More broken bakelite radio cabinets

[electra225]

I am making decent progress with the broken RCA bakelite cabinet. I have several others I want to fix. The Zenith 5D611 that I have been working on the electronics for some time, chasing an oscillation. The other is grandma's old Bendix 0626-A that sat on her refrigerator for 40 years. The cabinet is bakelite, painted refrigerator white. It has been damaged during its life. One lower corner is gone and there is a chunk broken out above the dial. The piece is there, not glued in very well, but usable. The paint around the knobs has been chipped and worn off as long as I can remember the radio. The tubes I see are all RCA, so either it came that way, or Cousin Calvin has been working on it. From what I can tell, all that has ever been done is tubes replaced and the speaker has been replaced. It is a good-performing set, although might benefit from a good recap and tune-up. It has six Loktal tubes that the markings are very weak on, and has tuned RF, contributing to its performance. 14A7 times 2, 14B6, 14Q7, 35Y4 and 50A5. I used aluminum air conditioning duct tape to make a form on the broken corner, then smeared Bondo in the breach. I hope that works. After the corner is stabilized, I'll work on the "Owee" above the radio dial. The Zenith cabinet has been Bondo'd, all it needs is sanding, prep and paint. The back and the dial plastic is repopped for this set. The Zenith will be red and white. The Bendix refrigerator white. After these, if successful, I have a Trav-Ler, an Admiral and maybe a Packard-Bell with broken/chipped/ugly cabinets left to do.

[electra225]

I am ready for primer on the RCA cabinet. A guide coat will be next on the Zenith cabinet. It is coming out better than I feared it would. The Bendix cabinet is coming along, needs more sanding and filling on the area above the dial.

[Conelrad]

Nice jobs there.

Bondo is useful for so many things...

D

[electra225]

I kept all the radios I had with broken bakelite cabinets when we had our sale. I figured they would go for nearly nothing and most or all of them worked. Repairing bakelite is a skill I am still learning. Finding "thin" primer is not as easy as it used to be. Everything I find is high-build, something I don't need on these cabinets. I need something to seal the bakelite, but not thick enough to cloud the detail. High-build primer is nice when you are blocking off a quarter panel on a Packard using a four-foot block. I have about a half a can of flat black paint that sprays lumpy. That will work excellent for a guide coat, since that is sanded mostly or all off anyways. The break above the dial on the old Bendix cabinet is proving to be more of a challenge than I thought. When I was about two, I was playing with a Pacquin's hand cream jar, something I wasn't supposed to be doing. Grandma's radio sat on a sideboard back then. Grandma saw me playing with the jar, so she tried to grab it from my hand. Just then, I chucked it, and hit grandma's radio right above the dial, knocking out a big chunk. Grandpa glued it back, but not very well. After that little episode, the old Bendix radio lived on top of the refrigerator until grandma passed. I can't get it to re-break so I can glue it better. It doesn't feel too bad, but there is definitely a hump there. Grandma had a heart attack sometime in 1946 or '47. She wanted a radio she could put by her bed as she recovered. Grandpa bought this radio brand new at Willitz Hardware. I don't know how much it cost, maybe less than $25?

[electra225]

I have the three cabinets in primer. I am really, really pleased with progress so far. The Bendix and the Zenith cabinets will only need a wet sanding then they are ready for color. The RCA cabinet needs a touch of sanding still and maybe some glazing putty in that area on the front that had the chunk out of it. The Bendix will stay refrigerator white, owing to its history as a family heirloom. It will look strange enough without the chipped paint around the knobs, I just couldn't change the color. The Zenith will be red and white. The RCA will be dark burgundy gloss with a satin Evening Rose front panel. The original paint on the front panel was not gloss, and it will hide my body work using non-glossy paint..... At this point, I think I'll leave the "RCA" and "AM_FM" scripts gold colored.

[TC Chris]

What's your advice for using rattle-can paint without getting runs? The time between "just enough to level" and "oops, too much "deleted"" is about a millisecond , or faster than my trigger finger can react in any event.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

Ron the Refinisher taught me to do a mist coat as a first coat. Don't worry about coverage, just get material on the project. I let that dry at least a day, wet sand, then put on a heavier coat. Less is always better when you spray paint. Better to do several coats than one globby coat that you have to sand the runs out of. I TRY to do three light to medium coats. I spray differently each time. One time with the length of the project, next time across the length. I think this time I'll do thin coats, then color sand the final coat. There is not way that works 100% of the time when you use a spray bomb. Wind, humidity, temperature, surface temp, all make a difference in the final film. The problem with runs is that they always show, you can't really ever sand them out, particularly with metallic paint. I typically remove most of the paint when I get a run and just start over. Again, depending on the circumstances. I know this is not a very good answer, but this is my first experience with fixing and painting a bakelite radio cabinet that Ron the Refinisher did not ramrod the project.

