[EricS]

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday, my wife and I were at the local antique place when we discovered a nice looking old radio. Within minutes, the vendor had kicked the price down to $70 and I said "SOLD!" I spent the evening surfing the web and found this great site.

I have attached a few images of the console. The chassis appears to be in decent shape, but has received some recent work as it has a new power cord on it. I have not removed it from the console for further inspection.

My goal is to return it to its original glory. I would like for the console to look like new and for the radio to play nicely. I have found a few references on restoration including "Radio Cabinet Restoration" by Joe Koester and "Basic Wood Radio Cabinet Refinishing" by Eric Stenberg and a few other references. I also see that replacement tuning buttons and lettering are also available.

The console looks to be in decent shape. The flash has brought out some of the original color and shine, though to my eyes the console looks rather dull and lifeless with normal room lighting. There are tons of little marks and scrapes on the sides and bottom. There doesn't appear to be any major gouges. The wood and veneer all appear to be sound and secure.

So, where do I start? I'm no stranger to electronics or wood working. Does this console need a full strip and refinish? Or is there a way to "patch" the splotches?

Any insights would be appreciated!
Eric

[codefox1]

No, strip not needed. An artist's touch and a little polish should be right enough. Gotta be a kid around somewhere if you cannot find that old oil painting set that you know you have somewhere.......

[jerryhawthorne]

That cabinet is in really great condition. It really needs little more than cleaning with the cream gojo stuff and then some work with something like Howards, the scratches will just go away. Very nice looking set.
Welcome to the Phorum a lot of help here and you may need that for the chassis restoration. That cabinet in a couple hours will look like new.
Jerry
Jerry

[Jamie]

Welcome to the forum! You've found the best antique radio forum on the net, so you are starting off right! These guys will steer you right. If that radio was mine, I'd be ordering some new push buttons. I think radiodaze sells some like you need..

http://www.radiodaze.com/category/795.aspx

I'm not sure if those are the right ones, but someone here will know. That cabinet is in great shape, so you got lucky there. You can download the schematic for free at nostalgia air...

http://www.nostalgiaair.org/Resources/336/M0013336.htm

Check it out... that will give you a start..

[NostalgiaRadioTime]

Welcome, Eric! Nice set. I also own a 40-180. They are good sounding radio with a powerful built in antenna.

Definitely don't strip the cabinet. The finish most certainly can be salvaged. There are several ways to "bring back" an old finish on a wood cabinet. I like to rub the cabinet down with Minwax Wood Finish #210B golden oak to enhance the original finish. It penetrates, stains, and seals. I dip a soft cloth into the can, getting a little of it on the cloth and jub it in, a bit more over the scratched areas. After it is allowed to dry about 2 weeks, I finish it off with a coat of my favorite wood treatment.... I use Scott's Liquid Gold Wood Cleaner & Preservative. Comes in a yellow colored aerosol can. I've been using that on all of my wood cabinet radios for 30 years now. It does wonders for any wood finish.

Radio Daze is definitely the place to get your reproduction decals. These should be the one's you need for above the knobs: http://www.radiodaze.com/product/6039.aspx

And this should be the sheet of decals you need for the PHILCO name: http://www.radiodaze.com/product/6046.aspx

Radio Daze also should have the wine colored pushbuttons here:
http://www.radiodaze.com/product/1075.aspx

Keep in mind you'll need to order 8 buttons.

To print out a set of radio station call letters (that fit in the holes above the pushbuttons), visit this thread on this forum: http://www.philcoradio.com/phorum/showth...p?tid=4355

Or... you can make your own here:
http://philcoradio.com/phorum/showthread...ll+letters

Good luck! Should be a rewarding project once completed.

[EricS]

You guys are great! Thanks for the warm welcome and all of the tips so far! I downloaded the schematic and those buttons and decals look like what need.

I suppose I got lucky with the condition of the console. There seems to be consensus about not stripping it, so this is a good starting place. I need to do some more reading about gojo and its trade offs with the min wax products...

Sorry for the noob questions, but how do I use new decals if the cabinet is not stripped? Do I just put them over top of the original lettering?

