Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Radio Cabinet Restore

So this is a 1930's Coronado radio cabinet.  I got this from a guy who was liquidating his uncle's radio collection after he passed.  He had literally hundreds and hundreds of radios in barns, sheds, house, etc.  This particular one, I have a special "modern technology" update I'm doing to it.  Before any purists call me out on this - it has NO chassis, and the cabinet itself was very close to "firewood" as far as shape and dryness.  By the way, Coronado radios were a store "house" brand for Gimbels department stores.  Anyone remember them?

Ok some "before" shots;







And here is after wipe down with mineral spirits and stripping with lacquer thinner (I have since gone back and got more out of the nooks and crannies with a small brush as well);







And that's where it sits now.  I have some toned lacquer on order so I hope to spray it very soon.  I'm leaning towards opaque toner for the top, edges and bottom, and the more translucent kind (slight lighter in color) for the front and sides.  We shall see how it turns out - by far not a "showroom quality" piece to be sure, but hopefully it will be at least presentable at the conclusion of this.

Ok, got a little more time, sanded more of the top and then shot it with shellac clear sanding sealer and then 6 coats of Mohawk medium dark toner lacquer - here is what we got;








Here is after I did the main body with Mohawk Ultra Medium Walnut and before clear coats. Got a shiney spot on top where I had to do some touchup - not sure how that is going to work out yet.











And just to cause longer page loads, here is a couple shots after clear was put on;