[bfrohwein]

Hi Guys!

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I picked up a 1936 610 recently (sigh, buried under a bench in a car port)

the chassis is about done and I'm working on the cabinet and I need a little advice. after the broken pieces were repaired it was all cleaned up.. I used a lighter walnut to stain the bleached sections and it worked out well.. but the whole front is about as dark as the outer portion should be. I used grain filler on the sides (walnut from mohawk) and it's Really dark. I'm thinking I'll need to use a pigment toner on the sides because all the nicks and dings, which are now filled with grain filler. the front looks decent enough to use a dye toner on.. I'm looking for some advice on which colors to use. my local hardware store carries the entire line of mohawk everything.. so obtaining it is easy.

[Image: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8241/84675...6675_b.jpg]
P1000757 by bfrohwein, on Flickr

[Image: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8234/84664...a6c0_b.jpg]
P1000756 by bfrohwein, on Flickr

second question is about decals.. Does anyone know which decal set from Radio Daze I should order? I orderd a DCL-PH1 but I'm not sure if the three philco decalls on the lower left are the correct ones or not.

DCL-PH1 @ radiodaze

any info any might have would be appreciated!

Thanks again

Bret

[Ron Ramirez]

You don't want the PH1 decal sheet, it isn't correct for the 1932-36 Philco models. You want the PH8:

http://www.radiodaze.com/product/6049.aspx

[Ron Ramirez]

Staining is the incorrect way to refinish a radio cabinet - you want to use tinted lacquers to accurately replicate the colors and finish of a vintage radio.

In the case of the 610B, you can spray two light coats of Medium Walnut Tone Finish on the front panel. Let dry, and then carefully mask off the center section of the front panel (cover everything within the grooves in front, leave the bottom trim exposed), and spray no more than two light coats of Perfect Brown Ultra Classic on the outer sections of the front panel, and also on the top, sides, and back. Let dry, carefully remove the masking, and you will have a cabinet that resembles the original as closely as possible.

Finish by applying a couple coats of clear lacquer, let dry, apply the PHILCO decal, and then two more coats of clear lacquer.

Oh, by the way, when masking, I recommend that green Frog Tape. Do not use 3M blue masking tape. Don't ask me how I know.

[Steve Davis]

my local hardware store carries the entire line of mohawk everything.. so obtaining it is easy.

Bret, you are very fortunate to have local source for Mohawk products. You should patronize the business all you can.

Steve

[bfrohwein]

oh, wow.. even when much of the wood was exposed to weather and looked like it? I should've had before pictures. I will ask here first next time. apparently I listened to all the wrong people. I've got the above toners already, so that's good.. thanks for the decal info, it was a bit hard to tell from pictures I saw online which was correct.

Was the grain filler not right to use? the sides were really weather damaged and splintered easily and I could fit a fingernail in some of the grain lines.

I'll get rid of the blue painters tape I bought, thank you for bringing it up, because I was very hesitant about whether it was the right one to buy. :-)

Thank you so much for this information. I'm Very glad I decided to stop what I was doing and come here for advice. I'm also hoping, when I get better at this, you guys will be generous in helping me with my big find late last year. I stumbled across a 1935 16B Shouldered tombstone with the original finish intact.

Thanks again!

[Ron Ramirez]

Bret, I'll echo what Steve said...you are very fortunate indeed to have access to all of the fine Mohawk products at your local hardware store! Where I live, I have to order all of the refinishing products I need online.

Yup, you did need to use grain filler. No grain filler would result in a very poor finish. Steve can tell you more about the fine are of applying grain filler, and removing the excess thereof. I still haven't mastered that process.

Keep asking questions, we'll do our best to provide the answers!

[bfrohwein]

I appreciate the advice.. I've done woodworking.. but I've been schooled in finer furniture I guess. I realize most of these radios were mass production units and cost was a big factor for them. I'm trying to be a bit anal about it.. I want whatever I work on to end up looking as close to what it did if I walked in to a Philco showroom back in the day. I will count myself blessed with Elliott's here in Dallas. Good thing I'm working on a common, plentiful model than something rarer.

I'll post a pic when I've put on the lacquer. if the weather ever cooperates.

Steve: I've felt like I needed to deposit half my paycheck with these folks on other woodworking projects.. the paint/stain department guy knows me by name.

[Steve Davis]

Bret, It is best to apply a coat of sanding sealer before the grain filler. The seal coat will allow the grain filler to fill and darken the grain without darkening the whole surface. However, some brands of pre-tinted filler will darken the seal coat. For quite some time I had been using Behlen brand oil base grain filler in the natural color and using a dye to tint it and having pretty good luck, then I switched to Behlen pre-tinted walnut color. That turned out to be a big mistake! I nearly ruined a new reproduction cabinet. The filler darkened the seal coat much too dark. I now plan to experiment with some other fillers before finishing another cabinet.

Steve

[bfrohwein]

Steve:

Thank you.. the main reason I didn't use the sanding sealer was due to the lack of originality.. but then again, I hit the really bad lower front area with a gel stain to bring it to the same color as the upper area. I did gasp at how dark the walnut grain filler made the sides.. I didn't have any natural to lighten up the color (they usually sell out within a day or two when they get grain filler in stock at the local store). Which sanding sealer do you recommend? tone finish or heavy bodied? I haven't used the mohawk sandiing sealers before. previous sanding sealer experience ended up in shrinking after a few years, losing that glass-smoothness. Ron, grain filler didn't seem as difficult as I thought it might be, really. but I followed the instruction of an old timer who insisted a good rubbing with a quality burlap was the key. The sides and top of the radio have now gone from rough to a nice smooth feel and I've yet to apply lacquer. today is the day I think.. finally going to be 70 and 35% or so humidity..

question... how long should I wait for the front to dry after the full frontal spray before I mask? I did pick up frog tape yesterday.. the green.. although my second guessing nature compelled me to pick up their yellow low-adhesion one.. but green it is..

[Ron Ramirez]

Why not use sanding sealer? H**l, the use of stains is also a "lack of originality" as Philco did not use stains - they used tinted lacquer to give color to the wood.

Regarding the grain filler, I've found that it takes multiple applications to get the grain filled. If you're better at it than I, and I have no doubt you are since you have more cabinet experience than I (I'm not being sarcastic, I'm being serious), then you probably won't have as much trouble with the stuff as I seem to have.

[bfrohwein]

hehe.. true about the stain for sure. but it was an easy way to match the color.. I'm not a toner ninja yet. the main reason was from my previous experience with shrinkage over time that stopped me.. I doubt that better ones do that. I wanted to practice with grain filler. I hadn't used but once before. I was pleasantly surprised how nice it turned out. the weather was fickle today as the wind kicked up to 10-15 mph. I'm going to post a tone control question over on the electronic restoration section as well.

[bfrohwein]

Ta da!

FYI - I had a bit of a problem with the green frog tape... even after leaving the lacquer to dry for 2 weeks, it pulled some off

[Image: http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag14...6fc55a.jpg]

[TimC]

Looks great Brett!
Nice job

Tim

[bfrohwein]

Thanks Tim.. I still need to smooth the finish, affix the decal. and hit it with two more coats of satin lacquer. the sides turned out a little darker than I wanted. unfortunately.. it's due to the need to put on 2 extra coats of perfect brown. the wind decided to kick up while I was spraying. :-/ but it's almost done!

[Ron Ramirez]

Great! Now that's how a 610B should look!