[electra225]

Pictures. Even in primer, there has been a huge improvement in the old Bendix cabinet....

[electra225]

I bombed the color on the Zenith and on the Bendix cabinets. I used satin paint on the Bendix, since the original paint appeared to not be gloss paint. I like that look, particularly in that color. It looks elegant, if that makes any sense. The red on the Zenith is gloss. "Cherry" was the Rustoleum paint I used on it. It will need another coat. One thing I learned is that if you don't put primer on bare bakelite, your chances of "fish eyes" is pretty good. I left part of the Zenith cabinet with no primer, and, sure enough, it fish eyed. Where I used primer turned out fine. I will let it dry overnight, wet sand, primer, wet sand, then shoot it again. The Bendix is ready to re-assemble and enjoy for anther almost 80 years. All the electronics, except tubes, is original. I will leave it alone until something fails. I did some sanding and filling on the RCA cabinet. I have some work yet to do before it is ready for paint.

[William]

Sounds like you are making great progress, Greg. Can't wait to see the finished products and the colors you picked.

Bill

[electra225]

Grandma's old Bendix radio that I broke 70 years ago is now fixed. It looks rather odd not having chipped paint around the knobs. She would scold me for "spending good money that won't make it work any better", but I'll bet that, privately, she would be proud of me. It is pretty good old radio with its tuned RF stage. I didn't do anything with the electronics. I'll run it like it is until something "goes the matter", which is what grandma would have done.

[electra225]

The Zenith radio cabinet is painted. I still need to detail the "Zenith" script on the front panel.

[TC Chris]

That Bendix is cool with the lighted name (is the rest of the dial lighted separately?). And how is the SW performance?

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

There is only one dial bulb. In reality, about the only part of the dial that is well-lighted is the "Bendix" script. The dial pointer is known for habitually running crooked for some odd reason. It has paint on the pointer that glows in the dark. I don't know how the engineers expected light to pass thru a back-painted dial. I have never tried SW to see if it works. SW reception around here, without a huge outside antenna, is not very good.

[electra225]

If you paint bakelite and get fish eyes, just block wet sand with 400 grit then give the cabinet a good coat of primer. Wet sand with 400 grit again, then shoot another coat. Give it light coats. You will need at least two coats in any case, so best to go easy and avoid runs.

The Rustoleum "Cherry" paint I used on the Zenith cabinet is what I had left over from painting the plinth (motor board) in the GE stereo I did the Tolex on. Total cost on the Zenith cabinet will be 1/3 the cost of a can of primer, or $3.11, plus $20 and shipping for the dial cover and whatever a back will cost, if I can find a repop. The paint I used on grandma's old Bendix, Rustoleum "Smokey Beige" is the same as what I used on the tone arm on the little Magnavox TP-241D record player I redid the Tolex on. Total cost of the Bendix is 1/3 the cost of a can of primer, $3.11. I have decided to paint the big RCA cabinet Rustoleum "Leather Brown" which is what I had left over from the little Magnavox record player, detailing the tone arm. Total cost so far has been for the remaining 1/3 of the can of primer, $3.11, plus a can of detail paint for the front panel, plus the cost of a back if I can find a repop. Even including the cost of reproductions, I should be in these three radio cabinets less than $100,and I'm using material I had laying around in storage.

[Conelrad]

Spray cans are great, if the colors are available.

For quality paint, I've been using Montana Black or Gold (grades, not colors). It is a pro-level spray can, many colors, with a high pigment load and pro nozzle. I used to have to go to Jerry's Art-A-Rama or Utrect to buy it, now even ACE has it.

For matching 40's vintage Western Electric broadcast gear restorations, I get a custom mixed pint at Space Age for about $60. The weather-matching reducer rounds it out to about $100 out the door. Then again, some of their gear sells in the 5 figures.

[TC Chris]

Speaking of Western Electric, is there a good source for specs on WE transformers? I have a couple I yanked from a an abandoned chassis years ago (sadly, looks like I tossed the chassis in a move years back).

Chris Campbell

[Conelrad]

I have some printed lit on WECo iron, post the numbers and I'll see if they are listed.

Dennis

[TC Chris]

"output transformer" KS-8858

?? transformer SP-1007

I have read that KS means "Kearney specification," made by a subcontractor.

Chris Campbell

[Conelrad]

Yes, your take on KS spec goods is correct.

I'll need a bit of time to get to my tech data books, I will get back to you.

DG