[EricS]

Is this the Gojo cream that you are referring to ? If so, which one?
http://www.use-enco.com/1/1/2349-0905-06...-soap.html

[Arran]

I would try giving the cabinet a cleaning with a cream hand cleaner like GoJo just to see what you have, after that then you can make a judgement about what to do next. However it looks to me like the lacquer is starting to detach itself from the wood in places like on the side, those white and yellowish spots and cracking are evidence of that. One the lacquer get like that it means that it's pretty much done, no amount of magic liquid in a bottle will fix it, in fact using some products, like wax, will soak into the wood and may make it more difficult to refinish in future.
Regards
Arran

[EricS]

Hmmm... Here are two closeups of the finish. The first images is about 2.5M and the second one is about 1.6M

The finish on the front appears cracked and peeling. I will have to look again more closely, but this appears to be the only cracked part of the finish.

The spots on the side appear to be a combination of light scrapes and splashes and drips that sat for too long.

Most of my woodworking experience is relatively basic stuff like building and finishing speaker cabinets. I have no experience when it comes to resurrecting old furniture.

Does the cracking finish in the first image necessitate stripping down to the bare wood?

[EricS]

I am unable to find Gojo locally. Before I order some, can I use Goop in its place as a cleaner for the console?

[Jamie]

Most of my woodworking experience is relatively basic stuff like building and finishing speaker cabinets. I have no experience when it comes to resurrecting old furniture.

Does the cracking finish in the first image necessitate stripping down to the bare wood?

It all depends on what is acceptable to you. You basically have three choices here..

1. Leave it like it is.
2. Use a "restore" product.
3. Strip it and refinish it.

I've had good success using Howard's Restore-A-Finish on cabinets like yours. The question is whether it will repair the cracking in your finish. In my experience, the odds are 50-50. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. It's worth a try and it won't hurt anything. If you try it, use some #0000 steel wool with it on the tough spots. Most antique malls sell Howards.

[NostalgiaRadioTime]

I would say yes; Goop & Gojo are basically the same kind of hand cleaner. Look for the kind WITHOUT pumice, as you just want to dissolve the dirt and grime on the cabinet. As for the decals, if you won't be stripping the cabinet, yes you could just put the new decals over the old one's. Since Radio Daze fixed them, they should be an exact match. I've done that to some of my sets. Now to preserve them from flaking off you will want to spray some clear coat over them. Just a very light coat over the decal area should do it.

Personally, and others may disagree, I wouldn't let the cracking finish in the first image necessitate stripping down to the bare wood. That's where the Minwax trick I mentioned previously has worked well for me in the past... it fills in those cracks with a stain again. It's a big job stripping and refinishing a console radio cabinet, no doubt about it, and I only like to do it if the finish on the cabinet is so far gone that it's the only solution. That would mean deep gouges, deep scratches, missing patches of veneer, badly worn areas of the cabinet, etc. From what I see on your set, it's far from that bad. But, as I said, others may disagree. But regardless of who says what, it all boils down to personal preference. Can you live with a bit of age-related patina, or do you want it to look pristine and (even better than) factory new? Many, myself included, prefer to try to salvage an original finish if at all possible. Others believe in stripping it all and starting from scratch. There is no right or wrong answer.

[jerryhawthorne]

I would add one more option, after cleaning well and an addition of a color restore product of your choice if your not happy I would do a spray of shellac to bind things down and a light sanding or steel wool. Perhaps another coat and repeat until things are leveled out. Then on to some lacquer. I hate to strip and loose the natural color of the toners used and keep the proper color. Stripping is my last choice. Shellac is a very nice product to produce a binding of surface and cover over for a surface that will take the lacquer nicely without reacting to anything you used to cover those little scratches.
Just my opinion for another option.
Jerry

[EricS]

Thank you for all of the opinions! I REALLY appreciate all of you thoughtful wisdom and advice! I had some goop in the house, so I gathered a few old rags and went to work.

One hour later and W*O*W !!!!! I found about 99% of the original finish hiding under a ton of grime! Many of the lighter spots have been removed or filled in with the dirt that the goop loosened. There are a few places where it looks like whatever liquid was spilled on the cabinet has eaten into the lacquer finish, but you can really only see it if the light reflects in just the right way.

The surface shows lots of little cracks and a fair amount of roughness, perhaps I'll explore adding a top coat, but for now, I'm EXTREMELY pleased! I will post a few pictures tomorrow.
What a beauty! I would have happily paid much more had I known what was hiding under 73 years of grime!

[jerryhawthorne]

Happy for you Eric, it is amazing what a good cleaning can do. A little finish restorer and the scratches will virtually disappear. I find nothing wrong with a finish not being perfect on an old radio. It should not be, I like the little lady to show some of her age.
Jerry