The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Ouch! That's awful, I'm definitely taking your advice!(I hope you're joking about burning!)

There's almost no way that I know of to get that stuff out of the wood once it's in there like that. I refinished a circassian walnut XVI for a guy 20 years ago and I must have soaked the lid on that with 4-5 gallons of lacquer thinner and even tried carbon tetrachloride on it and that made it a little bit better, but that's about all that could be said about it. And you can't get that stuff anymore. I did finally get some finish on the lid of that machine, but I really doubt it's still stuck to the lid. People have NO idea what a mess that is for a re-finisher especially if it's been sprayed right on bare wood. Some claim it will go through and existing finish, but it's probably working through cracks in the finish or the crazing.

I've been giving it "dry" coats of lacquer, but the stain is all buggered up in those areas and the lacquer is refusing to dry hard. I worked on it some the day before yesterday and I'll leave it set for a week and see if the finish has set hard by then. Unfortunately, if it doesn't come out of it I will just have to find another cabinet to put these works in. It simply isn't worth the time or another $75 in materials to strip it again and try to start over. Not to mention how much the stain, grain filler and finish I've sprayed on it so far. And a person's time is worth something as well. And no matter what now, it will have to have a very dull finish on it so the rough places that will be in the sides of the cabinet are not staring you in the face. And unfortunately, the burn pile is not a joke for something that's like this. These C-19's are not a very easy sell these days anyway and I only bought it because it is a very late machine and other than the finish was really bad on it, was in reasonably nice shape. The grille is kind of tough on it, but I'm getting that glued back together.

Bob Flexner discusses some possible ways to deal with the silicone problem in articles he has written, and I've tried some of them, but I haven't had much luck. He mentions lye and that's one I haven't tried though. It might work since lye will break down most oils. And also ammonia and TSP. I don't think you can get TSP anymore, but those treatments would all be REALLY hard, if not destructive to the wood. And I'm not interested in losing an eye because some lye got splashed around! He says too that acetone will remove it and I have to admit that I had no luck with that one either.

So if you are wiping your horns and cabinets down with Pledge thinking it makes them "look better for now, and I'll refinish them someday" Good luck with that. You might want to get a bottle of lemon oil and use that instead. Or just use a damp rag. And good luck getting an answer from the "Pledge" people. I've emailed them about this problem in the past, and you'll hear crickets chirp first. The furniture industry isn't in the business of keeping this old junk around anyway. The woman that used this stuff on her grand piano for 30 years in those old TV commercials is funny too because 25-30 years ago I used to hear piano re-builders and re-finishers laugh about that piano and the fat chance it would ever have of getting re-built. And the fisheye eliminator is just silicone and that's about the last thing you want to be doing and spray that all over your shop. Well, it's a lesson to think about anyway. I don't know if silicone will soften up old finishes. I know the guy I used to paint for back in the 80's used to say that the Murphy's oil soap will soften up old finishes, but I can't stand the smell of that stuff so I've never used it.

And maybe some of you guys have had better experiences with this issue. I am glad that I don't run into it very often, that's for sure.

Would Murphy's Oil be better to use??

:0)

Tony K.

Edison Collector/Restorer

I refinished a standard plate and a hard time with the finish as it did not seem to flow flat. After the decals were on it ., I tried more shellac but no good. Tom B

tomb wrote:I refinished a standard plate and a hard time with the finish as it did not seem to flow flat. After the decals were on it ., I tried more shellac but no good. Tom B

Tom,
You might want to try using 190 proof grain alcohol to dissolve your shellac flakes with. In one of my ancient books on painting, et. it mentions that problem with shellac and says that the culprit is usually too much methanol in the denatured alcohol. Most of the "Painters alcohol" have about 60% methanol if you look up the MSDS on it. Methanol is not anything you want to be around as something like 2 tablespoons of that stuff will kill you! The so-called "Green" alcohol only has 5% methanol in it which I think is the lowest amount that is allowed in the denatured alcohol. Anyway, I have had MUCH better luck with shellac since I've gotten away from the stuff with the high amounts of methanol (wood alcohol)

I use a product called Liquid Gold. The stuff is amazing! It brings the finish right out and also can be used on metal (I dont spray directly on metal I just dust with whats left on the cloth and it shines it right up fine!

I spray the entire phono and leave on for 15 min. Then use a lint free cloth, spray some on their, and then lightly wipe along the grain. See photos for the TWO machines which I had just finished lol!

Wow, it converted that Edison into a Victor, too! Miraculous!

Henry wrote:Wow, it converted that Edison into a Victor, too! Miraculous!

Haha the stuff is magic!!