The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I recently had a water line leak and drip on my walnut XVII. The water stains are fresh and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to repair them. Thanks in advance for any advice. I will also post this in the Tips section.
Ken Brekke

Hi Ken

The whitish cloudy color of the stain indicates there is still a lot of moisture in and under the finish.
Take a hair dryer or heat gun and start to dry up the moisture that's under the finish. It will take awhile but the whitish stain will start to go away.
Once you get the finish dry and stabilized than you can start to repair the damaged finish.
Sorry to hear about the water leak.

Larry Crandell

Thanks for the reply. I just noticed the leak early this morning. I will have to try your suggestion. I wasn't sure if there was a remedy while the stains are still wet.
Ken

You know, after that is dry, if it's still white like that, I would be tempted to try some lacquer retarder on it and see if that sorts it out. Retarder works on a new finish that flashes like that, or if water gets on it and it's almost like a miracle the way the white flashing will disappear. You could put some on it in a small area with an artist's brush and see if that sorts it out. Lemon oil (Mineral oil) and really fine steel wool will sometimes work that out as well. They used to say in the old cook books about using alcohol for that as well, since it's basically a shellac finish. You'll just have to be careful as you don't want to soften the finish too much and then you'll have to go over the whole cabinet to even the shine up. Gosh that's a nice machine, and REALLY aggravating when things like this happen. It's a good thing you noticed it before the veneer was loose or badly stained under the finish.

Ken, see my reply on your other thread:

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... =7&t=32858

Good luck.

Thanks for all the responses. I will give them a try.
Ken