOT 3 brake fluid will also strip it off but take longer. The lens is probably held in with tri clips, they are circular shaped with three fingers that snap into holes on the inside of the cabinet, they will pop out by slipping a thin flat bladed screwdriver under them. These cabinets came in both brown Bakelite and ivory painted versions, if the original paint was chipped that may explain the crappy repaint.
Regards
Arran

[OldRestorer]

Oven cleaner is going to make it real dull but wont hurt it. I dont recommend it.. Plus it melts plumbers putty as I found out while stripping some knobs in the sink,

[dal61]

Thanks for the tips.  I would bet this one was brown, originally. But I'm not 100% sure.  Like I said, I'll share some pictures after work, but on one of the sides of the cabinet there are multiple large runs, but then there is an area around the top corner (same side) that the paint is so thin you can see the brown underneath.  The knobs have me scratching my head, though.  If it is factory paint, will it strip off ok?   

Thanks again for the help.


Dean L.

[dal61]

   
Looks like knobs are not original, after looking at it compared to some web pics.

   

   
The labels on the bottom are painted over....

[dal61]

Huh...they seem to be solid white plastic?, no paint.  And look different than the radio museum pic I saw.   So do you think this one was originally white? And somebody did a crappy repaint?   I guess it doesn't matter much, I think I want it stripped...as long as it will come off ok....and I can find some brown knobs..

Dean L.

[wb6jhj]

Hi All;

An alternative I have used to get paint off Bakelite cabinets is to put it in a bath of UN-diluted Pine-sol for a day or two.  The paint will slide off most of the cabinet.  Then strain the fluid and put it away till next time!

[klondike98]

Welcome to the Phorum wb6jhj !

[dal61]

An alternative I have used to get paint off Bakelite cabinets is to put it in a bath of UN-diluted Pine-sol for a day or two.  The paint will slide off most of the cabinet.  Then strain the fluid and put it away till next time!

Thanks, wb6jhj.  I read that the citrus stripper works well, too....but if you can re-use the pine-sol, might be worth a try. And welcome aboard (I'm brand new here, too).  


Dean L.

[dal61]

Not questioning it at all.   And I hope it didn't seem that way.  I've got no reason to 'follow Radiomuseum',  just wanted to share the picture I saw. 

It's hard for me to understand, if this cabinet was originally white, why somebody repainted it so heavily (and poorly).  And since the knobs are white, I assume it was originally white.  But it is what it is and stranger things have happened.  

Dean L.

[OldRestorer]

Look at the inside of the radio cabinet for repairs..
Some people repaint when the repair is visible.. They really crapped out on the paint job...
Yeesh...

[dal61]

Great info, thanks guys.  I did snap a shot of the stamp on the chassis and this thing was originally white (or ivory)!  I'll go down and check the inside of it in a bit...I really would rather have a brown one, so I'm gonna strip it and leave it, as long as there are no repairs to hide.    I'll need some original brown knobs, though......Thanks again for the info!


Dean L.

[Arran]

It might not look that great with the paint completely stripped off, which is very difficult to do thanks to all of the cracks and crevices in the grille bars. Many of these painted cabinets were intended to be painted, with grainless Bakelite, and some were even seconds that would have discoloured patches, I had a Crosley cabinet that was like that. If this is the case you could always repaint it in some nonstandard colour rather then the ivory/off white it originally had, though I would stick to colours more in keeping with the era rather then Neon pink or something, powder blue or Burgundy would look good. The nicer ones had black Bakelite under the paint, which looks really nice polished up, if you can get the paint completely off without scratching anything.
Regards
Arran

[dal61]

Good points, Arran.  I guess we'll see what it looks like when stripped.  Can't really look worse than it does now.  Might get a start on it this weekend.


Dean L.

[Paul Philco322]

Ya never know how it wound up like that, maybe  a kid had it and was trying to redo it. The drips marks are rough though. 

I repainted some radiator covers for my home and used some Rustoleum in a can. I avoided the drips, many coats and thin coats to avoid putting on enough to run.

I bet you get it to look nice. 

Paul